Tanya Tagaq | Nanook of the North

Inuit Throat singing right here in Ann Arbor! Pretty amazing and also kind of fun in a weird way to see people's reactions who have never seen that before or don't know much about the cultural arts in that area of the world. So grateful I was able to cover this performance and after my shots were done I really was able to see the film and music in tandem.

Like Tanya said 'a few people sometimes walk out, but if you walk out then you don't deserve to see my gifts anyways, so have a nice walk..."

Here's a shot after the show - we said introductions, greeted each other, hugged and posed for a photo.

From the UMS web page:

''With Tanya Tagaq, ancient meets modern in provocative, powerful ways. This spellbinding performance features the Inuit throat singer accompanying a screening of Nanook of the North (1922) with a live score. Her mixed-media performance reclaims the controversial classic — considered the first feature-length documentary — capturing the sense of the sound of the Arctic spaces shown in the film and adding tremendous feeling and depth to the complex mix of beautiful representations and racially charged clichés.

Tagaq’s music is unnerving and exquisite, rooted in Inuit throat singing, but also influenced by electronica, industrial, and metal. It is a style that she has perfected through collaborations with Björk and that invokes Meredith Monk’s vocal innovations. Winner of the 2014 Polaris Prize for “Album of the Year” (she beat out Drake and Arcade Fire), Tanya Tagaq makes her UMS debut in this one-night only event after acclaimed appearances at the Bonnaroo and SXSW festivals. “Nobody, anywhere, sounds like she does.” (Globe and Mail) (Film is 79 minutes, not rated.)

What Makes It Renegade? An Inuit throat singer from Nunavut, Canada, Tanya Tagaq has a voice capable of full-bodied and animalistic lows, and breathtaking grunts and growls. She is an outspoken advocate of aboriginal rights and equality, weaving her musical and political tones into emotive, sensual, and complex compositions and improvisations that raise a fist of protest with no words at all.''