VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC
FESTIVAL 47
Featured Act: Piqsiq
- PLAYLISTS Taaqtuq Ubluriaq: Dark Star on Spotify and YouTube
- INTERVIEW CBC Radio: Unreserved: Revitalizing the Inuit throat singing tradition
- FESTIVAL 47
Inuit throat singers and sisters Piqsiq will make two appearances at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival on July 19 and 21. (See the schedule below.)
PIQSIQ BUILDS A FUTURE ON TRADITION
“Throat singing became a radical act of reclamation, music as cultural revitalization…”
Imagine that singing your music is against the law – or your drumming. That happened in Canada’s North in the early 1900’s. Fervent Christian missionaries forced their religion on Indigenous Peoples deeming their music and valued cultural touchstones as “satanic”.
“It was heavily taboo and even illegal at one point and you could be fined or even imprisoned if you were caught practicing,” singer Inuksuk Mackay told CBC Radio’s Unreserved host Rosanna Deerchild in April. Along with her sister Tiffany Ayalik, Mackay is one half of the electronic Inuit throat singing duo Piqsiq (pronounced pilk-silk). Piqsiq is the Inuktut term for a storm in which wind creates the illusion that snow is falling back up to the sky.
The sisters are part of a devoted movement of Inuit women who, since the 60s, have spearheaded a revival of throat singing. They include Tanya Tagaq, Shina Novaling, Quantum Tangle and Riit. Piqsiq “honed their skills over years of hard work” writes CBC contributor Andrea Warner.
“They learned about the Canadian government and Catholic church’s attempts to punish, ban and shame Inuit throat singing into near extinction. Throat singing became a radical act of reclamation, music as cultural revitalization, and the sisters were faithful to the traditional elements of throat singing for a long time.”
Evolving the tradition
“When we were younger, we wanted to soak up every drop of traditional knowledge that we could get our hands on,” Mackay told Warner.
“And then, when we started to become adults, we started to think along the lines of, ‘How do we evolve this practice to something that feels authentic to us, as Inuit today?’ That’s when we started to think about playing with technology, and we’re doing these choral arrangements, but it’s just the two of us. So how can we enhance this with technology? And so it grew out from there.”
As skilled and aware musicians Piqsiq respect the tradition of their mothers to inspire the current revival while breathing life into an evolving and contemporary interpretation of the throat singing form.
Says Ayalik: “I feel like there’s a beautiful momentum that’s happening … where people are seeing how beautiful it is as a practice and how complimentary it is to collaborate these sounds with things that you would never think of putting together.”
Their music
Throat singing is one of music’s most intimate styles. Typically performed by two women standing face-to-face in a light embrace, the voice is the instrument issuing gutteral tones, harmonies as well as singing in tandem. The sounds are often haunting and otherworldly. Piqsiq also sing traditional duets and in recent years have introduced live digital looping into their repertoire. Their work is highly improvisational making each performance unique.
You can see Piqsiq twice at the Festival – on July 19 and 21. They present a one-hour concert on Friday at 4:40 pm and are part of the Sunday workshop Song Catchers at 1 pm which also features Māmā Mihirangi & the Māreikura, Ndidi O and Hayley Wallis.
06 July 2024
About Festival 47
WHEN
The 47th Annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival runs from July 19 to 21
TICKETS
Purchase weekend and single day tickets at The Festival
HEAR
Listen to the excellent 40-song Festival sampler curated by the discerning ear of Artistic Director Fiona Black.
VIEW
The full artist line-up, the Daytime Stage schedule and Main Stage 3-Night line-up
PLAYLISTS
On Spotify
YouTube
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n6R5wQpAXJuQCn5-TzgpIMpZkD4O-bK6g
