As a consequence of the widespread situation with Corona virus/COVID-19, Tanya Tagaq has sadly been forced to cancel her Spring tour. This means that her concert at ALICE on April 23rd is cancelled. All purchased tickets will be refunded via Billetto. Please stay tuned on updates about ALICE and the Corona virus situation here.

Tanya Tagaq

Tanya Tagaq is an improvisational singer, avant-garde composer and bestselling author. A member of the Order of Canada, Polaris Music Prize and JUNO Award winner and recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Tagaq is one of the country’s most original and celebrated artists. In 2014, Tagaq sent shockwaves through the music world with Animism. The album’s Polaris Music Prize victory disrupted the music industry and contributed to a change in conversation about Indigenous artists. The follow-up, 2017’s Retribution, brought Tagaq’s inimitable and powerful artistic vision to even broader audiences. Tagaq’s recent projects include debut novel Split Tooth, nominated for the Giller Prize and other awards, and National Maritime Museum commission Toothsayer, a soundscape for the permanent “Polar Worlds” exhibit.

Tagaq’s improvisational approach lends itself to collaboration across genres and forms. Her work includes numerous guest vocal appearances (Buffy Sainte-Marie, Weaves, A Tribe Called Red, Fucked Up), original avant-garde classical compositions (Kronos Quartet, Toronto Symphony Orchestra),  commissions (National Maritime Museum in London, UK) and more. Her music appears in film soundtracks (Thoroughbreds, Searchers) and television (Vikings, Sirens). In its many forms Tanya Tagaq’s art challenges static ideas of genre and culture, and contends with themes of environmentalism, human rights and post-colonial issues. In interviews, Tagaq stresses the importance of considering her work in the context of contemporary – not traditional – art. This statement is not just about sound, although her music is decidedly modern and technically intricate, but about deep-rooted assumptions about indigenous culture in general. This April we’re proud to present her at ALICE.

Press quotes

“Tagaq projects sounds that carry the imprint of the body’s secret contours and recesses, delving far beyond personal utterance, out beyond human identity, to summon voices from the flesh cavity haunts of animal spirits and primal energies.” – The Wire (UK)

“…[Tagaq] made it (Inuit throat singing) sound fiercely contemporary, futuristic even. Recalling animal noises and various other nature sounds, she was a dynamo, delivering a sort of gothic sound art while she stalked the small basement stage with feral energy.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES

Greg Fox

Greg Fox is a New York City born-and bred drummer, multidisciplinary artist, and teacher. He has played on and released about 50 records since 2008, including his work with Liturgy, ZS, Ben Frost, Colin Stetson, Skeletons, Hieroglyphic Being, Man Forever, and others, as well as with his own solo work and his projects GDFX and Guardian Alien. Fox has toured worldwide with various groups and collaborations, held residencies at The Clocktower NYC and Pioneer Works, and was awarded “Best Drummer in NYC” by the Village Voice in 2011. Currently spending 2016 for the most part at home in NYC, he is working on new collaborations and compositions, teaching individual and group drum lessons, and exploring new territory as a solo artist, using a hybridized electroacoustic drum setup to explore new dimensions through the traditional gestures of the modern drummer and the possibilities inherent in electronic and computer music. Greg Fox has played at ALICE several times, both solo and in constellations like Arto Lindsay & ZS. We’re excited to have him back!