New Frequencies @ YBCA: Next Wave of Global Sounds, Tanya Tagaq and KIHNOUA PROMO

New Frequencies @ YBCA: Next Wave of Global Sounds

Tanya Tagaq
and KIHNOUA
Aug 15, 2009, 8 pm • Forum
http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production/view.aspx?id=9100#tagaq

Tanya Tagaq is a compelling artist whose electrifying throat-singing acts as a sonic gateway into the primal essense of humanity. It is the contradiction of ancient and modern elements in her work that creates a depth and richness few solo vocalists can hope to achieve. — CBC Roots and Wings

"Among [David] Harrington's current faves is an Inuit singer named Tanya Tagaq, whom he called the 'Jimi Hendrix of throat singers.' The sobriquet seemed well-earned—her rhythmically hard-driving vocal explosions, by turns guttural and ethereal, did boast that kind of exuberant virtuosity." — San Francisco Chronicle

Tanya Tagaq has created a major buzz in the alternative music scene with her experimentation of traditional Inuit throat singing. Like Diamanda Galas, she is one of those rare artists whose style is truly groundbreaking and can only be described as other-worldly and primal. As she navigates through a range of ecstatic groans, grunts and wails, you hear the sounds of birds, sea life, the wind, the cycles of life and death and the violence of the barren, frigid Arctic landscape that is home to the Inuit people yet her style has also been described as both "orchestral" and "hip-hop-infused." Tagaqs unique voice has attracted the attention of some of the worlds most groundbreaking musicians, including Björk, who invited her to participate on her CD entitled Medúlla and the soundtrack to the Matthew Barney film Drawing Restraint, and the Bay Areas Kronos Quartet with whom she performed at Carnegie Hall.

[Larry] Ochs likens his experience of music to looking out his window and seeing unity rather than judging each component of the landscape. — All About Jazz

KIHNOUA is an all-star band composed of trailblazer musicians from the Bay Area formed by the inimitable saxophonist Larry Ochs of Rova Saxophone Quartet. Each of the artists is a widely recognized creative force in the Bay Area and all have contributed to the eclectic and progressive music scene of this region. Joining the band as a special guest is renowned cellist Joan Jeanrenaud, formerly of the Kronos Quartet; Korean vocalist, dancer and drummer Dohee Lee, who is at the forefront of introducing audiences to traditional Korean arts; and percussionist Scott Amendola, who is one of the most sought-after musicians in the Bay Area. Ochs, who has long been fascinated by the soulful traditional Korean pansori singing and sinawi improvisation, has combined these two musical styles with his own Western-based, improvisational jazz style to go beyond fusion to what he describes as an accentuation of influences that awaken other textures in his work.

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Entertainment

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• ybca
• performance
• art