Northern Exposure: Tagaq

Bizarre, diverse, expansive, extraordinary, sensual and provocative, the sophomore release Auk/Blood from Canadian artist Tagaq brings to mind a flurry of metaphors that all lead to the summation of a single word; Unique. As an experience I can only liken it to the first time I heard Sigur Rós or Dead Can Dance, stylistically this is profoundly and utterly unlike anything that I’ve ever heard before. There is a familiar quality in the textures, organic and primal and yet this is far from familiar. Dynamic to the point where you sometimes have to strain to discern the whisper, and intense to the point of rapture (go ahead and try not to get completely lost in the seduction of “Hunger”), Auk/Blood leaves no corner of the subconscious unturned.

Tagaq is vocalist/Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis, together primarily with violinist Jesse Zubot and featuring guest vocals from Mike Patton, rapper Buck 65 and beat box artist Shamik Bilgi. Auk/Blood is due to be released July 29^th – until then, check out the track “Fire ~ Ikuma (feat. Mike Patton)” and let us know your thoughts.

Sorry for the file mix up, but it should all be better now!

Tagaq – Fire ~ Ikuma (feat. Mike Patton) (MP3)

Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace