Inuit throat singing, or katajjaq, is a distinct type of throat singing uniquely found among the Inuit. It is a form of musical performance, traditionally consisting of two women who sing duets in a close face-to-face formation with no instrumental accompaniment, in an entertaining contest to see who can outlast the other; however, one of the genre's most famous practitioners, Tanya Tagaq, performs as a solo artist. Several groups, including Tudjaat, The Jerry Cans, Quantum Tangle and Silla + Rise, also now blend traditional throat singing with mainstream musical genres such as pop, folk, rock and dance music.
Tanya Tagaq, also credited as Tagaq, is a Canadian Inuk throat singer, songwriter, novelist, actor, and visual artist from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Nunavut, Canada, on the south coast of Victoria Island.
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop.
Daniel Mangan is a Canadian musician. He has won two Juno awards and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia, having released 5 studio LPs and numerous EPs and singles. He has scored for feature film, as well as television for Netflix and AMC. He is also a co-founder of Side Door, a marketplace platform connecting artists with alternative venue spaces for in-person & online shows.
The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award. In May 2015, the Polaris Music Prize was increased to $50,000, an additional $20,000, sponsored by Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes for the nine other acts on the Short List increased from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed.
Shadrach Kabango, known professionally as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. Beginning his career in 2005, has released seven studio albums and three extended plays. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and five of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist in the prize's history. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016, and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
Timber Timbre is a Canadian music group, featuring Taylor Kirk. The moniker refers to an early series of recordings made in a timber-framed cabin set in the wooded outskirts of Bobcaygeon, Ontario.
Jesse Zubot is a Canadian musician primarily known for his violin playing. Zubot also works as a composer, producer and recording engineer.
The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, is a Canadian electronic music group who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chanting and drumming. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, the group consists of Tim "2oolman" Hill, and Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas. Former members include co-founder DJ Jon Deck and Dan "DJ Shub" General, who left the band for personal reasons in spring 2014, and was replaced by Hill. Co-founder Ian "DJ NDN" Campeau left the band for health reasons in October 2017, with the band opting to remain a duo for the time being.
This is a summary of the year 2014 in the Canadian music industry.
The 2014 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 22, 2014, at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario. Actor Jay Baruchel was the host of the ceremony.
Alvvays is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and subsequently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin, Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O'Hanley (guitars), and Sheridan Riley (drums). Their self-titled debut studio album, released in 2014, topped the US college charts. Their second studio album, Antisocialites, was released on September 8, 2017. Their third studio album, Blue Rev, was released on October 7, 2022.
Leave No Bridge Unburned is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Whitehorse. Funded by Kickstarter, the album was released via Six Shooter Records on February 17, 2015.
Bahamas Is Afie is the third album from Canadian musician Bahamas, released August 19, 2014 on Brushfire Records.
The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2016 in music in Canada.
Andy Shauf is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Regina, Saskatchewan. He plays several instruments, including guitar, drums, and clarinet.
Retribution is the fourth studio album by Canadian Inuk musician Tanya Tagaq, which was released on October 21, 2016 on Six Shooter Records.
Medicine Songs is a studio album by Buffy Sainte-Marie, released November 10, 2017, on True North Records. The album includes both new material and contemporary re-recordings of some of her older songs.
Begonia is the stage name of Alexa Dirks, a Canadian pop singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is most noted for her 2019 album Fear, which was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize and shortlisted for the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.
Reliever is the second studio album from Canadian singer-songwriter William Prince, released on February 7, 2020, on Six Shooter Records.
