Quantum Tangle | |
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Origin | Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada |
Genres | Folk rock, blues, Inuit music, Throat singing |
Years active | 2014–present |
Members | Tiffany Ayalik Greyson Gritt Kayley Inuksuk Mackay |
Quantum Tangle are a Juno Award-winning Canadian musical group who combine traditional Inuit throat singing and spoken word storytelling with blues-influenced folk rock, consisting of vocalist Tiffany Ayalik, Kayley Inuksuk Mackay as drummer, vocalist and throat singer, and singer and guitarist G. R. Gritt. [1]
Gritt and Ayalik met at the Northern Scene arts festival in Ottawa, Ontario. [2] Formed in 2014, Quantum Tangle are based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. [1] Ayalik, who is Inuk, is a native of the city, while Gritt, who is Ojibwe-Métis, was born in Sudbury, Ontario and raised in the outlying community of Warren. [3] Gritt has lived in Yellowknife since 2009. [4]
As a solo artist prior to the band's formation, Gritt was a regional finalist in CBC Music's Searchlight competition in 2013 and 2014. [5] For four years, they were a mentee of Yellowknife's Northern Arts and Cultural Centre. [6] Gritt came out as transgender in 2014, and uses gender-neutral pronouns. [7] Ayalik also performs as a stage actress. [8]
Quantum Tangle released their EP Tiny Hands in 2017 and their first full-length album, Shelter as we go..., in 2017. Both recordings were released on the Coax label. [9]
Quantum Tangle won the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year for their album Tiny Hands at the Juno Awards of 2017. [10] [11]
Mackay was introduced as a band member in May 2018 when the band performed at the Indigenous Music Awards. [12]
In addition to making music, Quantum Tangle facilitates a series of school workshops and performances on the topic of Indigenous issues in Northern Canada.[ citation needed ]
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.
Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of the Yellowknife River.
Tomson Highway is an Indigenous Canadian playwright, novelist, children's author and musician. He is best known for his plays The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, both of which won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play and the Floyd S. Chalmers Award.
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.
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