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She grunts, growls, sings, pants and breathes, but one of the most interesting things about Tanya Tagaq Gillis’s ability to take Inuk throat singing into the mainstream is the nontraditional way she went about it.
Historically, this style of singing was performed by two women, but as a solo artist Tagaq found a different way to get other performers into the mix. She’s worked with powerhouse acts like Björk and the Kronos Quartet, and she’s brought that collaborative approach to her latest release, Auk,which is the IInuktitut word for blood.
The avant-garde style of her sound attracted the ears of Faith No More’s lead singer Mike Patton, who signed her to his label. He also turns up on a track called “Fire,” along with cellist Cris Derksen and violinist
Jesse Zubot. Canadian rapper Buck 65 also lends guest vocals to “Gentle” and “Want,” and other performers drop in and out over the course of the album.
For the most part, these extra musicians enhance the powerful emotions Tagaq pours into her music, which moves from primal to danceable or softly intimate, depending on how she uses her vocals. But I find the first Buck 65 track, “Gentle,” tends to get a little too far away from the gorgeous atmosphere Tagaq can build on songs like “Tategak,” where it’s just her and Jesse Zubot’s violin. She also pushes the boundaries of this traditional singing style on songs like “Growth” and “Growl” by incorporating electronics into the mix— a combination that happily works, as does her pairing of vocals with a lone cello.
Tanya Tagaq has brought something new to the music world. Be prepared for something
unfamiliar but very, very exciting.
 

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Twenty-something singer Zaki Ibrahim has a career that musicians twice her age would envy. Born in Vancouver, she has spent time shuttling between the West Coast and the South African homeland of her father. Those cultures, coupled with her mother’s Scottish/English heritage, informed her musical education at an early age.

It also prepared her for a life on the road, and she has since performed alongside acts like Tumi and the Volume, Jane Bunnett, Toots and the Maytals and Erykah Badu. Because of the range of influences Ibrahim grew up with, her music is a very natural and modern-sounding blend of hip hop, R&B, pop and electronics with a distinct South African flavour. Lauryn Hill grabbed attention for her ability to fuse hip hop with beautiful, melodic vocals, and tracks like “Grow Again” illustrate Ibrahim’s potential to take over that spotlight.

While many up-and-coming soul singers don’t offer much more than singing abilities, what sets Ibrahim apart is that you can hear the talent and originality oozing out of this recording. Over the course of the record’s eight tracks, she sings in both French and English, sometimes she raps, and occasionally she just uses vocal sounds.

One of the most refreshing things about Eclectica (episodes in purple)—aside from the blend of musical styles—is the varied lengths of tracks. At a time when the industry is focused on selling three-minute singles, it’s nice to see an artist unafraid to include a song less than two minutes or a remix that’s almost 18 minutes long.

Hopefully, as Ibrahim’s career continues to take off, she can stay on the road and out of the loop of what the music industry expects
from its neo-soul singers.

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Ever since her early days fronting the band Rufus, when she implored us to “Tell Me Something Good,” Chaka Khan has had unmistakable pipes. The funk equivalent of Gladys Knight, Khan has been an underrated vocalist for most of her career. Sure, she has eight Grammy awards, but what good are tiny golden gramophones when your music isn’t getting out to the masses?

How good is she? Well, she’s probably the only woman capable of taking a Prince song and making it her own. She proved this with the 1989 single “I Feel for You.” She proves her jaw-dropping interpretation was no fluke on her new CD, Funk This, where she takes on The Purple One’s “Sign O’ The Times.”
Coming in at just over an hour, Funk This is a solid collection of R&B ballads and sexy dance tunes. You’d have to be dead not to want to get up and dance to this 13-song collection.

Featuring guest performances by Mary J. Blige, Tony Maiden and Michael McDonald (who performs a duet with Khan on a surprisingly soulful remake of Carly Simon’s “You Belong to Me”), Funk This shows that
Khan can still tear it up!