5 things to know about Quviasugvik: In Search of Harmony by PIQSIQ
Credit to Author: Stuart Derdeyn| Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2019 18:00:23 +0000
PIQSIQ | bandcamp.com
Sisters Kayley Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik make up the groundbreaking Inuit musical duo PIQSIQ. The two hail from Yellowknife, NWT, where they began the traditional practice called katajjaq — known as throat-singing in English — before they turned six years old.
Katajjaq is an up-close tradition in which two women sing together face-to-face, good-naturedly creating assorted resonating tones in trying to upset the person opposite them in a sonic joust. Typically, the “winner” is the one who doesn’t break out in laughter at some seemingly impossible sound coming out of the other competitor. These contests can go on for long periods of time as singers enter almost trance-like states of circular breathing and echoing tones.
From Sami yoik to Tuvan khoomei and Mongolian hoolin chor, throat singing almost always involves the use of overtones, sympathetic resonance and a communal participation.
Empowering to Inuit culture and, particularly, women, katajjaq was banned by Christian missionaries. But the tradition survived and today a new generation of young female artists are taking the singing style in exciting new directions in contemporary Indigenous music. Along with Greyson Gritt, Mackay and Ayalik are also members of the Juno Award-winning modern blues/soul band Quantum Tangle and have been collaborating with all manner of musical artists in varied genres.
As part of this exploration, PIQSIQ decided to delve into the places where tradition and colonial Christmas carols met for its latest recording. Titled Quviasugvik: In Search of Harmony, the recording is a unique and distinct addition to the season’s sounds.
Here are five things to know about the album:
1: Carol of the Bells. In an interview with CBC Radio, Mackay noted how the haunting melodies found in a lot of older Christmas carols and throat singing blend together both musically and in expressing the conflicting emotions the duo have around Christmas in the North. The way that the two loop both clean choral scales and growling throat singing together in this version of Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych’s classic is wonderfully rhythmic and atmospheric. So much so, there is even a beat-laden Carol of the Bells: Remix on the EP, just ready for adding to mall playlists.
2: God Rest Ye. Based upon the Gospel of Luke, the traditional carol God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen is an English traditional carol. The first transcription known of the piece dates back to 1760 and its origins go back much further. In other words, the song’s melancholic chord progression is enduring. Blended with an almost steady back and forth rhythm provided by the two singers, the tune just begs for hearing while sipping a hot cup of Algonquin Tea Co. Peace Tea on the porch and watching the Northern Lights flitter across the sky.
3: Qimuskiq: Dogsled Ride. An original that boasts not only a near doo-wop groove but also chiming clips, underlying guttural chants and one of the two singers soaring on a higher register to give that impression of whipping along through the snowdrifts. If there isn’t an animator out there putting together a grant proposal for an NFB animation studio production for this, there should be. It’s 3:22 of listening perfection.
4: What Child Is This. And then things get truly haunting. Hymnist William Chatterton Dix’s 1865 adaptation of Greensleeves into the popular carol is beloved and also contains a pretty forceful line about accepting Christ. Placed against the act of practising katajjak, a genuine conflict comes into being both in the melody and the way the breathing is mixed. The final gasp that closes the song is harsh. Juxtaposed against the ethereal singing, it’s even more riveting.
5: Harmony? Quviasugvik is subtitled In Search of Harmony for obvious reasons. PIQSIQ is on record stating that making the album has been a “beautiful political act” as well as artistically satisfying. There is a lot of hope coming through on this recording and it’s pretty addictive. Plus, to finally hear something for the holiday season that manages to capture both the beauty of the melodies and make the music inclusive at the same point is definitely harmonizing on a number of levels.
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