Beats and Braids
Presented by The O’Kadennigan Winggashk Collective and Peterborough New Dance
An evening with Kinnie Starr, Tanya Tagaq and Skeena Reese
September 24, 2006 @ 8:30PM
Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, 336 George St. N
Tickets:
Tickets available at Bluestreak Records
444 George St. N. Peterborough
(705) 742-6078
$15 – cash only please
We thank our generous sponsors…
The O’Kadennigan Winggashk Collective was deeply involved in bringing the first leg of the Canadian national tour of Hounoring Theatre to Peterborough, when they decided they wanted to sponsor a blow-out event to top off the five day international festival of indigenous theatre. They are bringing together three of Canada’s top aboriginal women performers for “Beats and Braids”, on September 24 at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre. All are cutting-edge, experimental artists, and all are highly thought of in their various fields.
Many local young people, especially hipsters who follow the best of contemporary dance and experimental music, squeal with delight when told that Kinnie Starr is coming to Peterborough. Perhaps the best known of the trio, Starr is one of Canada’s most respected hip-hop artists. The Juno award nominated artist performed at the 2005 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. In an interview on AfterEllen.com after the release of her album Sun Again , Starr describes her music and gives us an idea about what to expect at Sunday’s show: “The last record I called ‘head-nodding pop with a fresh sexy hop’. Cause it’s like pop but steeped in hip hop and R&B. The next record is going to be a bit more rock. You know old school like LL Cool J and Run DMC and stuff, you know how old school hip hop draws a lot on rock… well it’s kind of like that.”
Tanya Tagaq is equally admired by her fans. The young Inuk woman, from the tiny community of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, was at art school in Halifax when her mother sent tapes of throat-singing to help keep Tagaq from being homesick. She began experimenting publicly with the ancient Inuit vocal game at a talent show in Cambridge Bay, and was soon being invited to perform at music festivals. She’s since gone on to perform with other esteemed artist such as Bjork, Kronos Quartet, and to tour Europe and the UK. In November of last year, she earned a standing ovation for her performance at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, and three awards at the ceremony, including the prize for Best Female Artist. Tagaq is in the middle of a well received tour through Canada, headlining with fellow aboriginal artist Starr.
Coming from the West Coast is humourist, singer, and media artist Skeena Reece, who is frequently heard on CBC Radio and performed at the 2005 Aboriginal Achievement Awards. Her performances are a contemporary form, blending traditional songs with spoken word performance and improvisational comedy. Says Reece: “… native music sounds soothing and deadly to me! People should hear it as much as they can.” As a contemporary artist, Reece also expresses her quirky, engaging and sharp vision in other forms, experimenting with video and filmmaking.
Immediately before and after the performances local DJ Helen Markellos will be spinning world beats for the audience. Along with running her delightful catering business, Markellos performs frequently in Peterborough, most recently at the Sapphire Lounge.
Organizers recommend that tickets be purchased in advance at Bluestreak Records, 444 George St. N., as the show may sell out as word spreads that artists of this caliber will be performing. The $15 Tickets will also be available at all Honouring Theatre performances. Doors open at 8 PM and the show starts at 8:30 sharp.
Kinnie Starr
Enigmatic yet as open as the juiciest pulp novel atop your bedside table, Canada’s Kinnie Starr pushes artistic boundaries by merely ignoring them. Her third album and first all-English release, Sun Again, is set to transform even the most jaded listener.
Starr began making her presence felt around 1995 with edgy visual arts, graffiti, rhymes, outspoken race and gender politics, decidedly unorthodox performances, stunning good looks and envelope-pushing, beat-slamming recordings. This combination earned her a well-deserved and devoted fan base, a record contract with Mercury/Island/DefJam (1996-1999), and an immediate connection with critics and consumers alike.
Visit www.kinniestarr.com and her myspace
Tanya Tagaq
In just six short years, groundbreaking Inuk throat singer, Tanya Tagaq Gillis, has brought an ancient Inuit vocal game to the heights of the experimental music scene. She’s collaborated with Bjork and the Kronos Quartet and toured with some of the world’s leading global artists.
Like Bjork, Tagaq makes music that is both decidedly unusual and universally appealing on a most primal level. Her innovative, solo style of throat singing seeks to push the boundaries of emotion and to express the primitive instincts she believes still reside deep within our flesh. She describes her evolution over the past six years as a process of going deeper and deeper into her performance to the point where she virtually “leaves her body” and lets the expression take over.
Visit www.tanyatagaq.com and her myspace
Skeena Reese
Volcano Woman SKEENA REECE Reece is a Tsimshian and Cree womyn who is dominating her body in this world of song, spoken word, performance art and videography. She can sing and show you stuff that might make you feel WEIRD, or even HAPPY. People describe her shows as hilarious, inspirational, raw, and elevating.
Visit www.skeenareese.com