Tanya Tagaq’s Saputjiji out Now
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Watch “Exit Wound” Reel here
“An uncompromising bellow of hurt and fury that is impossible to ignore.” - The Wire
“Tagaq continues to mine hardcore proclivities, stepping fully into the role of devoted subversive and guerilla artiste.” - Line of Best Fit
“A protest album in the classic sense — one that challenges its listeners to shed their complacency, to draw a thick red line in the snow.” - Exclaim
“Borderline terrifying but also a bit mesmerizing.” - Stereogum
Photo credit: Sebastian Buzzalino
Tanya Tagaq releases new album, Saputjiji, today. Saputjiji (Sa-put-yee-yee) smells good, like burnt gunpowder, notes of deet and two-stroke engine exhaust. Stand at attention, breathe it in. Tagaq goes where others dare not. The opposite of escapism, her art goes towards and penetrates what we run from. On Saputjiji, the singular force of Tagaq is more commanding, innovative and pointed than ever, aiming straight at the jugular of the military-industrial-capitalist-tech powers of the times.
Saputjiji, which means designated protector, is a potent counter-strike against billionaires, genocide, abuse and colonial systems. Produced by Sumach and Jean Martin, the songs of Saputjiji have their origins in armour and soft underbellies, the hardest and most vulnerable places alike. Throughout the album, Tagaq deploys military imagery and convention against itself, Tagaq wields the very tools of power to naturalize and neutralize.
The album opens with full-throttle intensity, starting with “Fuck War,” a pulsating no holds barred baseline. There’s no confusing the message. “Razorblade” is a test of physical resilience, a harrowing Reznorish industrial slice. “Foxtrot,” featuring Damien Abraham, weaponizes the military alphabet to become a protest call sign.
Equally tender and delicate as she can be fearsome and rageful, Tagaq offers solace with lamentive songs that show the other extreme of her vocal and emotive range. “When They Call,” which features frequent collaborator Jeffrey Zeigler on cello, and “Exit Wound,” a haunting In Rainbows-esque song, reflect their subject matter in sensitivity and vulnerability. Both songs address the stark reality, factors and aftereffects of Nunavut’s high suicide rate, which remains a crisis of magnitude across the High North. Speaking directly to Inuit youth, and to all of those who bear witness to a world without their loved ones, she says please stay.
On Saputjiji, Tagaq ventures further with songs that incorporate ambient, electronic and filmic sound design elements. From the pulsing trip-hop ambience of “Bohica,” named for a military acronym, to the perversion of discipline in the barbed wire snare of “Black Boot,” and the sonic turbulence of “Expensive Plane Tickets,” Tagaq’s palate is acidic, tarry, and dissonant, a mouthful of soil contaminated by the poisons of violence, conflict and economic exploitation.
An ominous electronic march introduces “Ikualajut,” which recalls the spoken word approach of Tagaq’s previous album, Tongues. ‘Sunflowers don’t turn to the moon,” Tanya says, in a song that calls for a radical shift of consciousness. “Lichens” is a distorted angular incantation, a doorway to an innermost world of self-made rituals, habits and intentions. Both songs reach deep into the mythos of Tagaq’s award-winning novel, Split Tooth.
The album concludes with “Imiq,” a song of striking, hypnotic beauty. Oceanic and limitless, featuring additional throat singing and vocals by Celina Kalluk, the song encompasses the album’s themes and extremes with its message of strength and resilience. “There is nothing you can do, no gun you can use. No policy. No law. No rule,” says Tagaq. “Nothing can destroy us. Nothing can destroy love.”
With percussion, synths and organ by producer and longtime drummer/collaborator Jean Martin, drum machine and synth by producer Sumach, Saputjiji also includes contributions from Jeffrey Zeigler (cello), Kevin Hearn (keys/synths), Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham (vocals), Patrick O’Reilly (electric guitar), Celina Kalluk (vocals) and Kevin Richardson (piano).
Recent credits, projects and accolades include Tagaq’s soundtrack contribution to Mission Impossible, and film/tv appearances including CBC/Netflix’s North of North and HBO’s True Detective. Tagaq’s first children’s book, It Bears Repeating, recently received a Governor General’s Literary Award nomination and was selected for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. A vocal supporter of #InuitMeToo, Tagaq uses her platforms for justice, solidarity and to encourage discussion of difficult topics.
