Conversation with PIQSIQ: Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik & Kayley Inuksuk Mackay

About

PIQSIQ is composed of sisters Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik and Kayley Inuksuk Mackay. These talented performers come together to create a unique Inuit style throat singing duo, performing ancient traditional songs along with new compositions. The two grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, with roots in Nunavut. After years of hard work on their music, they have developed their own form, blending haunting melodies and otherworldly sounds. As PIQSIQ, they perform their songs with live improvisational looping, creating a dynamic audience experience that changes with every show. The sisters perform both nationally and internationally, and also incorporate their music's ethereal feel into recorded albums. A "piqsiq" is a storm where the winds blow in a specific way, making it look like the snow is falling back up towards the sky. Being of blended backgrounds, Kayley and Tiffany have had to navigate strange cultural waters and have learned to embrace that journey. They see throat singing as not only a musical expression, but a political act of cultural revitalization.

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Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress: talks and concerts

Licence or status

Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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