The Polaris Prize was handed out at a Toronto gala event last night and it went to Nunavut throat singer Tanya Tagaq, who beat out musicians like Arcade Fire, Shad, and Drake.
She also takes home the $30,000 cash prize that comes along with the honour. Mac DeMarco, Pallett, and Toronto’s Basia Bulat all performed at the awards ceremony last night.
Tagaq, who has been nominated for three Juno Awards in the past, released her third studio album, Animism, this past May, and has been in the music business for more than a decade. She also performs the theme music for “Arctic Air.”
“The album itself came from a very awesome place,” Tagaq said accepting the award (as reported by The Canadian Press). “I couldn’t be more happy.” She went on, “People should wear and eat seal as much as possible because if you can imagine an indigenous culture thriving and surviving on sustainable resource, wearing seal and eating it, it’s delicious and there’s lots of them. I really believe that if hipsters can make flower beards in, then you can do it with seal.”
It was the first time Tagaq was nominated for the Polaris Prize.
Photo: Tanya Tagaq
