With a style perpetually galvanized by darkness and haunting northern beauty, sisters, Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik and Kayley Inuksuk Mackay, come together to create Inuit style throat singing duo, PIQSIQ. Performing ancient traditional songs and eerie new compositions, they leave their listeners enthralled with the infinity of possible answers to the question “what is the meaning of life.” With roots in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot and Kivalliq Regions, the sisters grew up in Yellowknife, NWT, where endless sunlight shines for two short summer months and deep, wintery darkness consumes the rest of the year. These environmental extremes had a huge impact on Tiffany and Kayley’s overall aesthetic and the pair have always engrossed themselves in creating soundtracks to life that reflect this natural phenomenon. Kayley and Tiffany loved to practice throat singing during long trips out on the land, but keeping connected to their Inuit culture was challenging in Yellowknife where they had limited access to the cultural teachings they craved. The sisters have often reminisced about the feelings they would get when receiving cassette tape parcels by mail sent from cousins living in Nunavut. Each tape a carefully recorded lesson containing precious, ancient throat songs delivered by brown, paper package. After years of forging hard won skill, they developed their own form blended with their love of haunting melodies and otherworldly sounds.
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