Alacie Tullaugaq & Lucy Amarualik – “Katutjatut” review

Final verdict: 7/10 ★★★⋆˙⟡☆

One thing going over most of these fellow reviewers’ heads is the following; you need to go into listening to a project like this with an open mind, otherwise you’re just not going to Get It™. Most of us are familiar with music that was crafted following strictly European standards, and would be quick to judge something such as, uh, *checks notes* Inuit throat singing as “bad”, always using Western music as a point of reference. However, that simply doesn’t make sense – it’s like comparing apples with oranges. It’s plain unjust.

Though in all fairness – Inuit throat singing isn’t actually considered “music” by the Inuit people themselves. Supposedly, it’s a long-standing tradition in which two people (originally bored women trying to entertain themselves while their husbands were away on trips) stand face-to-face with each other, and intensely stare at each other while producing all sorts of bizarre sounds with their throats in a competitive manner. The winner? The one to last the longest without breaking into laughter.

As is evident, Inuit throat singing is more of a game than actual musical tradition. That, however, is not to say it doesn’t have a certain amount of musicality to it – the rhythmic element is very much present, and that was enough for my brain to register it as more-or-less music. It is actually reminiscent of beatboxing, kind of – especially when the pair start singing syllables while still making throat sounds at some point halfway through this recording.

An important remark to be made about this album is you are not supposed to be entertained by the music itself – but rather the feeling of joyfulness the work inspires. You just know those two lovely ladies were having fun making frog sounds in the context of this game, and I think that’s just beautiful. I had no choice but to giggle through the entire thing, all 18 minutes of it. The vocal gymnastics performed here being absolutely hysterical at times sure helped, too.

That said, this album is about as amusing as listening to an overly expressive drum kit with no accompaniment for 20 minutes straight – fucking brilliant. 7/10.