From root of poetry to stem of sound A five-year foundation as DJ and Music Director at Concordia University Radio laid the groundwork for Tanya’s first spoken word poems unleashed onto an unsuspecting live Montreal crowd in 1994 at Inobe Productions' Que Es Diva. She was quickly flooded with invitations to perform around Montreal at such series' as YAWP, Girlspit and Coco Café. Her oral performance includes poetry, storytelling, rap and song in English, French, Spanish, Turkish and Yoruba. She has performed solo and with African Science (Percussionist-Flutist Carlos Joe Costa, Bassist-Trumpeter John Howard). Past venues include cafés and clubs, international festivals, performance centers and schools, national television and radio, prisons, bookstores and libraries across Canada and more recently in Turkey. Some bigger performances: guest vocalist with Turkish kanun player Göksel Baktagir at Cemal Resit Rey in Istanbul, Turkey, 2006 feature artist backed by African Science at Vancouver’s Atlantis club through Beats Without Borders, 2005 ANU-2, 3, 4 performances at Vancouver’s Roundhouse from 2002-2005 Vancouver Folk Music Festival opening act for Billy Bragg, 2004 When Sisters Speak in Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 2004 live in-studio performance on CBC Television’s ZeD TV, 2002 The alchemy of combining music with oral poetry has allowed Tanya to record with, open for and perform alongside a vast number of artists including: Mercan Dede, Ursula Rucker, Michael Franti (Spearhead), Brifo, Rha Goddess (KRS One), Jerry the Cat, D’bi Young, Kia Kadiri, C.R. Avery; musicians Göksel Baktagir, Pepe Danza, Sal Ferreras, Fana Soro, JP Carter (JP Carter Trio); poets Ted Joans (may he rest in peace), Sheri-D Wilson, bill bissett, Wayde Compton; Toronto’s Caribbean Dance Theatre, Vancouver’s Science Friction dance group among others… "Tanya is [a] techno sound Fury who will go, not gently, into that good night." GEORGIA STRAIGHT

INVISIBLE WORLD © 2004 by Tanya Evanson / Mother Tongue Media
"She calls her art 'spoken world.' There isn't a better description for Evanson's groovy tales, fluidly rapped in Spanish, Arabic, French and English. All avoid the uni-meter curse of most live poets and spark. 4/5" THE PROVINCE NEWSPAPER An audio CD launched in July 2004 at Cafe Montmartre in Vancouver BC, Canada featuring original poems, songs, stories and traditional prayers in a rich context of African, Latin American, Jazz, Arabic and Hip Hop music. Based on work written during extensive world travels, it features collaborations with a wide cultural spectrum of Canadian musicians in the spirit of Spoken World Music. Musicians include Carlos Joe Costa, John Howard, C.R. Avery, Emad Armoush, Serwan Yamolky, Tim Gerwing and Pepe Danza. It was created and produced with the support of an Electronic and Spoken Word grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.
LISTEN	LISTEN & BUY	BUY IN VANCOUVER CANADA		BUY IN ISTANBUL TURKEY
				LALE PLAK Tünel Galipdede Cad. No.1 Beyoglu 0212 293 7739 laleplak@tnn.net

800 © 2007 Mercan Dede / Doublemoon Records Peace in musical form

SOUTHFULL © 2006 Brifo / La Baleine Records Electro-soundscapes in jazz, tango and bosssa

COASTAL TONGUE A CD ANTHOLOGY OF WOMEN IN SPOKEN WORD IN VANCOUVER © 2004 T.L. Cowan & Laurie Bricker, Editors 16 Canadian Female Spoken Word Artists

RIBSAUCE - A CD/ANTHOLOGY OF WORDS BY WOMEN © 2001 Wired on Words and Vehicule Press 204 page book and 16 sound recordings

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