Susan
Aglukark
biography
Singer/Songwriter
Susan Aglukark is one of Canada's most unique artists, and a leading voice
in Canadian music. She blends the Inuktitut and English languages with
contemporary pop music arrangements to tell the stories of her people,
the Inuit of Arctic Canada. The emotional depth and honesty of her lyrics;
her pure, clear voice and themes of hope, spirit, and encouragement have
captivated and inspired listeners from all walks of life.
Susan's
genuine concern for others combined with her political & social awareness,
lead many to view her as a role model. She is also rapidly becoming known
as an uplifting motivational speaker, able to reach both youth and adult
audiences alike.
Susan
has held command performances for HRH Queen Elizabeth (twice), Canadian
Prime Ministers Jean Chrétien and Brian Mulroney, and the President of
France, Jacques Chirac. She has performed for Nelson Mandela and Governor
General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson, as well as several other dignitaries.
Equally important to her are the many, many people she has performed for
and spoken to on reserves, in small towns and in villages across Canada
and the Arctic.
Awards
include: Juno Awards (3) and several Juno nominations presented by C.A.R.A.S.
(Canadian Association of Recording Arts & Sciences); the first-ever Aboriginal
Achievement Award in Arts & Entertainment, and the Canadian Country Music
Association's (CCMA) Vista Rising Star Award, along with several other
CCMA nominations. Susan's albums Arctic Rose, This Child, Unsung Heroes,
and her most recent release Big Feeling have sold over 350,000 copies
in Canada to-date.
When
it came time to write her latest album -- the quietly spiritual, unabashedly
catchy and evocative Big Feeling -- Aglukark reverted back to the small
town girl with the unshakeable connection to land and lineage. Which makes
sense, because if there is a prevailing theme to Big Feeling, expertly
produced by Ben Mink (k.d. lang, Barenaked Ladies), and mixed by George
Massenberg (Lyle Lovett, Linda Ronstadt), it is that we can most clearly
view the present through the prism of the past. Mink found in Aglukark
an artist still keen to grow despite being more than a decade into a hugely
successful career.
With
Big Feeling having found its place in Aglukark's Juno-winning catalogue
-- which includes 95's This Child and 99's Unsung Heroes -- the singer
has her sights firmly on touring and the continuation of her activist
work. Susan says she never strays far from her roots or the people of
Arctic Canada, where she grew up; her ultimate message, "to learn to be
yourself and believe in that person" reaches much further, and touches
all people, everywhere.
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