Growing up in Montreal, Canada, TIGA recalls his upbringing and the remarkably relaxed parents who gave him his direction. “Musically, I never had any aspirations of being a musician. I loved music, yeah, though didn’t have a band. I played clarinet in school for a while! I have awesome and supportive parents who allowed me to be myself. The first time I decided I loved techno culture was when I was 17 and went to a rave!”
Indeed, the lad was well travelled before his brilliant career took off. “My folks did a lot of travel,” he explains. “They started in the early 1970s looking for new places to go, and they took me along for the ride. By the time I was six I was hanging out in some far out places – one of those places was Goa in India, where there was already a fledgling party scene and I enjoyed it. I realised this was an acceptable way to live your life.” Upon returning to Canada he became disillusioned with the scene there, calling it “the plumage of a bird I cannot bring myself to want.”
So in return, he began to throw a series of small parties with friends. “In my formative teenage years, I was a bit of an oddball,” Tiga recalls. “I never really tried to fit in – I just made sure my experiences were fun. I was into a lot of things and I was always getting obsessed with stuff, like performing and entertaining. At that age, I wanted to be an actor on stage.” Yet fulfilling his dreams through others, he helped orchestrate a number of Canadian dance events including touring The Orb as well as organising the first North American appearance of continental illusionist Jean-There.
By the time 2010 rolled around, his list of successes and achievements was off the chart. Tiga has his Turbo label well and truly in the spotlight, as well as swags of funky EPs, remixes and appearances. Nor is he scared to bring a group of ideas together – witness his 2009 LP Ciao, which was the follow-up to the 2005 synth-pop smash Sexor. “It has been a long road, with ups and downs and its own experiences – the lowlight has been when I was really stressed over it, but now that it’s finished I am relieved.”
One of Australia’s favourite sons, Tiga is shortly on his way back for another round of performances. I have to admit, it’s hard to pinpoint what I like about this guy. Perhaps it is his charisma and mystique – or maybe it is his intelligence. Regardless, his character is best encapsulated by the profile in his biography. It reads as such: ‘the citizen may take a bride, but it is the rifleman who takes a lover. Ultimately we all must choose either the myth or the mountain.’ Spend a moment to try and understand that – it makes a lot of sense.
Catch Tiga at We Love Sounds, held at the UC on Saturday June 5. Tickets through QJump.
