Montreal, QC · electroclash · techno

Tiga

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Montreal's arch electroclash survivor — deadpan vocals, filthy synths, and a sense of humor most techno lacks, 'Sunglasses at Night' included.

Tiga, born Tiga James Sontag in 1974, spent part of his childhood in Goa, India, and later attended Selwyn House School in Montreal. He began throwing small parties and street promotions around the city in 1990, bought the record shop DNA in 1994, and helped establish the club SONA in 1996, building a dance scene there years before founding Turbo Recordings.

His cover of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night," recorded with Zyntherius, reached number two on the UK Dance Chart, cracked the national singles chart, and topped the MTV Dance Chart for six weeks running. The pair performed it on Top of the Pops, and it became the international club hit that introduced Tiga's deadpan vocal style and hard synth sound to a wider audience.

His own productions favour stiff, hard-edged synth lines under flat, wry vocals, delivered with a sense of humour rare in techno. He has remixed The xx, LCD Soundsystem, Depeche Mode, Justice and Peaches among others, and issued compilation mixes such as DJ-Kicks: Tiga and American Gigolo alongside his own singles.

Tiga's albums include Sexor, which won the 2007 Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year, along with Ciao!, No Fantasy Required and Hotlife. Beyond records, he has hosted the BBC Radio 6 Music show My Name Is Tiga, made his acting debut in the film Ivory Tower, and produced the podcast Last Party On Earth, with guests including Pete Tong and Carl Cox.

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