Words: jt
photos: Courtesy of INDOOR RECESS INC.

Tiga Indoor Recess Inc

Canada has produced some incredible talent over the past few decades when it comes to electronic music and pushing its boundaries. One name has always stood out against the rest, and on his latest album Sexor, Tiga has done it again, pushing boundaries while going back in time to put a fresh spin on some old sounds. Klublife sat down with Tiga earlier this summer when he was in town to promote the new album, and we dug deep to see what makes Tiga tick!

Klublife: Why name the album Sexor? Did it have something to do with the old school electro feel of the record?

Tiga: Okay. The name wasn’t there at the beginning. I mean it wasn’t—it happened kind of……it was one of those things that started as a bit—at the very beginning it was like “oh that’d be interesting.” But I wasn’t actually—I didn’t know right away yet “oh that’s what I’m going to call my album” and then I started to think I more and more liked the idea because it was kind of absurd. It was the absurdity of it that I like, that’s what appealed to me, you know? And the name itself came—it was like a made-up name from a made-up character for a fairy-tale type thing that had been kicking around for years. And I just thought it was a funny name. It’s not that—not borrowing anything specific-looking from Etalo or Disco or anything like that, but definitely those guys shared similar—I don’t know if it’s necessarily a sense of humor because it’s not a punchline, but definitely that idea of the fantastic or the absurd. I think what appealed to me most about the name is that is symbolized for me two things that I definitely wanted. One was that it was kind of open to interpretation; you know, I like the idea that it doesn’t have some concrete meaning. And the other thing was I like the idea that like you can do anything, so, like why not call you album Sexor, you know?

Klublife: When I listen to the album I could really hear Tiga the songwriter. Do you feel like you’ve come into your own now as a songwriter?

Tiga: Thank you. You know I think when I was young I looked really, really young, and as a kid I was always late with everything. I was late to like hit puberty, I was late to be able to get into clubs. And you know I’ve always told myself, even when I had problems with relationships or problems in school and everything, I always told myself “you’re always late, you’re always a few years late, give yourself a chance.” So even now, I still feel like that, like I’m a bit—I’m a slow—I take my time with things, it’s not a race. So things like songwriting and eventually performing live, I think they’re things that I’m getting around to now, and it’s exciting for me. You know, it’s a new challenge and I like the fact… I think it’s pretty cool, ’cause I’ve kind of already had a full career. I mean as a DJ, 15 years in any chosen field is a lot of work. My hero has always been David Bowie and uh, I’m always joking with my friends, you know I look up to him kind of, like a big brother type thing, even though I don’t know him. And I always think “wow,” you know, he did so much. But then I think of my own career and in my own weird way—in isolated areas, to have a 15 year career in anything—to just be able to reinvent yourself and stay interested and curious is the thing I’m most proud of. But um, but things like songwriting and that more purely creative side of it, and that more personal side of it, is something I guess in a way—I can’t say I’ve been saving it but I’m really enjoying it now. And I’m starting it now and I hope that—yeah, it’s like the tortoise and the hare you know, I’m in it for the long haul. I’m saving things.  

Tiga Sexor Electo Indoor Recess Inc

Klublife: I’ve been following your tour dates and what fans have been saying on message boards, etc. I heard that your gig in Quebec City was one of your best gigs to date?

Tiga: It was probably the best—I think it was the best gig I’ve done in Canada in years. I mean, I don’t know, it’s strange, I walked in with no expectations, and it just turned out to be a phenomenal gig. And in that moment you just know, you know? It could be something as simple as just playing a certain record that you’ve always loved but hasn’t worked well and then you play it, or a certain mix, and you get the reaction you want. But those little things happen and they pump you up and then the glass is half full and everything’s amazing. But, you know, anyway, the good thing is I just hope for myself, I try really hard, I deliberately insolate myself as much as I can from the hype and the talk and all that stuff as much as I can. Because you have to, you just have to stick with that basic thing. So you asked creatively what’s next: I hope it’s just the same as it’s always been. Not the same results or necessarily the exact same process, but just that same thing. I’m lucky because I always work with my friends. So whether it’s Jesper or Youri or the Soulwax guys or Richard X or whoever, I’m going to basically do the same thing. We hang out, we tell jokes, I say “hey wouldn’t it be cool if I looked like I had a falcon on the cover or whatever” and we do a track about Arabian nights. And then next thing you do you’re doing an Arabian track—you know sometimes it’s horrible, sometimes it’s good but the point is the longer you can run with that feeling the better.  

With fresh new album Sexor finally dropping here in Canada, Tiga has come full circle not only as an artist, but as a performer. You can check out all the latest at his site www.tiga.ca.