Tiga, Tiga burning bright

Tiga tells it like it is. For instance, when the Canadian DJ/producer is asked how the recent deluxe re-release of his 2009 Ciao! album on iTunes is performing, he shrugs. “It’s a cynical marketing ploy. Has it been re-released? Either they didn’t tell me or I forgot...”

Not that the record needed a sneaky re-boot. Tiga’s second album matched his award-winning 2006 debut Sexor bleep for bleep in terms of creativity and sales. It was, like Sexor, mainly produced and co-written with long-time collaborators Soulwax. Ultimately, though, this was his vision – one in which glam, trashy electro wiggles its arse in the face of camp pop and streetwise R&B. If there’s such a thing as a Bowie or Prince of dance music, it’s Tiga.
He’s coming to Dublin to DJ at Tripod. You could say he’s following in a family tradition – in the ‘70s, his dad DJed in Goa. Not that he exactly sees the job as a noble calling.
“We’re spoilt brats,” he laughs. “I get overpaid as a DJ. I get ridiculous piles of money and I happily take it, because at one point you could make a living through a few means in the music business. Now you can’t. You know what? It all balances out because my DJ work funds my whole operation as an artist and label owner. I work all week, do remixes for free, invest in artists I believe in, artists who sometimes don’t have success. I can do these things and still pay myself and my staff.”
It’s also a lot more lucrative and less hassle than taking a band on the road, according to his mate James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem (who also produced on Ciao!) .
“I’ve had this thing with James for years. I mention ‘yeh, I’m thinking of doing a live tour with a band’, and he’s horrified every time, he’s like ‘Are you crazy? That’s the worst decision you could ever make!’. I’m still taking his advice.”
Aside from Murphy and The Dewale Brothers, another famous pal has featured in Tiga’s story. His 2003 cover of Nelly’s ‘Hot In Here’ featured a then unknown Jake Shears, who went on to star on Tiga’s first hit ‘You Gonna Want Me’, before ascending to mega-fame with Scissor Sisters.
“I absolutely love Jake, I adore him and the whole band, as artists and as people,” he enthuses. “They just had so much to offer and they were so exciting, like in a big, almost showbiz sense. They were so different and alternative yet they were good enough for people to let into their homes, to have like, housewives from the North of England humming their songs.”
At Christmas, though, the DJ schedule grinds to a halt as he clears the diary for family festivities back home.
“I actually take Christmas very seriously” he admits. “In Montreal we make a big deal out of it. We’ll buy a big tree. On Christmas Eve the tradition is a German-style sausage dinner. Then, on Christmas Day, the presents, the crackers, dinner, TV. Yeah, no way am I DJ-ing at Christmas...”