Tariq Hussain, frequently billed as Tariq, is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia. He was born in

Cowansville Cowansville is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, located on Lac Davignon north of the U.S. border. It is the seat of Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 15,234. In recent years ...

, Quebec. His father, a Pakistani immigrant, was very concerned with his children getting a good education and it was only in his mid-teens, after his father had died, that Hussain began playing guitar. At

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...

, he studied

theatre arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. He started devoting most of his time to a music career upon moving to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta in 1995, releasing his first album ''Splat'' independently that year."Cowtown inspired Tariq to plug in: Former folkie finds success with rock". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', July 19, 1997. In 1997, he was signed to

EMI Music Canada EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

."Tariq opts for pop-roots sound: New disc 'feels much more like me,' Calgary artist says". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', July 1, 2005. His album ''The Basement Songs'' was produced by

Steven Drake Odds are a Canadian alternative rock band based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They perform music with a power pop style. They were nominated for six Juno Awards in the 1990s. As of 2014, they are on their fifth record label. History Odds (1987� ...

Odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

and won critical acclaim, with music writers citing the maturity of the folk-rock songwriting, as the songs addressed issues of racism and religion. His best-known song, "Chevrolet Way", was a Canadian radio hit in 1997 and garnered him a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination for Best New Solo Artist at the

Juno Awards of 1998 The Juno Awards of 1998 were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The primary ceremonies at GM Place before an audience of 10 000 on 22 March 1998. Actor Jason Priestley of the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' hosted ...

. His subsequent independent release, ''While You're Down There'' included collaborations with

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and charted a hit as a performer with "Stead ...

and with

Charlotte Caffey Charlotte Irene Caffey (born October 21, 1953) is an American guitarist, best known for her work in the rock band the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat". Career Caffey began her musical career playing bass guitar in the ...

of The Go-Go's. In addition to his solo recordings, he has been a collaborating member of

Brasstronaut Brasstronaut was a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with roots in pop, rock and jazz. It was formed in 2007. Their line-up was Bryan Davies on trumpet, Edo Van Breemen on piano and vocals, Sam Davidson on clarinet and EWI, Tariq H ...

"Brasstronaut's Tariq Announces 'Moonwalker' Solo EP". ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', April 11, 2013. and a host on

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which lanuc ...

. In 2011, Hussain won the Maxine Sevack Award for Creative Nonfiction from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, as well as receiving his master's degree in creative writing from the institution. He currently teaches courses in the Faculty of Arts, mainly focusing on creative and lyric writing.

Discography

* ''Graffiti Artist'' (1993) * ''Splat'' (1995) * ''The Basement Songs'' (1997) * ''While You're Down There'' (2001) * ''Goodbye Lonely'' (2005) * ''Moonwalker EP'' (2013) * ''Telegrams'' (2019)

References

External links

Tariq
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Tariq 1968 births Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian rock singers Living people CBC Radio hosts Musicians from Quebec People from Cowansville Canadian musicians of Pakistani descent University of British Columbia alumni Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Canadian folk rock musicians Canadian indie rock musicians