Pamyua
An Anchorage-based group blending Yup'ik and Inuit vocal and drum traditions with R&B and funk, self-described as "Inuit soul music."
Type
Band / group
Active
1995–present
Genre
Inuit soul, World music
Based
Anchorage, Alaska
Biography
Pamyua was formed in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1995 by brothers Phillip and Stephen "Qacung" Blanchett, who are of Yup'ik and African-American descent. Ossie Kairaiuak, a Yup'ik drum maker and composer from Chefornak, and Karina Møller, an Inuit singer born and raised in Greenland, joined the group not long after its founding. The band's name means "encore," or "do it again," in Yup'ik.
The group describes its own sound as "tribal funk" and "Inuit soul music," built from traditional Yup'ik, Cup'ik, and Greenlandic drum songs and chants reinterpreted with R&B vocal arrangements. Pamyua's discography includes Mengluni (1998), Caught in the Act (2003) — which won Record of the Year at the 2003 Native American Music Awards — Drums of the North (2005), and Side A/Side B (2012).
Pamyua remains an actively touring and recording ensemble based in Anchorage, performing concerts nationally and internationally alongside cultural workshops and school residencies centered on Yup'ik song and dance.
Notable work
- Mengluni (1998)
- Caught in the Act (2003)
- Drums of the North (2005)
- Side A/Side B (2012)
Recognition
- Record of the Year, Native American Music Awards (2003), for Caught in the Act
Members
Stephen "Qacung" Blanchett · Phillip Blanchett · Ossie Kairaiuak
Listen & follow
Official links
Upcoming Pamyua shows
No Pamyua shows on the calendar right now.
Browse all Alaska events →More Alaska music
Related artists
Plan around it