Peckham’s Tara Lily was left alone to construct her own identity.
Growing up as part of a working class British-Bengali family, she absorbed her heritage while tuning in to the disparate South London communities that surrounded her. Tara’s magpie-like ear was drawn to seductive sounds, fusing an interest in jazz with a passion for vintage soul, all while viewed through a highly distinctive lens.
In her songwriting, the vocal is paramount. A powerful, emotive performer, Tara Lily can certainly flex, using her voice as a space for those disparate influences to intermingle. As she puts it: “Jazz is at the root of everything that I do. I’ve explored working with other sounds and genres as I’ve gone along. Whether it’s being influenced by life, relationships, people, or culture – I’m always exploring pushing jazz in the realms of modern music and making it relative to who I am and how I live my life today.”
New song ‘Hotel Amour’ has a picturesque feel, with Tara’s songwriting embodying a painterly touch. She explains: “I wrote the song when I was staying at the Hotel Amour which had a big winding staircase, and the room was blue, like you’re looking out at the sky. I had a big falling out with someone I was seeing…”
Moving between dissonance and resolution, ‘Hotel Amour’ is a gritty piece of neo-soul with jazz flourishes, while also honouring her heritage. Stealing those string glides from classic Bollywood scores, the beat fits into the lineage of Kathak, an ancient regal dance.
She says: “There’s a lot of free-flowing movement but it’s also very grounded, it’s very centred and it’s very strong. Kathak is quite an expressive and dominant dance and I wanted to bring that energy into the song, as well as match the essence of the original drumbeat.“
Tune in now.
Photo Credit: Nadia Otshudi
