Lala Tamar, a vocalist of Moroccan and Brazilian descent, performs to bridge cultures and generations. Embodying a complex, diasporic identity, her music shows her reverence for her Sephardic Amazigh heritage. The contemporary pop, jazz, and electronic elements in her music create some unique performances. Lala joins us for a chat where she shares her outlook on music, what to expect from her Bengaluru concert, a peak into her future plans including an album.
How do you approach blending the Sephardic, Amazigh and other traditions in your music while still making the sound your own?
The idea is not blending, it is ‘being’ – the ability to ‘speak’ freely the vocabulary of different cultures and embody the different heritages in your artistic and musical approach. When it comes to creativity, the outcome is organically poured out from this blend of cultures that completes your identity, forming a new impression.
How did your multicultural upbringing shape your outlook on music and performance?
My childhood soundtrack was made of Moroccan prayers and wedding songs mixed with classic Brazilian music alongside Mediterranean and western sounds. It confused me in the beginning and made me really want to focus on learning my Moroccan heritage as much as I could, but with time I understood that what I carry in my voice and being is evolving and complicated which has to be accepted.
Can you share a story behind a particular song that’s especially meaningful to you?
Achkid-Aylli, meaning: 'Come my little girl.' And it's also my first new single from the upcoming album. It's actually a song that was inspired by my Moroccan grandmother and at the same time the Gnawa culture mixed with the Brazilian goddess, Yemanja – it embodies a longing to answer, to talk, to communicate intimately with my grandmother. While I couldn't speak to my grandmother in her mother tongue growing up, it was my wish to be able to communicate to her in her tongue, to feel a part of her world. I wrote this song in three languages and she replied, saying : “Ar Sin Tqalgh” meaning in Amazigh: “I’m still waiting” — still waiting to talk to you in your own way, to understand you and to be understood by you.
Collaboration seems central to your work. What have you learned from working with musicians from different backgrounds and genres?
I am fascinated by different cultures, approaches and masteries. Nevertheless I see music and art as a primary form of communication. For me, creating art is the purest and most organic way to connect, therefore creating music with different artistes is one of my biggest pleasures and inspiration, finding the shared lines and shared worlds through the different filters of the geography or heritage or faith is one of the most inspiring ways to connect and share a universal message of unity regardless of differences.
For your upcoming performance in Bengaluru, what can the audience expect?
A deep intimate yet groovy dive into my Moroccan-Andalusian-African world, ancient songs in a new approach, original song in old approach, stories, dances and prayers with a beautiful band of musicians from Morocco and the mediterranean and one special sweet surprise!
Music can be a powerful tool for cultural preservation and transformation. What message or feeling do you hope people take away from your music?
I hope through the music, the audience connects with their own hearts. I hope they find comfort and a home and most of all a sense of unity with themselves, the world and others.
For the future, what plans and projects have you set up?
Currently I’m working on my new album which is the first original music album I wrote and I am super excited about it. Produced with my dear friend and bass player who you will meet in Windmills, Bengaluru. This album is an outcome of years of researching and learning my different heritages. Accepting my space and my limitations as a human and finally allowing myself to make the space for my own voice to be expressed with all the influences and complications it might have, a beginning of a new expression which is my own intimate heritage. I can't wait to share it with you.
INR 750 onwards. May 30 to May 31, 9.30 pm. At Windmills, Whitefield.
Written by Rewaa Mohanraj