#tamara schlesinger

[venusimleder]

Allegra, October 1997.

Ph. Tamara Schlesinger

[ludyer]

[lunapaper]

‘Breakout’ is a pretty apt name for MALKA’s latest single as she continues to defy your average pop conventions.

Like her colourful last single ‘Wonder Why,’ Scottish multi-instrumentalist Tamara Schlesinger channels the likes of tUnE-yArDs to provide a vibrant sonic hum that includes schoolyard handclaps, jangly percussion, eclectic synths and a buoyant horn refrain. She’s like a braver, better and more experimental version of Lily Allen if Lily Allen could be bothered to work on her craft instead of just going through the motions now (remember 2014′s Sheezus? *shudders*)

Naturally, there’s a sense of hopefulness about the track, trying to inject some much-needed positivity into a rather fearful and uncertain landscape, now more relevant than ever as MALKA explores more politically-charged themes on her forthcoming album as she explains via press release:

‘The new album has a lot of political references - it is impossible to sit back and see what is happening with the plight of refugees, the dismantling of the NHS and the political changes in the UK and US and not feel affected. This single is about hope, striving for a better life and believing/dreaming that things might change.’

‘Breakout’ is featured on MALKA’s second solo album, out soon.

-Bianca B.

[venusimleder]

Allegra, October 1997.

Ph. Tamara Schlesinger

[lunapaper]

In her new video for 'Moving Together,' MALKA returns to the mat to reclaim glory.

In keeping with the song's theme of rekindling old friendships, Tamara Schlesinger teams up with former gymnastics partner Lorna Somner after 20 years to perform a whole new routine, which the pair trained for eight long weeks to perfect.

While Somner later went on to perform at Le Reve in Las Vegas, Schelsinger was forced to retire after sustaining an ankle injury. As the singer explains via press release:

‘At the time I was so utterly heartbroken that I couldn’t set foot in a gym again. I found it so painful to not be able to train and compete and so I lost touch with Lorna - who was like a second big sister to me growing up. Lorna went on to become a performer in Le Reve in Las Vegas and so continued her dream of performing. I moved to London and studied fashion at St Martin’s College. ‘Lorna and I got back in touch when we were both expecting our first children - coincidently they were born just a few days apart. After having both of our second kids we each moved back to Scotland - Lorna a year before me. “I had been thinking about the song and how best to create visuals for the narrative. I then had the idea of getting in touch with Lorna to see if she might be interested in performing a gymnastics routine together. She loved the idea and so we began training again - 20 years after I had retired and 5 years after Lorna had retired from Le Reve [...] It has been amazing to work together again - the excuse of working on the music video has afforded us the chance to reconnect just as in the lyrics in the song.’

For the audio review of ‘Moving Together,’ click here. MALKA’s upcoming album I’m Not Your Soldier is out February 28. Read the review for her previous record Ratatatat here.

- Bianca B.

[error-office]

[lunapaper]

Album Review: ‘Ratatatat’ - MALKA

Brexit. May. Trump. The threat of total and utter nuclear annihilation… A lot’s change since the release of MALKA’s solo debut Marching To Another Beat back in 2015.

On her second album Ratatatat, the former 6 Day Riot frontwoman (whose songs have appeared in the likes of Skins, Catfish, Scream 4, Degrassi: Next Class and the Oscar-nominated film 127 Hours) confronts this brave new world with an irrepressible energy and a sparkling wit.

Previous single ‘Fell For You’ sees Tamara Schlesinger lead her tribe through a vibrant, kaleidoscopic haze, ready to aim her playful jungle rhythms at a cartoonish Trump (‘No one listens to you ‘cos you only shout’). She also takes up the fight on the determined ‘No No No,’ decrying the dire state of the UK’s NHS as she pleads in a sea of heavy reverb, lush horn trills and swaggering tribal beats: ‘‘Just cure us/Someone come and cure us/Just cure us/And take it all away.’

On ‘Falling,’ she vows ‘No I won’t go/Won’t turn and walk away’ in amongst the serene jingle-jangle, ‘Wonder Why’ a snarky, Eastern-flavoured track driven by discordant percussion and lively vocals reminiscent of Nelly Furtado’s ‘Powerless,’ while the grimy, nocturnal ‘Don’t Need Anyone’ sees Schlesinger taunt back at the troublemakers and manipulators: ‘Pick your side/Then run and hide/Seize the day/Then fade away.’

But as much as Schlesinger wages war with this new, volatile political climate, she also longs to escape it. The aptly-titled ‘Get Out (The Jungle)’ sees her declare ‘To dream is all that I have/Those days I lost won’t come back/Nothing to hold as my own/No one can free me’ as she dances an exhilarating path through woozy bells, infectious hand claps and sparse, earthy percussion. ‘Freedom’ (again, aptly-titled) drifts along a cloud of wistful guitars and shaky reverb as a dreamy-eyed Schlesinger outgrows her surroundings, which then shifts into the whimsical ‘Breakout’ (just as aptly-titled as the last), quietly triumphant with its clap-driven refrain, spry horns and fluttering vocals.

Yet Schlesinger’s resolve doesn’t waver. By album’s end, she declares yet another call-to-arms on the haunting ‘Circles,’ conjuring up its peculiar rhythm with an almost shaman-like ability as a disjointed jewellery box beat soon turns into a storm of scuzzy riffs, leaving us with a final warning (‘What goes around/Just wraps us ‘round in circles/What goes around/Just comes around again’). On the surface it seems rather ominous, forever repeating the same mistakes as our hubris and wilful ignorance come back to bite us, but Schlesinger’s message is evidently a hopeful one. There’s still time for change. There’s still time to unite. We cannot let those who seek to divide us to defeat us.

Ratatatat injects some much-needed positivity into this current landscape. It’s hard not to feel reinvigorated by those rich, illustrious bursts of colour, those clever hooks and that idealistic fervour. Let’s hope they’ve rubbed off on the rest of the world by the time MALKA’s next effort rolls around…

- Bianca B.

[thedigitalfix]

MALKA sticks it to Trump with her new single, Fell For You

A cutting comment on the insanity of the current US political situation The post MALKA sticks it to Trump with her new single, Fell For You appeared first on The Digital Fix. http://dlvr.it/NcQqSW