Focus: Tamara Kazziha

Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Tamara Kazziha – I’m a singer-songwriter, violinist and producer based in the North East, born in Egypt.

What is it you do?
I facilitate improvisational sessions which are experimental in nature – I mean making whatever sound you feel in your body, not only what seems musical. The idea is to free up self-expression and have fun! I am also learning to record and produce my own music.

How long have you been doing it?
I’ve been improvising since I picked up the violin when I was 10 years old. I enjoyed listening to whatever music I liked and playing along with a made-up violin part. I’ve been improvising vocally from around the same age. I feel that my voice naturally lends itself to being an ‘instrument’ rather than to song – so my latest EP has been a new direction for me and it’s been challenging and I’ve learned a lot through the process and had some wonderful collaborative experiences.

What inspires you?
What most inspires me is the connections I make with others. I love to travel as often as I can and I enjoy collaborating with other artists I meet on my travels. Not only ‘artists’ but really anyone who I see expressing themselves authentically, having the courage to be vulnerable, it all reflects back in my work somehow and gives me the courage also to express and share my music and my heart with the world.

Tell us about your music.
I just released my debut EP Calling the Moon. I wrote these songs as a way to connect more deeply with myself and expose parts of my heart/experience that are difficult to express through words. I wanted to connect with the part of myself that feels ‘childlike’ and still believes in magic, and I wanted to allow for expression of some of my more traumatic experiences and transmute certain memories into something more gentle, playful or strengthening. The songs span across different genres from dream-pop, synth-pop, folk-pop and indie-rock. I could say that these songs are rooted in magic, loss and healing.

Other than that I curate improvisational spaces for practising and non-practicing musicians – it brings me a lot of joy to witness others deeply listening to one another and opening up to new sounds and ways of expressing. My aim is to blend somatic-sonic therapeutic work with musical practices.

What have you got coming up in the future?
I’m currently working on my second EP – I’m learning more about programming percussion as I’d like to make an EP that is more danceable! I’m also working on more music that is less song-based and more abstract/experimental. I want to express both of these sides of my musicality as I move forwards.

I’m also facilitating improvisation workshops around the North East and wherever I land.

Where can people find out more about you?
You can find me through my social media handles – @elysian_roots on Instagram, Tamara Mayela on Facebook.

You can also purchase my EP ‘Calling the Moon’ on my Bandcamp. It would mean a lot!