Tamia, l'art de chanter en démesure

All Tamia owns is the most terrifying of instruments : her voice. And the voice of her body is what she learns with passion : and what she teaches.

Tamia has, over several years, developed a kind of personal knowledge, away from standards and schools, and she has publicized it : to singers and students whom she trains. Her method and the pleasure towards which lead all her teachings, stem from an acute investigation of music and are inspired by all sorts of vocal techniques, from the world over.

From Tamia’s voice emerges a new echo of ways of singing or howling that have crossed time to perpetuate themselves, as well can be, in different cultures. From the melopia to the song, from the song to the whispering, heartily or in restrained manner, it’s as if a certain organic sound of the universe was printed there, in this voice, pained through patience, pained with work.

As time goes on, Tamia has invented a language, with an imaginary vocabulary, phones that aren’t hers, with such original syntax and prosody. For ten years already, this language has com alive through encounters and improvisations, with free-music jazz, contemporary music players : with those for whom music is an adventure, a search for happiness.

And strangely enough, such an individual and unique vocal art that seeks to meet other original musics, or just itself the tradition that Tamia has completely modeled, the imaginary tradition which is about to become a tradition of the imaginary, they speak to us, aim us, catch into our culture and our dreams, as if, against all good sense, there were a very «natural» exchange.

Francis Marmande, Art Press 1979

Extract from the article named "Tamia, l'art de chanter en démesure", first published in "Art Press" November 1979.