Tali

Tali: Doing it For Herself

Full Cycle's front woman steps out on her own

Words by Prakash Surapaneni
Photography by Che Kothari

Tali- 21 Questions Cover

Tali is an anomaly in the drum and bass world. A female mc known for her singing style, an apparent overnight success running with Roni Size and crew, and among the first non british mcs to get true global recognition, its hard for Tali not to get noticed in a crowd of others. But Tali, who grew up in a small New Zealand town, has shared many of the struggles that are common to all aspiring artists. And despite what may seem like an effortless rise to stardom, she has indeed gone through her share of ups and downs, and continues to do so. And as she will testify, the last year has brought about its fair share of challenges that has brought her to a crossroads in her music career.

Before Tali seemingly popped out of nowhere to become one of the leading voices of Roni Size’s Full Cycle imprint and began touring across the globe with the world famous crew, she had actually spent years honing her craft. First, in her home country of New Zealand, she spent several years ensuring she was top emcee around before moving on to Australia for a brief stint, and ultimately the U.K. “In New Zealand there were a couple of others trying to make their name, but they weren’t hard grafters like I was. I was completely hungry for it, very ambitious, had a lot of self belief so I put myself out there more” Her persistent effort paid off when, as the now widely known story goes, she approached Roni Size while he was deejaying in Melbourne and sang for him. Curiosity piqued, the Full Cycle crew put her on stage on the spot and were left amazed at how she performed in the situation. One invitation, and several months later, Tali took Roni up on his offer to move to England and work with the crew. Success soon followed in the form of the smash single “Lyric on my Lip” along with steady tour dates across the country and soon the globe. “When it came to meeting Roni and coming out (to England) to work with Full Cycle, I was very lucky to be taken under the wing of a very established crew, with a world famous record label and manager in Roni, so people sort of thought ‘well if they believe in her, there’s definitely got to be something there’ ”. Despite the credibility brought by her mentor’s endorsement, she’s had her share of haters and has had to learn how to deal with unfair and inappropriate criticism. “At first it really started to bother me, when people would say nasty things and make comments at me sexually as opposed to as a talent. But I think I’ve pretty much proved my staying power. I’ve been doing this on an international level for five years. So now if they don’t like me, it’s more like ‘take it or leave it’.

Learning how to deal with negative critics is just one of the lessons Tali has learned over the last few years. While being a Full Cycle member has been a great experience and brought her many positive experiences, she has also learned to recognize the importance of moving on. This past year, she decided to bring her full time relationship with the label to a close, citing depression and exhaustion along with need to restart her creative juices. “I’m not embarrassed to talk about it, because it was a product of working my guts out for four years for a label. I mean Full Cycle taught me to just believe in myself, be true to myself and my dreams. But it also taught me that not all good things last forever, and that there will come a time in your life when you need to branch away from your security and find your independence on your own. It’s alright to take risks, and be scared”

Since she’s left the label, Tali has indeed shown no hesitance in branching out and finding independence. Her recent limited edition mixtape EP, Do it for Yourself is a testament to her willingness to move on and try new things. While having some drum and bass influenced tunes, much of the EP is soul and hip hop inspired, genres which Tali readily admits to musical her foundation. “I listened to that stuff before I even found dnb so doing it was very natural. To me, I just needed to take some time out and for myself, and that’s what the mixtape was all about and why it’s called Do it for Yourself. Co-produced by her boyfriend, respected UK hip hop producer First Man, the EP is a labour of love done for the sake of self expression more than a full on venture. That said, her ability to flawlessly execute a variety of sounds and styles is proof that Tali is more than capable of taking on new things.

In doing the EP, she has not only revived herself creatively and shown her ability to perform outside of drum and bass, but has given herself a running start to her new career as a songwriter. “I’ve gotten a manager and am actively writing songs for other singers, pop and rnb artists. That, along with vocal production is where I want take myself, because that’s where I now I’m good. In terms of making my own music, I’m still trying to find what I wanna do, something that is like electronica meets urban music. I’m looking to people like Outkast, Kelis but also people like Tricky and Bjork. But right now, I’m more focused on writing a number one hit. I’m realistic; I can’t be an mc or a performer forever, but I can be older, with a family and house, doing well for myself. That’s the reality of the music industry.”

For someone that has had a meteoric rise to the top as a performing artist, it’s both refreshing and rare to find someone still in their prime who speaks with the same candor and honesty as Tali. But given everything she has managed to do over the last five years, her history of standing out from the pack, maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

To keep up to date with Tali, visit the following sites:
Tali on Myspace: www.myspace.com/mc_tali
Tali’s website: www.talimusic.co.uk