Tamara Dey is a rockstar, there’s no doubt about it. Not in a flip-your-hair-back-and-forth, strut-around-on-stage kind of way. I’m talking more about the seemingly effortless way she can shift into character. One minute she’s joking about her hair, puffing it up a little with her hands, the next she’s striking a pose, then another one, and another one, and another one. The camera loves her, much like her fans.
It was always clear to Tamara that she wanted to pursue music as a career. As a teenager, she would sneak out of the house and go to raves and dance parties. ‘I heard these beautiful vocals over the DJ tracks, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,’ she recalls. It wasn’t long before her dream became a reality.
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‘I would do gigs on the weekend, going to clubs and jumping up with DJs to freestyle,’ says Tamara, who becomes even more animated than usual when she describes performing on the same line up as Louie Vega. ‘That still definitely rates right up there as one of the highlights of my career!’
Invited to perform at one of Brenda’s memorials after her passing, the seed of an idea was planted. ‘The 80s and 90s were Brenda’s time. What if I could reimagine this song in an Afro Disco frame? In that moment, everything fell into place.’
Tamara and her producers have been incredibly respectful to the original: ‘There was no middle ground. This was either going to be the best work we’ve ever done, or it would never be released!’
Promises has become the very definition of a love project. Brenda’s son Bongani Fassi has always been a fan of Tamara’s work, ‘and I’m a huge fan of Gemma Fassi, her niece, who has the phenomenal voice. It is amazing that she is continuing Brenda’s legacy.’
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‘Good music is timeless,’ Tamara goes on to say. ‘There is ageism in the music industry, and I refuse to be part of that narrative. Limitations linked to age, race and gender; those are not things I align myself with.’
Skipping back to Tamara’s own music and what she has on the cards next, she tells me she is excited about her journey. ‘Life is not happening to me; it’s happening for me! I am incredibly grateful for my health. I choose to by happy. Music is a healing mechanism for me, and for the world… hence Disco Therapy… get it?’ she laughs, referencing the song she released in 2022.
‘I am living my authentic life, which I think is why the LGBTQIA+ community resonates so much with me. They have had to fight for their right to be real. We live with some shame and are burdened by so many expectations.
Watching people become confident about who they are and fight for their right to be true to themselves is a constant inspiration for me. We can all become part of that journey, we just have to be willing to take the first step.’
QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS
Which book is on your bedside table?
The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs.
You’re stranded on a desert island, which three things can you not live without?
My laptop, my DDJ FX4 controller and Wi-Fi.
How do you unwind?
I meditate.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Probably my hair.
Which secret talent would you most like to have?
I wish I could nap during the day.
Words by Ingrid Corbett
Photography: Zhann Solomons
