Tamaryn Sitha Brown[1] is a New Zealand songwriter and singer based in Los Angeles.[2][3] Since 2008, Tamaryn has released four studio albums, an EP and several singles.[2] Her multifaceted style melds various genres such as dream pop, shoegaze, post-punk, gothic rock, synth-pop and electronic.[2][4][5][6][7]

Tamaryn
Tamaryn performing in 2010
Background information
Birth nameTamaryn Sitha Brown
Born1982 (age 41–42)
New Zealand
GenresDream pop, shoegaze, synth-pop, electronic
InstrumentVocals
Years active2008–present
LabelsTroubleman Records, M'Lady's Records, True Panther Sounds, Hell, Yes! Records, Mexican Summer, Dero Arcade
Websitewww.tamarynmusic.com

Early life

edit

Tamaryn Brown was born in New Zealand. She was raised by a mother and godmother who were Jungian psychologists, and the family moved frequently around New Zealand and, later, the United States. The New Zealand government commissioned her mother and godmother to open a halfway house for runaway teenagers. Tamaryn described being raised with "30 brothers and sisters, kids who had been in different gangs: Mongrel Mob, Black Power… Some of them white, some Māori, some mixed". The halfway house later faced criticism for its unorthodox practices, and the resulting public backlash led to her family moving to Roslyn, Washington.[8] She left home at the age of 13, and remained in the United States thereafter.[9]

Career

edit

Beginning a long collaboration with Californian guitarist Rex John Shelverton (Portraits of Past, the Audience, Vue and Bellavista),[10] Tamaryn self-released a 2008 debut EP, Led Astray, Washed Ashore (later reissued on Troubleman Records), followed by several 7" singles.

In September 2010, Tamaryn's full-length debut album, The Waves, was released on Mexican Summer/Kemado Records.

In May 2011, Tamaryn's song "Cascades" was rearranged to provide the soundtrack to artist Richard Phillips' short film Lindsay Lohan, which starred the actress herself.[11]

In July 2011, True Panther Sounds released a 7" by Les Demoniaques, a project featuring Tamaryn and Dee Dee Penny of Dum Dum Girls covering "Teenage Lust" by the Jesus and Mary Chain.[12]

In November 2011, Tamaryn provided guest vocals on Mexican Summer's 100th release, a 12" by Ford & Lopatin.[13]

In late summer 2012, Mexican Summer released "I'm Gone," the first single from Tamaryn's second album, Tender New Signs, which was released in October of that year.[14][15] It was her final album with Shelverton as her collaborator.

On Record Store Day 2013, Mexican Summer released a cover of Turning Shrines song "1/4 Circle Black" performed by Jorge Elbrecht (Lansing-Dreiden, Violens) and Tamaryn.

In 2014, Tamaryn was credited for the rebranding and creative direction of the Dum Dum Girls on that band's third Sub Pop album, Too True.[16]

In March 2014, Tamaryn provided the score to a short film written by Bret Easton Ellis, Are You Okay. Her collaborator on the project was former Coil and Psychic TV member Drew McDowall.[17]

Her third album, Cranekiss (2015), featured production by Jorge Elbrecht.[8] Pitchfork writer Jes Skolnik said that Cranekiss "moves from the denser shoegaze thickets of Tender New Signs and The Waves into a pure, sugary dream-pop world. No longer competing for sonic space with a heavy wash of guitar, Tamaryn's voice, even drenched in reverb, becomes the focus".[4] AllMusic critic Heather Phares declared that Cranekiss was "a beautiful pop fantasia that finds Tamaryn expressing her music's passion and sensuality in exciting new ways", and called the album's combination of shoegaze and synth-pop "some of her most arresting music yet".[2]

During April and September 2016, Tamaryn performed as the opening act on Lush's North American reunion tour.[18][19][20]

In 2019, Tamaryn released her fourth album Dreaming The Dark with Dero Arcade.[21]

She was credited as a songwriter on Sky Ferreira's 2019 single, "Downhill Lullaby."[22]

Discography

edit

Studio albums

edit
  • The Waves (2010, Mexican Summer)
  • Tender New Signs (2012, Mexican Summer/Kemado Records)
  • Cranekiss (2015, Mexican Summer)
  • Dreaming The Dark (2019, Dero Arcade)

Singles and EPs

edit
  • " Terrified (Robin Gutherie Remix)" single (2019, DERO Arcade)
  • "Path to Love (The Horrors Remix)" single (2019, DERO Arcade)
  • "Fits of Rage" single (2019, DERO Arcade)
  • "Led Astray, Washed Ashore" EP (2008, self-release; 2009, Troubleman Records)
  • "Return to Surrender" b/w "Ashore" 7" single (2009, M'Lady's Records)
  • "Mild Confusion b/w Light Shadows" 7" single (2009, True Panther Sounds/Matador Records)
  • "Weather War" single-sided 7" single (2009, Hell, Yes! Records)
  • "I'm Gone" digital single (2012, Mexican Summer)
  • "Heavenly Bodies" digital single (2012, Mexican Summer)

Other appearances

edit
  • "Teenage Lust" (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover) single-side 7" flexi-disc by Les Demoniaques (Tamaryn and Dee Dee Penny of Dum Dum Girls) (2011, True Panther Sounds/Matador Records)
  • "Flying Dream" on "Snakes/Flying Dream" 12" single by Ford & Lopatin (2011, Mexican Summer)
  • "1/4 Circle Black" (Turning Shrines cover) single-sided 7" single by Jorge Elbrecht featuring Tamaryn (2013, Mexican Summer/Kemado Records)

References

edit
  1. ^ "COLLECTION". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Tamaryn | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  3. ^ "Underground band Tamaryn generates waves of emotion". Dailybreeze.com. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  4. ^ a b "Tamaryn: Cranekiss". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  5. ^ "Tamaryn - Cranekiss - Outpost". Archived from the original on 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  6. ^ "Collaboration Paves the 'Road to Greatness' for Tamaryn's New Album | Village Voice". 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  7. ^ "Tamaryn "Softcore"". Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  8. ^ a b "Tamaryn Tells All (June 30, 2015)". Vice. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. ^ Reilly, Phoebe (2019-03-19). "In Music and in Life, Tamaryn Dreams in the Dark". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  10. ^ "Rising: Tamaryn | News". Pitchfork. 2010-07-15. Archived from the original on 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  11. ^ "Tamaryn Soundtracks Lindsay Lohan Short Film". Stereogum. 2011-05-31. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  12. ^ "Les Demoniaques". True Panther. Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  13. ^ "Tamaryn / Ford & Lopatin / Shannon Funchess: "Snakes" / "Flying Dream" | Tracks". Pitchfork. 2011-11-14. Archived from the original on 2012-10-27. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  14. ^ "Tamaryn - "I'm Gone"". Mexicansummer.com. 2012-10-16. Archived from the original on 2012-11-27. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  15. ^ Phares, Heather (2012-10-16). "Tender New Signs - Tamaryn : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  16. ^ "when the sun hits.: Album Trailer: Dum Dum Girls || Too True". Whenthesunhitsblog.blogspot.com. 2014-01-02. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  17. ^ "On set filming with Bret Easton Ellis". Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  18. ^ "TAMARYN". Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  19. ^ "Tamaryn LUSH Announce New Tour Dates - Mexican Summer". 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  20. ^ "Tamaryn Joines Lush on Reunion Tour - Mexican Summer". 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  21. ^ "Tamaryn: Dreaming the Dark". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  22. ^ "Downhill Lullaby", Wikipedia, 2019-06-07, retrieved 2019-07-30
edit