Tanita Tikaram

Tanita Tikaram burst onto the scene across the Atlantic at just nineteen, drawing attention with her dramatic lyrics shaped by singer/songwriter traditions. Born to Malaysian and Fijian parents, she relocated to England at twelve and started composing songs during her teenage years. At seventeen she secured her first London performance after a club responded positively to a demo tape she had mailed in. Television exposure soon led to a Warner contract, resulting in the 1988 release of Ancient Heart, co-produced by Rod Argent and Peter Van Hooke. The singles “Twist in My Sobriety” and “Good Tradition” achieved success throughout Europe, prompting a global tour. Her next effort, the 1990 album The Sweet Keeper, positioned her as a cult favorite, a standing that remained unchanged by the uneven follow-ups Everybody’s Angel in 1991 and Eleven Kinds of Loneliness in 1992. Momentum returned in 1995 with Lovers in the City, after which she switched to Polygram for 1998’s The Cappuccino Songs. Seven years elapsed before Sentimental appeared, featuring Nick Lowe as a special guest on two tracks. Another lengthy hiatus ensued until 2012, when the soul-influenced Can’t Go Back arrived on the Ear label, produced by Paul Bryan and including guest vocals from Grant-Lee Phillips. Four years afterward she issued the jazzy Closer to the People, which highlighted her touring band.