Natalie Chami | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | TALsounds |
| Born | Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Formerly of | Good Willsmith, L'eterebre |
| Website | www |
Natalie Chami (born January 27, 1987), known professionally as TALsounds, is a Lebanese-American musician, vocalist, composer, and educator. She is also a member of experimental band Good Willsmith.
Natalie Chami was born in Windsor, Ontario, on January 27, 1987. [1] [2] At the age of ten, she relocated to Falls Church, Virginia along with her mother and stepfather. [1] [3] [4] In 2005, shortly after graduating high school, she moved to Evanston, Illinois to attend Northwestern University. [1] [3] [4] At age twenty-three, Chami became an American citizen. [5]
Chami began recording music as TALsounds in 2009. [4] [6] In late 2010, she formed ambient project L'eterebre with bassist Brian Griffith. The duo secured a residency at Chicago bar Rodan, and released a self-titled cassette via Plustapes in 2011. [7]
Following a solo performance at Rodan, Chami was invited by Doug Kaplan and Maxwell Allison to join their newly-formed experimental band, Good Willsmith. [4] [8] [9] [10] In 2012, Allison and Kaplan founded Hausu Mountain, an independent record label that would release both the band's music as well as Chami's solo work. [1] [11] [12] In 2015, she released her debut solo album All The Way through the label. [7] In July 2016, Chami ended a Good Willsmith tour early, later stating that the band had "essentially been on hiatus since then." [1]
In October 2016, Chami released her second full-length solo album, Lifter + Lighter, via Hausu Mountain. [13] Fact ranked the album the fourth-best Bandcamp release of the year, [14] while Vice named the record the thirteenth-best experimental album of the year. [15] The Quietus editor Tristan Bath listed the album among his top ten cassette releases of 2016, describing it as Chami's "most focused to date." [16]
In May 2020, Chami released her solo album Acquiesce via NNA Tapes. [17] The album received positive reviews, being rated 7.6 out of 10 by Pitchfork , [17] 7 out of 10 by Exclaim! , [18] and 8 out of 10 by PopMatters. [19]
Chami is also a member of the ambient duo Damiana, alongside musician Whitney Johnson. [20] In July 2021, the duo released their debut album, Vines, via Hausu Mountain. [21]
In November 2023, Chami released Shift via NNA Tapes. [22] The Skinny writer Joe Creely rated the album four out of five stars, describing it as "a beautiful record." [23]
In August 2024, Chami performed at the ninth annual Wonderment festival in Victoria, British Columbia. [24]
She has also collaborated with Chicago-based electronic composer Brett Naucke. [25]
In 2009, Chami became a founding faculty member and music teacher at the Chicago High School for the Arts. [5] [26] Among her students was R&B singer Ravyn Lenae. [1]
Chami has cited Beethoven, Chopin, Duke Ellington, and Björk as influences. [27] Her music has been compared to Björk, The Knife, Laurie Anderson, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland. [10] [24]