TĀLĀ Unveils Cross-Cultural Mixtape 'Jukstaposisi'

British-Iranian artist TĀLĀ has unveiled new mixtape Jukstaposisi, released in collaboration with the British Council and Indonesian arts centre PSBK, out now exclusively on Soundcloud.

A three-track release, Jukstaposisi is the fruits of an ongoing digital residency that involves TĀLĀ working with Indonesian musicians on a production workshop. Kicking things off is, 'Sultan's Pleasure', an intoxicating blend of vibrant percussion and head-turning samples marrying elements from different musical worlds. Late-night YouTube hunting led TĀLĀ to a recording of The Sultan's Pleasure - Javanese Gamelan and vocal music from the palace of Yogyakarta (1986) - which she sampled and threaded through 808s and modern rhythms.

Next up, 'Melintir' is a collaboration with upcoming local rapper Mario Zwinkle, who delivers slick, quickfire bars amidst a striking instrumental built around 70s single 'Margo Pengalaman' by Enny Kistrini and blended with found sounds from Jogya and LA. The final single, 'Wavy Katara' sees TĀLĀ virtually link up with Jakarta DJ Dipha Barus. Using 80's track 'Masa Bodoh' by KATARA as a starting point, TĀLĀ and Dipha went back and forth merging visions and techniques to create something unique and interesting.

For the artwork, TĀLĀ was keen for a local artist to be part of the project so she connected with Uji Hahan who worked with clay to create a sculpture which was then digitalised using silicon to make a printing master and photographed.

"I'm very drawn to South East Asia and very much inspired by the East," TĀLĀ explains. "I previously had visited Bali and had it on my list to discover and learn about Indonesia, also with plans to move there for a while. Being half Persian and half English I'm always interested in the juxtaposition of cultures and how we can find an interesting sweet spot mixing them together. So when I saw that Indonesia was a territory that was listed on the residency application I immediately jumped at the opportunity to be able to learn more about the rich and beautiful culture and music."

She continues: "My music has always incorporated collected sounds from my travels and experiences and digging into the archives of music from countries I have visited. I like being able to recreate a sense of the place and the use of real recordings from a time where memories are associated with them. I am inspired by discovering and learning about different music and introducing audiences to that place. I love the idea of taking something old as Indonesia beautiful and rich history and being able to flip it into something unexpected where a new Indonesia artist can add their flavour and come with a whole fresh approach."

PBSK Executive Director Jeannie Park added: "This digital residency is particularly exciting as we are aware how the pandemic has been accelerating the patterns of how we do our work, with the latest technology developments that support connectivity. A digital cross-country arts collaboration heightens the adaptive nature of active communication, exchange, and cooperation. Thus, offering exciting opportunities for us to discover and negotiate the limits of digital collaboration, at the same time maximise its utilisation to enrich art production and presentation of electronic music."

A remarkable mixtape, Jukstaposisi sees TĀLĀ expertly string together different styles and genres to create something truly refreshing.

Listen to the new single here:

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