D&B legend Tali celebrates digital release of ‘Lyric On My Lip’ LP
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World-renowned Drum & Bass MC Tali recently marked a significant milestone with the digital release of her 2004 album ‘Lyric On My Lip’. It is the first time the iconic album has been available to stream or download and it will be accompanied by a documentary, which captures Tali’s groundbreaking achievements and the impact the record had on the electronic dance music scene in the early 2000s.
The digital release of ‘Lyric On My Lip’ and the documentary celebrate the 15th anniversary of the album, which was put out by the Bristol-based Full Cycle Records. The label was established by legendary DJ and producer Roni Size who, with Reprazent, won the coveted Mercury Music Prize, helping Full Cycle Records become one of the most important Drum & Bass labels of the time. Size is also credited with discovering and giving Tali a shot – as one of the few female MCs in the industry at the time.
When Full Cycle Records closed their doors, any chance for the album to be released digitally went with it. But Tali acquired the rights to the masters and so began the process of working towards the record’s first-ever digital release.
The documentary, which follows Tali’s journey from ‘Lyric On My Lip’ to now, as one of the few female MCs in the industry at the time, includes interviews with Size as well as other iconic names on the scene such as Bryan G, DRS, DJ Marky, A.I. Concord Dawn, Dynamite MC, DJ Dazee, Stamina, Rob Machete from Respect in LA, as well as many other people who were ‘there’. Watch it below!!
The interviews are intertwined with old archive footage from Tali touring and performing, including her momentous win at the 2019 New Zealand Music Awards, where she took home the award for ‘Best Electronic Artist’.
It is a celebratory snapshot of one of New Zealand’s most internationally successful artists – an important part of the country’s rich and diverse music history that has so far largely gone untold.
Tali is an accomplished songwriter, teacher, mentor, inspirational speaker, and author. She has worked with some of the biggest names in D&B and has toured the world several times over as both an MC and with a live band. Here she tells us about her top 5 career highlights to date…
Getting signed to Full Cycle Records and going on to create my album ‘Lyric On My Lip’
My whole reasoning for wanting to move to the UK was to become a successful Drum and Bass MC, and in particular with the hope that I might get in with the Full Cycle crew. So after a few months of working with the guys when Roni asked me if I wanted to make a solo album, and sign to Full Cycle as their first-ever Female artist, I had tears in my eyes!! It was definitely an ‘I’ve made it moment’!
All the travel I have been able to undertake
Going to places like Japan, Russia, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Greece, Turkey and America. Seeing cities like Paris, New York, Belgrade. Back then it was mind-blowing for a little girl from a dairy farm in New Zealand to be going to play shows in so many far-flung places, meeting people and experiencing different cultures, food and languages. Even now, when I go travelling for gigs, I think to myself how blessed I am to be able to do this for a job.
Learning how to produce my own music
As a vocalist, you are often at the mercy of the producer’s ideas, and it can be frustrating when you have your own ideas but no way to get them out. I first learnt how to record and edit my own vocals using Pro Tools which was the start of feeling more independent, especially as it meant I could collaborate with a producer from anywhere I had my laptop and microphone set up. Then I started out learning how to construct my own tunes on Reason, then Garageband and then finally onto Logic. Making my own tunes was a revelation, and for someone who is a bit of a studio nerd like I am, I loved being challenged and learning and growing as I went. I’ve been producing a few years now, but have only just started to produce my own Drum & Bass tunes.
Winning ‘Best Electronic Artist’ at The New Zealand Music Awards last year
I had been working in the NZ music industry for over 18 years when I won that award, and I had never been nominated for an NZ Music Award of any kind before. Since I was a little girl I had dreamed of winning an NZ Music Award, practising my speech in my hairbrush in front of the mirror, so it certainly felt like a dream come true to be acknowledged by the industry, and have it shown live on NZ television where my parents were watching!
It had also been ten years since a solo Female artist had been nominated and won that particular award, so it was also very especially sweet to finally break the drought!
Releasing ‘Lyric On My Lip – A Documentary’
It has been a labour of love this last year, something that I have poured my heart and soul into creating along with the help of some amazing contributors. I passed the documentary over to a secondary editor and someone who worked on the titles and graphics which was supposed to ease the stress but only made me more anxious as I hate relinquishing control! Overall, I am pretty pleased with it. It is a love letter to my fans, people who remember the album and loved the music, who have followed my career or remember raving at that time. It feels good to have left a different kind of legacy in this way.
