Tamaryn Sitha Brown is a New Zealand songwriter and singer based in Los Angeles. Since 2008, Tamaryn has released four studio albums, an EP and several singles. Her multifaceted style melds various genres such as

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

Early life

Tamaryn Brown was born in New Zealand. She was raised by a mother and godmother who were

Jungian psychologists Analytical psychology (, sometimes translated as analytic psychology; also Jungian analysis) is a term referring to the psychology, psychological practices of Carl Jung. It was designed to distinguish it from Freud's psychoanalytic theories ...

, 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 A halfway house is a type of prison or institute intended to teach (or reteach) the necessary skills for people to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. Halfway houses are typically either state sponsored for those ...

for runaway teenagers. Tamaryn described being raised with "30 brothers and sisters, kids who had been in different gangs:

Mongrel Mob The Mongrel Mob, also known as the Mighty Mongrel Mob or simply 'the Mob,' is a prominent organised crime group and prison gang based in New Zealand. With over thirty chapters across the country and additional operations in Australia and Canada, ...

Black Power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...

… Some of them white, some

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 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 Roslyn is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 950 at the 2020 census. Roslyn is located in the Cascade Mountains, about 80 miles east of Seattle. The town was founded in 1886 as a coal mining company town. ...

. She left home at the age of 13, and remained in the United States thereafter.

Career

Beginning a long collaboration with

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

n guitarist Rex John Shelverton (

Portraits of Past Portraits of Past is an American post-hardcore band from the San Francisco Bay Area that existed roughly from 1994–1995. The genre of music that they helped create is often described as "screamo," though that term was not used at the time the ...

, the Audience,

Vue Vue or VUE may refer to: Places * Vue, Loire-Atlantique, a commune in France * The Vue, a skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina Arts, entertainment and media * Vue (band), a rock and roll band from San Francisco, California * Vue International, ...

and Bellavista), 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 Mexican Summer is an independent record label founded in 2009 by Keith Abrahamsson and Andres Santo Domingo. Based in Brooklyn, the label has released recordings from artists including Best Coast, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Allah-Las, Weyes Blood, ...

/Kemado Records. In May 2011, Tamaryn's song "Cascades" was rearranged to provide the soundtrack to artist Richard Phillips (American painter), Richard Phillips' short film ''Lindsay Lohan'', which starred the Lindsay Lohan, actress herself. 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. In November 2011, Tamaryn provided guest vocals on

's 100th release, a 12" by Ford & Lopatin. 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. 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''. 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 (band), Coil and Psychic TV member Drew McDowall. Her third album, ''Cranekiss'' (2015), featured production by Jorge Elbrecht. ''Pitchfork (website), 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". ''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". During April and September 2016, Tamaryn performed as the opening act on Lush (band), Lush's North American reunion tour. In 2019, Tamaryn released her fourth album ''Dreaming The Dark'' wit
Dero Arcade
She was credited as a songwriter on Sky Ferreira's 2019 single, "Downhill Lullaby''."''

Discography

Studio albums

* ''The Waves'' (2010,

) * ''Tender New Signs'' (2012, Mexican Summer/Kemado Records) * ''Cranekiss'' (2015, Mexican Summer) * ''Dreaming The Dark'' (2019, Dero Arcade)

Singles and EPs

* ''"'' Terrified (Robin Guthrie, 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

* "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

External links

Official website
{{Authority control American women singers Art pop musicians American dream pop musical groups Living people Mexican Summer artists Musical groups established in 2008 New Zealand emigrants to the United States American shoegaze musicians American women in electronic music Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women