TANSY -
by Gretchen Miller, ABC.
Step into Tansy’s musical room and take a deep breath of relief. Because here is someone who understands you, me and the whole damn thing – and she’s going to make you laugh – and then dance - about it.
Tansy is – wow! She’s brimming over with humour and generosity – she laughs loud at your jokes and shares her own ironies freely – and her music is the same. Ironic, generous, funny, compassionate, and like her, it finds it’s own path.
Tansy’s a natural musician. She’s taught herself how to make that sweet voice soar and give it freedom.
And just as in life she’s unselfconsciously unconventional, so is her music … you’ll find none of the dreary whiney whingy woe-is-me clichés here. Because Tansy is free of musical constraints she’s also free to hear the popular genres exactly as she wants to with an ear that remains fresh and somewhat left of centre. She’ll go along with the rules of R n B, soul, jazz… where she sees fit … but she doesn’t hesitate, in the most interesting ways, to break those rules and particularly so with her lyrics. They’re clever, compassionate, ironic, honest, determined and never predictable. She’s a natural wordsmith, a natural singer, a natural composer… and she’s a breath of fresh air in an industry that favours the artificial, the fake - musically, emotionallyand personally.
Tansy’s voice and its expression of her extraordinary personality is definitely larger than life. Turn away from Tansy and miss out, on the groove, the soul, dancing with a smile in the corner of your mouth because you’ve just worked out what she’s singing ‘bout.
As a person, as a musician, here’s a genuine independent thinker, and with it, a genuinely sweet spirit. Soulful, powerful, with an echo of jazz, the talk runs - …I love ‘freedom’. (Doug Williams) -
Tansy’s a fantastic songwriter (Keren Minshull, Euphoria). -
I’ve never heard a white girl sing like that. Last time I heard a woman sing like that was back home. She really feels the music. (Out of Africa, Manly). -
Tansy’s gonna touch a lot of people (Shawnee, Singer/songwriter, Sydney Acoustica Movement regular).
A music junkie, Tansy has been writing songs since she was 8. She has performed her originals with caramel embassy (www.caramelembassy.com) in venues all over Sydney including The Basement.
Tansy has also performed with some of Sydney’s favourite acts - Doug Williams, Noel Elmowy and Eddie Wakes at Sydney’s prestigious venues The Basement, The Metro and The Vanguard. Tansy has sung live on 2DayFM Breakfast show, Channel 31 and at Sydney festivals like Mardi Gras Fair Day and the Food and Wine Fair. Shortlisted for PCM Expo 2000, Tansy has also written for short film, (Tropfest), & animation.
