Roxanne Tataei
Roxanne Tataei is a musical artist whose work is centred around the voice.
Inspired by artists such as Jessye Norman and Minnie Riperton, Tataei’s music varies from works created with words and a clear narrative, to non-linguistic, musical landscapes with layers of sound.
Hailing from Norbury, South London, she has previously toured with artists including Grace Jones, Mark Ronson and Florence and the Machine under the name Rox before taking the decision to become an independent artist. As Roxanne Tataei she released the album Full Moon in Aries in 2018, and the following year undertook a unique project with BBC Radio 4 travelling to the Outer Hebrides as part of their Sound Odyssey series to collaborate with Scottish Gaelic psalm singers.
‘The Southbank Centre is a cultural institution. It's a place where I've witnessed and experienced some of my favourite live music, exhibitions, theatre and summer moments, dancing outside in the sun.’
She is also an artist who is no stranger to the Southbank Centre, both as a performer – she performs in our Aladdin Sane Live event in April this year – and as a visitor. ‘It’s a cultural institution. It's a place where I've witnessed and experienced some of my favourite live music, exhibitions, theatre and summer moments, dancing outside in the sun’.
Tataei will be using their time in our Purcell Room to stage and direct an operetta she has written and composed, which centres on the schema of the ‘Strong Black Woman’. The Southbank Centre Studio experience offers Tataei the space, funding and support to realise this project. ‘It’s a concept I’ve had in my mind for some time now [and] I hope to create the start of something really special, collaborating with some of my favourite London-based artists’.