New York

I was in New York last week - I'm such a sleepy person that I'm always dazed by the fast & frenetic energy of New York. I mostly spend my time in restaurants & coffee shops when I travel - even if I visit museums or galleries it's really an activity to fit around good coffee :) but somehow I did manage to visit Grand Central Station, awe inspiring, walk the High Line [link] a genius idea and spend my Sunday listening to beautiful gospel music in a church in Harlem. The Pastor's sermon wasn't too hail & brimstone either - she talked mostly about The Ugly Duckling & becoming a beautiful swan, even I can deal with that level of religious instruction :) Here are some photos, love tt

Photos Natacha Horn

Happy Christmas / "The King & I " !!!!

Very sorry for my belated greetings, I'd just like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas !! I spent Christmas in the beautiful city of Edinburgh which was unusually mild for this time of year. I even saw a few hardy people in tee-shirts ! I was there to see my brother Ramon appearing as the king in the 'King & I' at the Festival Theatre [link]. I had forgotten what a stunning musical the 'King & I' is, it has some great songs, a strong plot & a slightly batty sequence in the middle which in it's own way rivals the completely batty Halloween sequence in the film  'Meet Me in St Louis'. I was very proud of Ramon - he makes a great king & I think his co-star Josefina Gabrielle is a great Anna. It's  refreshing to see a musical that isn't a parody of a musical. A lot of modern musicals, as much as I enjoy them, end up being an in-joke on the conventions of a musical or are structured around already popular songs. So even though this is a classic musical it felt new. If you have the chance (and I promise, this recommendation is not for reasons of nepotism !!) it is well worth catching, love tt

Loulé Portugal

Sorry, I have been a bit neglectful of my blog I have been busy learning my songs for the live shows. Recently I took a few days break in Portugal. One evening I discovered a very cute small town called Loulé, which must have been in Summer celebration because in one of the charming squares they had set up a sound system. There was a young woman singing & playing an accordion to a rhythm track & some very sprightly older people dancing & drinking lots of coffee. I would have danced myself except I didn't know the dance steps ! I'm not sure of the town's history but the old part of the town with it's narrow streets & tiled walls is magical. I spotted this very polite graffiti on one of the walls, I have this strange attraction to cats even though I don't have a cat... maybe it's because my mother is from Kuching ('Kuching' means cat in Malay )! Lots of love, tt

Munich

I've just returned from a short trip to Munich. I went to the opera & saw a production of Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'. The modern staging, consisting of stacked metal warehouse containers & modern dress, including Donna Elvira in a pink office suit & hiking boots left me scratching my head but the music was wonderful. I closed my eyes or looked up at the theatre's chandelier & let the orchestra and voices transport me. I also cycled through the city's parks, explored the great outdoor market 'Viktualienmarkt' and ate the most honest and hearty food I've tasted in a long time. How can a simple potato salad be so heavenly ?! I found Munich to be a truly convivial city & it is well worth a visit, love tt

Happy New Year !

Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas !! I have been away in a very rainy Southern Spain - developing a real weakness for Seville which manages to be both lively and cosy. I'm also impressed by the amount of live music you hear walking around the streets and how many people I saw carrying guitars ! Anyway, I wish everyone a New Year full of wonder and excitement. As for my new year all my new songs are finished it's just a question of recording them and I hope to have more news about that soon, lots of love tt

Photos (c) Sylvie Bardet

40 !!

Whew ! I was 40 last week. Thank you very much for all the kind birthday wishes I have received. I remember when I was a teenager there was a television series called " 30 something " and I used to think the characters were so old and their problems completely inscrutable. I'm now 40 and I still think that, I mean I still think people in their 30s are old, and inscrutable !! I guess I'm going to have to let go of that particular view of the world ! Anyway, here is a photo of me on my birthday mooching around Marseille... Lots of love tanita

Seli

I met up with friends in Italy this weekend in the beautiful city of Vicenza. Naturally we ate Baccala, drank Prosecco and visited some Palladian villas ! I also did a fun interview for a radio show ' Libro Oggetto ' [link] which is all about books. I think it will be broadcast in September & will be available as a podcast for one week after the broadcast date. Unsurprisingly, my wake up song for this week is Italian, ' Seli ', a performance featuring the extraordinary Edda Dell 'Orso ( most famous for her work with Ennio Morricone ) from the soundtrack of the film ' 4...3...2...1... Morte '. It's such a bouncy track it will have you running round the block ! Hope you enjoy, lots of love tt.

Books

Paris again this week. It is very hot and quite empty and in the evenings walking across the city you feel like you are in an early 1970s psychological spy thriller ( or maybe that's just me especially when I reach the fun fair in the Jardin des Tuileries !! ). I met up with Larry Klein the producer and musician for a very refreshing chat and cup of tea. We also browsed around the Galignani bookshop where he kindly bought me ' The Selected Essays of Gore Vidal ' and I chose for Larry, Edmund White's ' The Flaneur ' ( we were in Paris ! ). It's a book that expresses how seductive the city is and also what makes me feel sort of distrustful and less comfortable in it. Anyway, it's a real joy to wander into a bookshop and pick out a book for someone you are just getting to know ( I 'd almost forgotten this very old fashioned pleasure ). Here is a classic track that Larry produced with a lovely performance from Madeleine Peyroux. Hope you enjoy, lots of love tt

Paris

I'm in Paris this week and I'm addicted to the vegetarian thali at the Krishna Bavan restaurant in La Chapelle, an area near to Gare du Nord. I'm also rather taken by this song "Live good" by the French band "The Naive New Beaters". The video is great ! Love tt.

Welcome to my new blog. Sorry it's taken so long to begin !

I hope everyone has had a long and enjoyable summer. My summer was fine except for my one valiant attempt to go green by taking a holiday on the English coast (I live in London). It lasted exactly two days. Rain and the uncomfortable feeling that I hadn't really gone away defeated me. So above I have posted a photo from my more successful 2007 holiday. I'm not advertising 'Northface' or Patagonia clothing it's just that I'm in Iceland and all photos in such a landscape look like adventure clothing adverts. Iceland, incidentally, is very beautiful. If you have the chance to visit, drive around the road that circles the whole of Iceland and you will see many magical sights... maybe even a troll ! They have amazing coffee and obviously no child labour laws. I once checked into a hotel in Iceland and noticed that the first floor cleaning duties were being handled by one plucky 14-year old and a fresh-faced band of 10 year olds . And one of those 10 year olds was on roller skates... Musically, the writing is going well. I will add more about that in my next blog (hurrah !). My wake up song at the moment is 'L'Appuntamento' sung by Ornella Vanoni. It's a song with a real warm-hearted melancholy, that Italians do so well. I'm very jealous of Latin songs. They seem to be able to express this sentiment in which the lovers are really in a theatre of love - tortured by their roles and conventions. And probably enjoying it. In English this sort of sentiment in a song can sound a bit silly or forced. There are, however , a few exceptions to this. In the 60s, a golden period for big singers and big songs, there were a few Italian or French songs being translated into English covered with great conviction by notable singers like Shirley Bassey, Elvis Presley and, of course Dusty Springfield. Those singers, they had or still have in the case of Shirley Bassey everything , drama AND intimacy... ps : how odd as I'm finishing off my blog I hear the brass section from Shirley Bassey's 'Big Spender' blaring out of a passing car ! Lotsof love tt

Photo (c) Sylvie Bardet