Almost Blue: Tama Gucci's New EP
His first musical project released via label Sinderlyn, Almost Blue reflects the heart-on-his-sleeve type of person Tama Gucci is, which is an idea that inspired the fifth track on the EP, “Sweater.” He is fearlessly authentic, which was felt in conversation with him as well as while listening to the optimistic yet, at times, melancholy collection of songs.
Incorporating inspiration from his Caribbean roots, the drum and bass heavy beats also reference his upbringing in Miami and call upon a nostalgic 90s rave sound. Hearing influences from alternative R&B and electronica you’d find in an underground queer scene, it’s possible to get a holistic sense of who Tama Gucci is deep down. And on top of it all, his vocals are silky smooth and melodies, original.
The feelings sustained from 'Almost Blue' are romantic, coming of age, ones of comfort, and simultaneously instill in one the urge to dance! Check out our conversation with Tama Gucci below.
What story does 'Almost Blue' tell?
The story of Almost Blue. I would say it’s a pretty honest story, but not so much telling a story about my life. There’s certain things, like with the song “Put it in Drive,” there’s certain pieces of it that are about my life. But for the most part it’s just me talking about instances that happened to friends, reality TV moments. I’ve been watching a lot of reality TV, especially during quarantine.
What reality TV have you been watching?
90 Day Fiance. I love 90 Day Fiance. That is the one for me right now. That and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I normally watch Real Housewives of Atlanta, but yeah, it tells a story about instances and little moments that I’ve seen that I wanted to write about.
That’s super interesting. I love that you pull from pop culture and other people’s—
—Drama.
Drama. But not just making it all about you and all of it introspective. I think it allows for way more variety of subject matter.
Yes. I feel like it also makes it more digestible. Because reality TV is presented in the most basic raw form for everyone to be able to digest. So I feel like me plucking out what they’re hinting at, musically, makes it easier to digest the music as well.
That makes sense. How was the creative process for this EP different from previous projects?
Well, I recorded the vocals in the studio, and for the most part, I normally record everything at home. This was the first complete project since Fantasy EP that I produced. I wanted to produce everything on my own again, but there’s certain tracks—I’m still learning how to produce—that I needed help on. Nick worked on it with me. I never necessarily work with anyone else to complete things, especially music related things. I usually like to finish the music all by myself. The only difference is that I recorded all the vocals in the actual studio. With the engineer.
Have you always produced your own tracks?
Not always, but maybe since, like, 2019, maybe 2018. I started producing my own tracks. Everything on my SoundCloud since then has been things I produced, but those are really just demos.
What’s your favorite song off the EP and why?
My favorite song on Almost Blue, hmmm… That’s such a good question because I feel like at some point, “Challenge.” That was my favorite song. But, I feel like my favorite song is “Sweater.” I just feel like it’s so dramatic with the strings, and it’s a beautiful, dramatic song.
What was the inspiration for that one?
I was thinking of a visual aspect, where it was me literally wrapped up in a giant sweater, like a mummy type of moment. A video of me singing something dramatic and beautiful and emotional about wearing your heart on your sleeve, but the sleeve is unraveling. That’s how I started it, and then it turned into what it turned into.
I love that song. How do you think growing up in Miami has influenced your taste in music?
That’s a good question because I would say it exposed me to a lot of different styles of music. In Miami, it’s such a culture pot. You have Cubans, Jamaicans, Haitians, everything. Every possible culture you can find is in Miami. It exposed me to different music styles. For the most part, it made me sure of what I wanted to create. I took the pieces I liked from everything I was exposed to in Miami and used it to make my actual official sound.
Was there a music scene you were a part of in Miami before moving to New York?
Yes, it’s not that big of a scene; it’s definitely still growing, but there’s an underground queer community and scene there. At the time it was Internet Friends. I don’t know if Internet Friends is a thing anymore. I saw one of the founders maybe two weeks ago, and she was like, 'yeah, she died,' in reference to Internet Friends, the collective. It’s branched out into so many other little things, now, and there’s so much more, especially for the younger kids to be a part of. It’s cool to see them fresh out of high school having somewhere to be. For me, it took me, like, two years out of school to find it.
How does identity factor into your work and how has your music allowed you to explore your identity?
I would say I always wanted to make drum and bass infused music. When I started to produce music, I didn’t even necessarily know what it was called, but I knew what I wanted to make. Once I started learning more about production and music theory and diving into that, I was amazed to find that a lot of the cuts from iconic drum and bass songs are cuts from reggae music. And me being Jamaican, it was a full circle moment for me. I’ve also been really inspired by Dance Hall queens and the music of that era. It made me connect back to my Carribean roots in a sense, and knowing I’m not doing something completely new, but extending a branch from that. So, it kinda just made me more connected to my Carribean roots. The sound that I’m making now.
That’s beautiful. You have an incredibly unique sense of style. What are some style influences for you?
Style influences… hmmm… I feel like I don’t necessarily know, exactly.
They don’t have to be people, per se, it can be a feeling.
I feel like when it comes to style, I dress how I feel. A lot of the time it depends on if I wanna be comfortable or sexy. There’s no in-between. When it comes to styling and references, I think I have my favorites. I love Grace Jones, and how much fun she had with fashion. I love the whole camp Nicki era and how she played with colors and prints, and just had fun. I can’t really pinpoint it because it’s very specific. I’m very specific about things, but I don’t know exactly what it is.
In Almost Blue, I’m hearing some Kelela, some FKA Twigs, maybe ABRA… Who are a few musical influences of your’s?
It’s actually funny that you mention those two, because I actually wanted Kelela to be on the track, but the track was made in the beginning of quarantine, and it was just my demo before Nick got a hold of it and made it even more special. I felt like so much time had passed that I didn’t want to ask her to do it again. I shied away from it, simply because it had been such a prolonged process of it being made, finalized, and then released. From that moment on, I asked ABRA if she wanted to do it, and she loved the track. But, then, same thing, it was the early phases of it, as well. It never happened. But, I would say musical influences, definitely, I love Kelela. I feel like alternative R&B is in a safe place with her as the leader. She is everything. Some more references are Brandy, Bjork, Imogen Heap…
Who would be your dream feature on a Tama Gucci song if not Kelela and ABRA?
Your ear is so spot on for that! I would say a dream feature is Nicki Minaj, period.
I’m the biggest Barb. What inspired the title Almost Blue?
No, I might have you beat. Almost Blue. So, there’s a song by Everything but the Girl titled “Almost Blue,” and I love that song. Blue is a comfort color. It’s always been my favorite color. At the time, I was just moving to New York and just getting settled. Almost Blue is like me almost being to where I wanna be in multiple aspects of my life. Whether it’s my career, my music, whether it’s everything. I feel like I’m almost where I wanna be. That’s the meaning behind it.
That’s awesome. I feel like blue is a serene color, but it’s also what we think of when we think of sadness. It has so many different sides to it. So, there can be multiple answers to this, but when is the perfect time to bump Almost Blue?
The perfect time, I would say, to bump Almost Blue, would be either at the afters—you’re winding down, but there’s still that little bit of whatever drug of choice you decided to take tingling in your body somewhere, so you have dance energy in you, but you can also appreciate the down side of things—or, the other best time would be right before it hits noon. You got through your morning, but you’re about to start your day, and you’re just enjoying that sunlight moment before you leave.
I love that. Actually, that’s when I listened to it, today, so I guess I listened at the perfect time.
Exactly!
