Tara Lily’s ‘Last Flight Out’ Is Built On A Pan-Cultural Blend

Tara Lily has never wanted to be hemmed in. A creative who speaks from the heart, her music isn’t tied to one specific time, or one specific genre – it’s tied to emotion, to memory, and builds outwards from there.

Take new EP ‘Last Flight Out’. A divine five tracker – well, four tracks and an interlude – it pivots between vintage jazz and pristine 2k22 production, absorbing aspects of hip-hop culture and strands of her own British-Bengali heritage in the process.

Out now, it’s another sign of her rise, offering yet more proof of her emphatic creativity. Clash quickly caught up with Tara Lily to discuss the material’s origins…

1. Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda

Alice is the queen of exploring jazz and Indian spiritual music. Tracks Like ‘Naima’ from my EP ‘Last Flight Out’ have been inspired by her. As well as being the wife of John Coltrane (who wrote the original track ‘Naima’) Alice was revolutionary for developing her own unique sound. 

2. M.I.A – Bamboo Banga

This is a great example of exploring the dynamic rhythmic crossover of Indian tabla and dance music – M.I.A was the first South Asian (Tamil) superstar we saw as young Asian kids in the UK.

3. Sade – The Sweetest Taboo

For me, this track is smooth jazz with meaning and authenticity. Sade has always been my go-to for albums – I usually love every track and they are carefully curated to flow.

4. Billie Eilish – I didn’t change my number

A dark but inviting track from her album ‘Happier Than Ever…’ she employs interesting production elements on this track which have inspired me, such as the electronic stripped back bossa groove.

5. PJ Harvey – This Mess We’re In ft Thom Yorke

You can always count on PJ Harvey to say it how it is! PJ Harvey has always been a big inspiration for me, and I love how every album is different. Her ever-changing vocal delivery merges with ethereal guitar with aggressive intention.

6. Aaliyah – More Than A Woman

On this album, Aaliyah makes R&B tracks which fuse digital and Analog sounds including sitar and synths, which I think is really interesting.

7. SUCHI  – Seher

SUCHI is a South Asian electronic producer/DJ combining South Asian sounds with EDM. I found out about SUCHI quite recently, I think she’s probably only a few years older than me. There’s not many female producers out there, and she is defo top tier!