Tammy Payne - Viva Outsider

Marko Miladinović artwork

New York label, Ninety and Nine records, have done it again. If their musical releases are as true and reflective of their ethos then they will be an innovative force for years to come. Their latest CD release (27/10/2014) is from Tammy Payne, whose album art has been created by Marko Miladinović. The name may be familiar from his work with Serbian foursome EYOT who recently released their Similarity album. Miladinović's isn't a one-trick pony, his broad portfolio includes forays into photography, art and design. He currently works at the Centre for Culture and Arts in his hometown of Aleksinac, Serbia where he was born in 1981. He has won several awards for his painting and photography, with over 20 international exhibitions under his belt.


Jim Barr - Get the blessing

Tammy Payne is a chameleon. Under the wings of Gilles Peterson she released “Take Me Now” in 1991 on the Talkin Loud label but this wasn't where her talents were destined to land. An expansive journey continued for the next 20 years, working with Sissi, Bristol sound originators Smith And Mighty, Boca 45 and Jukes. My ears pricked up when she created the earthy album of covers/standards, 'Don't Think Twice', on Edition Records in 2010. The album included drummer Dylan Howe ( The Blockheads ),bassist Jim Barr (Get The Blessing ), Dan Moore on keyboards ( Pee Wee Ellis, Andy Shepherd ) and Neil Smith. The organ work of Dan Moore is worth hearing alongside Tammy Payne's emotionally threaded voice.



Tammy Payne

As you would imagine the title track on today's release, 'Viva Outsider' is also the inspiration for Marko Miladinović's artwork. Miladinović has always had a strong connection to the landscape and here he also plays with one of his favourite toys, Scale. The topographical mountain range that is unfurled beneath us is isolated by a desert world around it. Although this talks of vastness and height it could just as easy be a crumpled sheet of paper destined for the bin. Discarded words, too painful for the everyday eye to read.

Tammy Payne sees the artwork from a bird's eye view,
"I like the way the "outsider" has been elevated to the position of a creature that has an aerial view - the bird. This empowers the outsider and gives her the power of flight, a good view, and the feeling she can circle the area in a predatory fashion."

Marko Miladinović

The title track 'Viva Outsider' mirrors the soaring prairie, a vastness that is exaggerated by Payne's laconic vocals. Although there are Americana vistas in this work, the pulsing unease is one of Lynchian proportions. Planting us firmly in this current time of disintegration. In aonther track, 'Some People', you hear the iron fence that keeps us from each other's predatory instincts, the heat from the yard that is relentless.

The foreignness of 'Viva Outsider' seeps into the bones of this recording. It is the measured pace that you have to adopt in warmer climes. Those hotter territories where passions are barely contained and you sense emotional eruptions are imminent. Yet everything is hidden behind closed doors.

Marko Miladinović's Art

Tammy Payne told me about the journey from her Tamco work to this current creation.
"We tried a few songs with the same wild, raucous feeling as Tamco, but my voice was lost. We stripped it right down to just voice and guitar. I have a dream of putting string arrangements on top of this one day. Although ultimately we built up the sound with the whole band, we made sure the focus was the singer and the song."

Find out more about Tammy Payne at - http://www.tammypayne.co.uk/

Viva Outsider is released today 27/10/2014 on Ninety and Nine Records.
Buy it at -
http://www.ninetyandninerecords.com/

Listen for yourself -


AL.