There’s no slowing down for MC Tali
Taranaki’s top female MC is living life like the beat of her music - fast and loaded.
MC Tali, whose real name is Natalia Sheppard, shows no signs of slowing down as she branches out from her prolific music career.
The Taranaki-born and world renowned drum and bass musician, best known for her 2004 single Lyric on my Lip which ranked 39 on the UK singles chart, is about to publish her first book.
‘‘It is a contemporary fiction novel based on a house in Awatuna, South Taranaki where I grew up,’’ she explains.
‘‘I sent it off to some publishers here in New Zealand and to some in the United Kingdom [UK] and just a few weeks ago I received an email from UK publishing house Pegasus offering me a book deal.
‘‘I am super excited about this, but also very nervous as it feels quite different to think of releasing your thoughts in story form as opposed to a song.’’
Sheppard hopes the release will create an opportunity for her to finish writing her autobiography, Dark Days High Nights, based on her experiences as one of the only female drum and bass MCs in the world.
‘‘I am currently putting it out in blog form and it’s good to gauge people’s reactions to certain stories, as this will help when it comes to compiling the whole thing.’’
As if penning a book wasn’t already enough to keep the singer songwriter busy, Sheppard, who is a trained secondary school teacher, has recently taken on the role of music co-ordinator at a school in Auckland, where she is currently based.
And she has become a marriage celebrant.
Sheppard, who married Auckland drum and bass DJ Benn Rolls-Sheppard, or Chiccoreli, in 2009, says she ‘‘loves love’’, weddings and enjoys public speaking.
‘‘It seemed like a good way to combine my strengths and make some additional money on the side.’’
It all may seem like a lot for one person to juggle but Sheppard is used to having more than one project on the go at any given time.
She’s just wrapped up one of her busiest summers yet, performing at New Zealand music festivals Rhythm and Vines, Northern Bass, Splore - and a bunch of shows in between.
Late last year she released a new EP titled, Keta. It’s her seventh studio project and she reckons it some of her strongest work yet. This year she will be churning out a variety of work including some songs for charity, a dance project and a new drum and bass works with UK producer, Melinki.
But first, Sheppard, who describes her sound as ‘‘electronic soul meets gangster jazz’’, will be returning home next week to perform at Easter’s Purple Paddocks party in New Plymouth.
There, she says, her and DJ Aroha ‘‘will be bringing a set of dirty deep house and techno to move your body and soul’’.
‘‘I’m definitely excited to be playing Purple Paddocks, I played it before a few years back and it was epic,’’ she says.
‘‘I try to go home about four or five times a year. I love coming home to Taranaki - especially Oakura where my parents live. It’s so relaxing and comforting to be in my parents’ home by the sea.’’