Brussels-based artist Témé Tan – the alias of singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Tanguy Haesevoets – enriches his songs with a thousand faces. At times a pop griot, an electro tropicalist, a folk rapper or a festive haiku singer, this young Belgian originally born in the Democratic Republic of Congo draws on his mixed heritage, his childhood, and his travels, along with his insatiable curiosity and deep respect for the elsewhere, to produce modern, infectious pop with an electronic groove and soothing zouk.
After making crowds dance and touring the four corners of the earth with his 2017 self-titled debut, Témé Tan now celebrates his big comeback. These many trips across the globe have been fruitful, sharing the stage with the likes of Fatoumata Diawara, Milky Chance, Le Motel and Suzanne, and collaborating with names such as Frànçois and The Atlas Mountains, Elisapie or Pierre Kwenders. creative narrative, resulting in a new jewel of Afro-pop craftsmanship.
Then came the pandemic.
Simplifying his pace of life, Tanguy used the pandemic as an opportunity to take a break from the world and his musical alter ego to refocus on his loved ones and his family life. Away from the city, he built his own studio where he composed new songs and recharged his psychic batteries. Without renouncing his plurality of influences, Tanguy returned to basics to craft an incandescent second album, Quand il est seul.
Translating to ‘when he is alone’, Quand il est seul is comprised of twelve tales from Tanguy’s life. Written from a new perspective and nourished by his travels and his ecological and social commitments, the twelve tracks found on “Quand il est seul” are treated with the gentleness of dreams.
With Quand il est seul, Témé Tan proves that he has grown up, and his music with him. This second album is generous and questions our relationship to both intimacy and music, reminding us that we can also draw energy from gentleness.
Listen & order Quand il est seul: temetan.ffm.to/quandilestseul
For the release of his second album, Témé Tan is opening the doors of his home studio near Brussels, built with an earth and straw mixture. The studio came to life at the end of a sustainable, participatory project: an extraordinary receptacle for recording. It bears a name that has been with him since birth, Améthys, like an echo of his mother, a memory that marked his career, a shape emerging from the earth to become the artist's cocoon.
At the artist's invitation, Belgian director Simon Vanrie captured a few tracks from his new album Quand il est Seul on an autumn day. An opportunity to reconnect with Témé Tan's infectious live energy, accompanied by his musicians - and to discover 'un grand plat de riz', the focus track from the new album.
About the track : "By the end of 2018, I had been touring in an intensive way around the globe with a solo act for about 3 years. Fatoumata Diawara took me along a supporting act on her English tour. As we were chatting backstage, the bass player, Sekou Bah, invited me to stay at his place in Mali near Bamako where we stayed for a month. I remember how each day we would gather with his family around a big bowl of rice. I was in desperate need of a break and those moments of togetherness really rebuilt me up. There I was the ‘afropean’ being the one sort of running away from Europe and finding refuge in West Africa. I thought I wanted to write about the fact that we inevitably will be put in both roles at one point. The one of refugees and the one of the host."