NYC based artist tam tam’s debut album Pure Helium via Regional Bears is an invitation to listen carefully. Within a meticulously assembled collage of field recordings, interspersed with acoustic guitar and white noise, tam tam creates an organic LP; one that captures the sonic world as she internalizes it. Pure Helium weaves audio files into a cohesive body that is both intimate and honest.
tam tam’s use of tape loops and recordings in Pure Helium creates an effect of proximity. The album begins with the track “Rope,” where an acoustic guitar fractures into textured pieces, serving as an introduction to “Painted Box,” in which vocal and guitar samples oscillate alongside recordings of chirping birds. Over the course of the album, Pure Helium grows more experimental. “1” is composed of purely field recordings, representing a sonic footprint of tam tam’s life, while “Water in the House” incorporates samples of natural textures interlaced with guitar to create a sense of balance and harmony.
Repetition is a persistent theme throughout Pure Helium. In “Parking the Car,” tam tam repeats the track’s title, giving a mundane act newfound significance. Later on, in “2,” tam tam incants the words, “the ringing…the ringing” over and over. Throughout Pure Helium, samples are reused, but in each track, find new meaning.
This is why the album’s closing track “Gm” stands out. The song is continuous, made up of one guitar loop and overarching melody. It is a reflective lullaby, a closing remark, to the intimate narrative that is Pure Helium.
Listen to Pure Helium, available on bandcamp and on cassette at select record stores around NYC
*** Mark your calendar for tam tam’s album release at Stone Circle Theatre 6/12 ***
