When Tamta puts on her pop suit, she’s nothing short of uninhibited. Her music and style are built first and foremost from the self. The Georgian-born Greek artist’s album, The Villain Heroine, is a diptych — an image of two forces as opposite as can be, facing each other. For this project, she lays two EPs, originally released separately, alongside one another, putting them in direct conversation. The Villain speaks on moments of frenzy, theft, intensity, and complication; The Heroine is a portrait of glitter, excitement, love, and rebirth. The LP is an exploration of how vast the human experience can be, and what energy swarms when antithetical truths interact.
Following her successful record, Tamta hasn’t stopped — quite the opposite. She’s kept releasing singles including Top (ft. Barbz), Soma Daneiko, Se Eida Se Mena, and Ooh Ahh, where she explores electro-pop soundscapes, and joined TEO.x3 and Vassilina on their respective tracks, Sprite and Fever Ride. With all of this new music, Tamta is scheduled to perform at London’s Colours Hoxton on 27 March, where she’ll bring together fashion, choreography, and immersive lighting for a thrilling act.
The Villain Heroine is out into the world. Has your relationship to the tracks changed since originally recording them on separate EPs?
I think my relationship just grows stronger and stronger. This LP will forever be a reflection of my artistic growth. At that point, I think I was growing, and it was something really different, especially for Greece because it’s a very culture-focused country, so what I do is not Greek at all. I dare. This is something I like.
I look back at these tracks and I appreciate more and more the work my team and I have put behind this album. I’m evolving as everybody does, I'm constantly changing. The Villain Heroine will always have a special place in my heart. Along with the identity crisis, my previous album marks a new, artistically liberated era for me. So yeah, my connection to this album is really, really strong, and I think it will stay that way no matter how much time passes. It was very honest and it still is.
I look back at these tracks and I appreciate more and more the work my team and I have put behind this album. I’m evolving as everybody does, I'm constantly changing. The Villain Heroine will always have a special place in my heart. Along with the identity crisis, my previous album marks a new, artistically liberated era for me. So yeah, my connection to this album is really, really strong, and I think it will stay that way no matter how much time passes. It was very honest and it still is.
Your shows are incredibly energetic and highly visual: flashing lights, intense dance moves, extravagant costumes. How do you, as a performer, get into the necessary headspace to bring all these elements to life and tell a cohesive story?
I think it comes pretty naturally to me. The art form I have chosen helps me to express completely and keeps me grounded. In daily life, I’m very different from who I become on stage — I love that transformation. It’s where I feel completely free. But it’s not like I follow a particular routine or mantra to get me into the ‘right’ headspace. The moment I step on stage, I lock in. Everything else is like, bye, bye. I do a two-hour show and I go through a rollercoaster of emotions. And I let myself, without hesitation, express every side of me: musically, stylistically, artistically. It makes me feel really, really good. I love it, it’s so cool.
Your performances have such a distinct, almost extraterrestrial aesthetic. Have you always felt an inclination towards the otherworldly?
I don’t know if I’m drawn to another world or just reacting against this one. But yes, I’m attracted to the otherworldly: a space with complete freedom of expression, no beauty standards, no rules. We’re artists; we don’t have to know the algorithm, what we have to do, or what other people would like us to do. I have been in this state of mind for the past three years. I became free. I started expressing myself without thinking about others. And it feels so, so good. The only thing I need to feel comfortable and happy is to create — and create without borders. So this is what I’m doing now. I’m actually amazed how good it feels because, for the past two decades, I was doing things that I kind of ‘had to’ do. It feels good to be free.
“I don’t know if I’m drawn to another world or just reacting against this one. But yes, I’m attracted to the otherworldly: a space with complete freedom of expression, no beauty standards, no rules.”
You’ve noted that this album is you “reclaiming creativity in a world run by algorithms.” If the algorithm is the villain of the music industry, who or what in your artistry is the heroine?
I think the heroine is creativity itself. The human spark. Algorithms just can’t touch instinct, emotions, imperfections; it’s a raw, messy kind of truth that refuses to be shaped by numbers and formulas. And that’s the part of me that fights back. That’s what really drives the album.
Creating a dual narrative of good vs evil for this album is an insanely sick idea. Do you think leaning into one’s villainous side is essential to their ability to be a true heroine? Do the two egos go hand in hand?
I think they definitely go hand in hand. Everything in life has at least two sides. We all carry both the beautiful and the not-so-beautiful within us. Usually, we just choose to show one side to the world. But I think the real work is to love yourself as a whole—with all those sides, good and bad—and to love others in the same way. Because I truly think that we have all those sides; we just need to work on them and decide what is good for us. And anyway, I don’t even know what a ‘bad side’ is. There are simply sides of me that need more work and self-exploration, and that’s it. We are everything. We’re all of it.
Your Georgian heritage played a role in the making of your song, Khorumi, which is inspired by a traditional war dance. In what ways do you feel like stepping into your role as a global pop star has given you the space to lean into these roots?
My heritage has shaped me in every way, both as a person and as an artist. But with Khorumi, it was finally time to honour those traditions because Georgia is a very traditional country, and we have a great culture. So I really needed to put this in my art and in my songs. I’ve felt the need for years, and I’m glad that the moment came.
I have always infused my music with Georgian elements. Sometimes I just put Georgian words in a song — nobody understands them except Georgians, but I still did it. With this, I think I took a step further. It’s a very, very special song to me, and for Georgians especially. It’s a rhythm that speaks to something deep inside. I was thrilled to see the international response to this particular song. At the shows, people have a genuine interest in it, and I‘m very proud. It’s a statement — this song is my statement. I stand with my people and those who fight passionately for freedom in general. Georgia fills me with strong emotions and a real power.
I have always infused my music with Georgian elements. Sometimes I just put Georgian words in a song — nobody understands them except Georgians, but I still did it. With this, I think I took a step further. It’s a very, very special song to me, and for Georgians especially. It’s a rhythm that speaks to something deep inside. I was thrilled to see the international response to this particular song. At the shows, people have a genuine interest in it, and I‘m very proud. It’s a statement — this song is my statement. I stand with my people and those who fight passionately for freedom in general. Georgia fills me with strong emotions and a real power.
You’ve been referred to as a queer icon time and time again. Do you feel that your artistic presence reflects the current landscape of queer culture or helps to shape it?
I would never call myself a queer icon; I would never dare to do that. That’s for others to say. From the very start of my career—maybe it’s a pop thing, I don’t know—queer people were the ones who supported me the loudest. They are still here, and they always will be my love. They will always have my love and support in return. I guess my songs are a love letter to the community. This is our safe space. And I think no one can take it from us.
This project is heavy on themes of power and vulnerability alike. Is one of these places harder for you to access than the other?
I think I live in both extremes. There are times I feel tremendous power, and times I feel completely powerless. It’s the same with vulnerability. Sometimes I can embrace it; other times, it feels too raw. The challenge is choosing one over the other. Both exist at once. Both are part of me and my art.
You have a very eccentric approach to fashion. How do you use style as a means of storytelling in your work?
Oh, I love styling. I think it’s another language for me, another way to dress my songs visually. In Greece, I’m often called daring, though I don’t always understand what that means. I don't follow beauty and fashion standards, especially in Greece. I experiment constantly because that’s what keeps me alive, and keeps my creativity alive. I love transforming into different characters, stepping into different roles; even if people don’t always understand or accept the visuals, that’s okay. It’s how I tell my story and who I am. It’s part of me.
When you step onto a stage or into a studio, do you feel that you transform into a new persona?
It definitely happens when I perform on stage. But I have always said, in the studio, it sometimes feels like giving birth to the songs. That's how I feel when I record or write a song. And on stage, it feels like a rebirth all the time. I find new things every time I perform, even in the same song.
What uncharted worlds are calling you next?
I love stepping into the unknown and exploring, even if I later realise it was not the place I wanted to go. Because sometimes you do something and you’re like, okay, was that a good place or not? But it’s still okay. I believe that there’s always a reason to explore, to experiment, to take risks. That’s what I plan to keep doing. And we will dive into my soft or aggressive side. We will try to bring new emotions to the surface. Who knows? We’ll see what happens.
