Soon six years will have passed since the Cappuccino Songs was released, a span of time almost as long as the time that passed between the release of her first five albums. In early 1995, just before Lovers in the City was released, I remember thinking that the three year wait for new material that followed Eleven Kinds of Loneliness was painfully long, given the hectic release schedule of the previous albums. In comparison, the six year break (and counting) since her last release can seem like cruel and unusual punishment. It is inevitable that rumours and speculation surface during an absence such as this: has she found a new record label? has her enthusiasm for Cesaria Evora found its way into the songs she is writing? is she still taking yoga classes? has she done away with the polka dot dress worn on the I Don't Want To Lose At Love single?
It doesn't surprise me that rumours of Ms. Tikaram's death have reached this message board. In the myopic, hysterical world of celebrity, Tanita's silence amounts to a kind of death, though inherent in this figurative death is the possibility that the artist involved will be liberated from the perceived necessity of maintaining a public image, regardless of whether or not they actually have something to say. We can only hope that Ms. Tikaram has benefitted from her time away from the spotlight. I am inclined to think that she has fashioned her career in a manner that allows for periodic silences. We can be grateful that she will probably never be the subject of a tasteless MTV Where Are They Now? special: the media never really knew where she was to begin with.
