Barbie rocks!

Singer and songwriter Tamar Leek has poured her heart and soul in her debut alternative rock album with her old band, Reveries from Los Angeles, and is thrilled to share it with music lovers across the kingdom.

The creative Brit, known in the kingdom as ‘Bahrain Barbie’ for her colourful and vibrant stage persona, has written and produced an eight-track album called Change in the Retrograde with Sejo Navajas at 4th Street Recording in Los Angeles, US.

“The album means so much to me for a few reasons,” said the 38-year-old music producer, who will be celebrating her album launch on June 25 with a live band at a restaurant in Adliya. “I penned a lot of the lyrics when I was going through some really difficult times in my life and essentially the album is like a poetic open diary, full of my deepest thoughts, heartbreak and reflections of that time. If I had to sum the album up, I’d say it’s about analogue love in a digital world.”

Talented Tamar is grateful to Kathleen Wirt, the studio owner for seeing her potential as an artist, for investing in her project and helping her create the album that features songs called Lullaby, Into the void, Reverse Rewire, Wanna Wanna, Peachy, Parallels, Scarlett in Flames and Satellite Control.

“This album is so special and close to my heart,” said Tamar, a Mahooz resident who graduated with a performing arts degree and prefers singing her original music. “I would like to add how thankful I am to the people of Bahrain and particularly the music community for embracing me as an independent artist. It is so often that you hear people doing cover songs here and it’s refreshing when you are able to perform and share something original.”

However, she does enjoy singing covers and has captivated crowds at several locations around Bahrain with her electrifying performances. She has also showcased her skills in Dubai, Australia, the US and in the UK. Some of the more memorable places she performed at were the Dominion Theatre in London and Johnny Depp’s Viper room on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

 Tamar’s style of music is always changing, but she enjoys making pop, electronic dance and experimental tunes.

She also appeared on television and at various festivals and was the support act for boy band BLUE when they played in Bahrain.

She has a self-titled EP entitled Tamar, which she wrote and recorded in New Jersey with multi-platinum record producer David Bendeth.

Her latest album is already out on streaming platforms including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora and Anghami. It’s also on YouTube along with some of her music videos for the album. Tamar is hoping to see people supporting her at the album launch party, which starts at 7.30pm, and she will be performing all the songs in her custom-made latex dress by H of H, with corset boning, originally made and worn by Dita von Tease on the red carpet.

Aside from her music, Tamar works closely with Catalyst Latex in designing clothes. She is known for her fashion and finds it as a great way to express herself – ‘through her look and vision’.

For details, follow @Bahrainbarbie, @tamarmusicofficial and @4thstreetrecording on Instagram.