words Ali Raymond / photography Romain Kedochim

Sitting in front of me in a quaint or be it slightly odd launderette stuck in time, is Roxanne Tataei. Rox for short as the giggling soul singer would rather be known.

Half Jamaican and half Persian her looks are as unique as her cheery self. Upbeat and in fits of giggles as she poses for our camera it’s clear she’s far more mature than her 21 years would suggest. And with a boastful musical CV along with her super sweet debut Memoirs about to drop this summer, the 5 foot or so lady from south London proves that all good things come in small sizes.

“I’ve always dreaded burping on stage,” she laughs embarrassingly, explaining her biggest fear and apparently a common risk when singing live. “Because when you are on stage right, you take quick glop’s and air gets trapped. I don’t know what happens but I always feel I’m about to burp.”
And there perched between the soapbox and an ‘Out of order’ dryer, she eases the mood in the simplest of ways – honesty. But that’s Rox in a nutshell. The way she writes, the way she talks and the way she feels. What you see is what you get.

Take Memoirs for example. A ‘hard graft and singular minded headspace’, it’s a beautifully sonic invite into Rox. Her myspace describes it as being “about saying goodbye to someone, saying hello to heartache and then putting a big toe back into love.”

A person to wear her heart on her sleeve, she hasn’t always been the luckiest in love, and her songs are a deep emotional reflection of this. From the soulful lead single ‘My Baby Left Me’ to the moving and uplifting ‘No Going Back’ or feel-good reggae vibe of ‘Rocksteady’ – Memoirs successfully plays with different sounds without losing lyrical attraction.

Now happily in love again, Rox explains that writing the album at the time was a great release.
“I remember writing the album over the course of 2 years and I was at a really funny place with this guy. I think there is a lot to be said about being in a devastating place – it just gave me so much fuel to write. Everything I wanted to say to him I couldn’t so I ended up writing songs instead. It helped me in a way.”

Rox was also really protective about her first very personal project.
“I suppose I was quite selfish, I just wanted it all to be about me” another big laugh. “I mean know one gets involved in my melodies or writing that’s mine ha ha. But I think musically, other people brought a great deal to the record.”

It’s a debut that finds help on production from good friend Al Shux; the talented kid from London who co-wrote and produced Jay-Z’s ode to NYC ‘Empire State of Mind’, as well as Gorden Williams; famed for his work with Lauryn Hill, Damian Marley and KRS One.

Rox also had a frenzy of interest from majors labels including EMI for the album, but in the end she decided to go for with cult independent Rough Trade Records. A very savvy decision in our books.
“I mean they [EMI] were offering more money. But for me it was about artistic integrity. I knew from having that first meeting with Rough Trade I was gonna get total creative freedom. It’s so important; because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for so long. The idea of someone coming and taking over my project freaks me out.”
A familiar story but one that arouses hope in a troubled music industry. The independent and the fan are ultimately the winners.

As she continues to illuminate on her emotions, still with a half a smile, the songs that apparently influenced her were also those with the greatest sensitivity.
“Yeah I think so. They’re the songs I connect with the most. Like Rufus Wainwright – ‘Go or go ahead’. That was the soundtrack to my life for like a year.”

There’s an argument to be made that when we feel a certain way we look to certain tunes to magnify that emotion. Someone to live on these extremes, Rox is no different.
“I definitely have certain albums for certain emotions. If I’m sad I listen to Rufus Wainwright, or Joni Mitchell.
Pretty suicidal listening?
“I’m really like that though” She bursts out “When I’m feeling a certain way I want to totally immerse myself in that emotion. I don’t know why.”

“I also like a lot of Sade because of her delicate voice and Lauryn Hill is my biggest inspiration. Two songs on the Miseducation album I listen to over and over again are ‘Ex-factor’ and ‘To Zion’. The fact that she raps and sings and they are equally both as good is amazing. I love the way she writes – she’s so poetic.”

When I begin to ask about Rox’s past and the events that molded her upbringing, it seems everything was pointing towards a life in music. At jovial Jamaican family gatherings from very young, she took any opportunity to sing above and beyond her stature, dropping short harmonies over fried fish and run-dung stew. Her Mother was the main instigator.
“I had a huge amount of support from my mum from and start an from my dad when he was there.
I started doing musical theatre when I was 7. My mum was happy to send me away for 6 weeks at a time sometimes touring the country, and she paid for everything – which wasn’t cheap! She believed in me and new it was something I wanted to do.

“I grew up with my mum and grandmother on the Jamaican side so I ‘d say I’m more Jamaican then anything. And I used to go church with my grand parents a lot because my grand dad was a pastor. That’s where I learnt to sing.”

Every Saturday at church between 9am -5pm when she was five to ten years old she’d tweak her craft, intrigued by the spiritual element of the music she heard.
“I’m not religious, spiritual is a better word. I think the main thing I got out of church my love for harmony and a story. You know I haven’t been to church for a good few years” laughing again “My grandma has been on my case actually.”

“I first started to write when my mum bought me a guitar and piano. I think I must have been 12 or 11 when I started to experiment with chords and melodies. I mean when I write I always have to start with the chord first. That’s my foundation.”

The vibrant mixing cultural pot of south London also holds some responsibility for Rox’s sound.
“Growing up in London has to have some effect on you. Maybe that’s why when you listen to the album there are lots of different textures to it. There’s a soul element, a pop element, Reggae, Hip Hop. And I can’t really pin point why, it’s just down to many things. Being from London and being Jamaican. They are just two of them.”

Of course we’ve know about this petite south London flower since way back when but many people will recognise her for filling in for a certain Winehouse and singing ‘Valerie’ on a Mark Ronson tour.

But as we finish up, she cites her biggest achievement thus far was another exciting occasion.
“The reason I say it’s not the biggest thing is because I wasn’t performing my song. The defining moment for me was when I was performed on Jools Holland”

She pauses, before in true Rox style, dropping a bombshell “It was so funny – he literally has no neck.” With that she throws the Beatnik crew into frantic stitches again. “I thought I had no neck.”

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Rox Myspace
Rough Trade Records