Steffie Timanti embodies the notion of independence, stepping away from the music industry and its norms to create her own small, but perfectly formed movement of her own. Her music is deep, tribal in places and emotive, inspired by artists like Damian Lazarus and his ilk, incorporating a myriad sounds from around the globe to nurture a sound that inspires and uplifts in equal measure. It’s been a year of growth and experimentation for Timanti, so we thought she’d be a great subject for our 2017 Issue – below you’ll find an exclusive mix and a brief chat about 2017…
2017 has been another crazy year on planet Earth, what have been some of your own personal highlights?
A lot has happened this year! It’s really hard to pick one highlight as I’ve been blessed with some amazing projects! I took a risk and decided that the music industry was too oversaturated. That led to me launching my own project to take my musical career down a completely different angle in a whole other industry, focusing on community, adventure, experience, wellness and mind expansion in the form of ‘Tribelife’ & ‘TIMANTI and The Tribe’. This in turn has opened me up to several out of this world opportunities including collaborations with other likeminded tribes, including a festival called Colors of Love, in Italy, with my sisters Wild Sirenda and Beyond Archipelago; which was a self-guided festival experience held on a bunch of uninhabited islands in Sweden. I’m now a part of the Beyond Adventures team, curating the next adventure festival experience in March 2018 – Beyond Sahara – where I will be celebrating 30 years on planet Earth.
My radio shows have been a lot of fun this year too! Huge thanks to all the guests that have joined me on Pyro Radio and all the listeners, too! I was also recently invited to join the Radar Radio family too, so now I have two monthly shows, giving me the privilege to share even more exciting music from around the globe and beyond!
Which news stories (positive or negative) have really impacted on your life this year?
There seems to be a constant stream of negative news, which has really in effect made me even more grateful to wake up each morning. If you’re reading this you are a fortunate person, you are alive. I try to remember this every time I am presented with sorrow.
Have you discovered any new countries, town or cities? If so, tell us about where you went please.
Earlier this year I journeyed deep into the jungles of Mexico after I spent some time at BPM Festival. Whilst I was there and managed to persuade one of my best mates, Freddie Fiers (she’s also a DJ/Producer – check her out), to fly over from San Francisco and come on this fantasy quest with me to discover Las Pozas, a surrealist castle in the beautiful Magic Town of Xilitla. The whole experience felt like a dream! We saw elves, a clown, climbed staircases to nowhere and more. I have the imagination of a child and find places like this most inspiring. It’s now my favourite place in the whole world; in fact the opening track of the mix is called ‘Xilitla’ which I made after my trip there!
Did you start the year with any clear goals? If so, what were they and have you managed to achieve them?
I try to keep my goals as flexible as possible to allow room for adjustments and flow. This way I’m free to adapt with the ever-changing landscape of the path I’ve chosen. I have been very lucky through doing this, it has honestly led to the opening of doors that I hadn’t even imaged could be possible.
What have you learned this year: a) About yourself? B) About the world/life in general?
I’m really sensitive and used to see this as a bad thing, however I’m now learning to embrace it and channel it into my creativity. This enables me to connect on a deeper emotion level with people through everything I do, especially through my art, music and events! It also means I’m quite tuned into energies so need to spend quite a lot of time recharging and taking care of myself. Love, health and happiness are the most important things in life, if you find beauty in the simplest things, keep focusing on the present the rest will follow!
Would you call 2017 a good or a bad year, and why?
I’ve learnt a huge amount this year! It has had it’s fall backs but I’ve chosen to use all these moments as time for growth and adaptation. Especially on a personal level having been reminded multiple times of my own morality and how precious life really is. I’ve really honed in on the fact that health and happiness are the key to a fulfilled life. I’ve spent more time with my loved ones and been blessed with some amazing opportunities which I’m very excited about. Truly, I am grateful. ‘When we turn our faces to the sun the shadows fall behind you.‘ (Slightly adapted Maori proverb).
Now that 2017 is almost over, what are your plans up until the end of the year?
I have a lot of new projects coming up which I’m really looking forward to sharing with DLTM first!
I’ll be throwing my last dance of 2017 at my favourite London venue, Grow in Hackney Wick on Friday 8th December. I’m really looking forward to playing all night long with some big surprises in store. The TIMANTI and The Tribe/Tribelife parties I’ve held at Grow this year have been some of my best nights of 2017 (THANK YOU to everyone who’s been involved – these parties are so epic because of each of you coming together to create this beautiful community which has expanded way beyond the dance floor). If you’re reading this, you’re invited! Come down and celebrate life with your tribe. It’s a free party and will be my last show in the UK before heading off to play my debut gig in Kenya, Africa at the Kilifi New Year, which I’m super excited about!
Finally, can you recommend an album or a musician or a visual artist you’ve discovered this year?
There are so many so I’m going to pick one of each! Album: Dhafer Youssef – Divine Shadows [2006] a spiritual infusion of Arabic, Jazz and Electronica, huge thanks to Rob Simpson for introducing me to this album when I was in Sweden!
Musician: I already knew about him prior to this year but Laolu has once again blown my mind with his remix of XOA – Diaspora! Watch out for this future star! Also O’Flynn! I’ve been supporting his records on my shows on Pyro & Radar Radio, another one to keep your eyes on.
Visual artist: Again not a new discovery but he’s part of the Tribelife family and continues to impress me with his expanding talents and skills – Bless Elska. Such a blessing to have him on the team… He’ll be joining me at Grow on 8th December for the final dance of 2017.
The post 2017 Issue: TIMANTI On Her Year Of Progress + Mix appeared first on Don't Lose The Magic.
