TANSU Shares New Single 'Got 2 Me'

Last month saw rising singer-songwriter TANSU release “DOWNTOWN,” the first music she has revealed from her collaboration with Dave Rublin (American Authors).  Today TANSU shares another glimpse of what they have been working on by way of “Got 2 Me.” 

The song is a simmering ballad on which TANSU allows her resplendent, powerhouse voice to shine at its fullest potential –  it's a showstopping piece of soul-pop.  “‘Got 2 Me' is a very vulnerable song about trusting someone to love you the right way,” TANSU says.  “After falling in love the wrong way, it's all the more difficult to fall in love again, correctly. This song is about that path.” 

TANSU, a name inspired by the Turkish term for the sun's radiant touch on ocean waters just before sunrise, has a diverse cultural background, with roots in Turkey and Ireland. Although she spent her formative years in London and Connecticut, she's called New York City home for the past 13 years, with a brief stint in Boston for college.

Growing up,  TANSU always felt connected to soul music, even as a child: legend has it that, as a baby, she refused to eat her dinner unless Whitney Houston's “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was playing. Some of her earliest memories involve Whitney: she remembers waking up every morning, playing with her Barbie dolls, and listening to the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack on repeat, entranced by The Voice emanating from her speakers.

Throughout TANSU's youth, the pop stars of the day were like gods: she worshiped at the altar of Mariah and the Spice Girls, artists who combined vocal chops and platinum-plated charisma with a gonzo attitude and fierce commitment to their art. 

When she enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston she was able to study pop music properly, as well as the kind of technique that would allow her to try her hand at any style she wanted – setting the stage for an artistry defined by effortless genre bending and a deft musical ear.  

After college, TANSU moved to New York and began working in fashion, a field that she describes as “another performing art,” much like music. TANSU loves fashion – and still has a lot of connections in that world, a must for any future pop star – but she says that “fashion can eat you alive.”

She speaks from experience: working for one of the major fashion houses early in her career, she began spending upwards of 15 hours a day chained to her desk, rarely seeing family and friends and burning herself out trying to be an A+ worker. Then Whitney died. The passing of her prime inspiration, someone who had provided solace and connection to her for her entire life, was a wake-up call for TANSU.

She realized that Whitney singing for the world was a great, selfless gift, and given that she too had a remarkable voice, it would be selfish if she didn't try to do the same. From then on, fashion took a backseat to her true passion: music. 

That, coupled with reconnecting with Dave who she met in college, pushed TANSU to focus on her music. Even when she found herself hamstrung or unmotivated, or when life got in the way, Rublin was relentless in pushing her to finish this body of work; their collaboration is one of perfect symbiosis, his sharp musical knowledge a perfect match for her acrobatic voice.

The sultry neo-soul epic “Downtown” is a prime example of their creative chemistry. TANSU floats among Dave's rich, undulating backdrop, the bassline hum slowly building to an ecstatic climax, mirroring TANSU's bittersweet tale of love, sex and jealousy, which attempts to interrogate the emotions that fuel nights of recklessness and partying. 

Today's single “Got 2 Me” find TANSU's voice slipping between an ingratiating low register and a clarion belt. A remarkable work of patience and skill, it's a song that feels effortless, belying the fact that TANSU has been working for this her whole life, and then some.

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

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