"I call myself Saudi-fornian," Tamtam says, laughing, speaking to The New Arab from her home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The indie pop star, who is of mixed Syrian, Palestinian, Egyptian, and Saudi Arabian heritage, has a disposition that is just as sunny as the two cities she grew up in: Ojai, California, and the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
In November, Tamtam dropped her new album Ma3assalama Side B , a continuation of the 2024 album Ma3assalama Side A , in which she explores her return to Saudi Arabia after spending much of her childhood and early adulthood in California.
"Leaving California and moving back to Riyadh wasn't really an ending," she tells The New Arab. "In fact, it was a beautiful beginning. The first track on the new album is called Begin Again, because every ending is really a new beginning, and I want people to remember that, especially when they're going through a challenging time."
Tamtam is steadily carving out a space for herself in the Gulf and across the Arab diaspora, as a new generation of listeners gravitates towards the region's indie sound.
Singing in both Arabic and English, her music moves between themes of love and healing, tracing the complexities of identity while centring women's voices with quiet confidence.
Beyond her own artistry, she is deeply embedded in Saudi Arabia's rapidly evolving music scene.
As the founder of the creative hub Goast Flower and a founding member of the Saudi Music Community (SaMuC), Tamtam is helping to shape a collaborative ecosystem that brings together artists from across the Kingdom — from singers and songwriters to DJs, producers and sound engineers.
Through intimate, grassroots events, SaMuC has become a space where emerging musicians can find both an audience and a sense of belonging.
However, there was a time when Tamtam was not as out there in the public realm as she is now. She began making music at 19, releasing her first single, Little Girl, in 2012 alongside Kuwaiti music producer Zahed Sultan .
In the music video, her face is obscured; she says that at the time, she was conscious of society's judgment of female Saudi music artists and did not feel ready to show her face. It is something she addresses in her 2014 track Gender Game , where she reveals her face for the first time.
"When I first started releasing music, my family didn't want me to use my name or to even show my face," she shares.
"So, I changed my name to Tamtam and, for the first time, showed my face in my song Gender Game , which is a song that I released because of what my family told me," Tamtam shares with The New Arab. "One of the lyrics is, 'I won't share my face, I won't share my name in this gender game.' I felt, as an Arab woman pursuing music, that I had to ask for permission, whereas I felt that if I were a man, I wouldn't have had to," Tamtam adds.
"When I did the video for that song, there were so many women from all walks of life who came up to me and said the song really spoke to them and their experience." Riyadh rising Since then, Tamtam says Saudi Arabia's music landscape has done a 180. The country's music industry is now heaving with both male and female pop stars like Mishaal Tamer and Shargeeya , and DJs like female DJing duo AYA.System .
It really is a great time to be a Saudi music artist.
"So much has changed," Tamtam continues. "I think the biggest thing is people seeing that they now have a platform and a place where they can express themselves on stage. We never had live shows until 2019. Now, growing up here, you can go to a concert or a gig, and it's great for anyone with a passion for the arts, because they can see a clear path to their goals. When I was growing up here, I felt I had to go somewhere else to pursue music. But now, that has changed."
That social shift is part of the reason why Tamtam is now based in Riyadh and able to express herself fully, both musically and creatively. Music to Tamtam is not just about singing, but about working and collaborating with a range of Saudi creatives, from poet friends like Yasmine Alfaresi, who penned the track Qadar, to filmmakers like Meshal Al Jaser, who directed the video for Rise . The storytelling and visual arts elements are just as integral to her music as the singing, she says, a huge inspiration being Michael Jackson's video clips, which she remembers being like mini movies. Rise is a powerful, metaphorical song that tells the story of a young Saudi woman forced into marriage who finds her own agency and power within, and the music video is nothing short of an artistic masterpiece.
In the video, the groom is a mannequin dressed in a Saudi shemagh and thoub, a passive character who suggests he has little say in the union or little to say himself.
The song ends with her setting the mannequin on fire, bringing the video to a cinematic climax.
"It's sad that the music industry is moving away from music videos," she remarks.
"I love the depths behind visuals and how you can interpret them in your own way. Music videos allow me to extend my art." Breaking boundaries Tamtam's music has no shortage of female empowerment. Gender Game includes a recording of a speech by American feminist and activist Betty Friedan , an influential figure in the American feminist movement in the 20th century.
In Tistahelny , she forms a trio with Egyptian artist Felukah and Sudanese rapper Nadine El Roubi that screams girl power.
While in Ismak , Tamtam challenges Saudi cultural norms; there, women perform the Ardah, a traditional sword dance usually reserved for Saudi men, who would perform it before and after battle. Nowadays, men perform it on special occasions such as weddings or Eid.
"In Ismak , I use the Ardah melody, but the lyrics are about love, and it's women performing the Ardah," she explains.
"I wanted to celebrate women and how we have so much emotion. A lot of the time, that is held against us, but to me, it's so beautiful and powerful. We're so strong because of that."
Her latest track, Cry , incorporates contemporary dance, another new genre for Tamtam, working with Saudi choreographers Soony and Mariam Murshed .
Again challenging gender norms by wearing traditional floral-print cotton dresses, thoub nashal, traditional gold jewellery, and a bisht, she sings about letting your guard down, feeling your feelings, and healing through crying.
"It is not a sad song," she says. "It's actually a positive song. It's about letting yourself go through the emotional roller coaster you have to go through and just healing, because crying is one of the best ways to heal." Tamtam's music is available to stream and download on Spotify Yousra Samir Imran is a British-Egyptian writer and author based in Yorkshire. She is the author of Hijab and Red Lipstick, published by Hashtag Press Follow her on Instagram: @ writereadeatrepeat