Natalie Chami (b. January 27, 1987) is a Canadian-born Lebanese American who adopted the TALsounds moniker in 2009 for her explorations in drone, ambient, and improvisational music. Over the past 16 years, Chami has built a multifaceted career as a solo artist, first in Chicago and now in the Washington, D.C. area. Through her synth work, operatic vocals, and nuanced sculpting of mood and atmosphere, her music balances the deeply personal with the transportive. Her performances, whether grand or intimate, reveal a constant evolution through improvisation and collaboration.
Chami has released music across cassette and vinyl with labels including Hausu Mountain, Tabs Out, and Moog’s in-house imprint. Her first full-length LP as TALsounds, Love Sick (2017, Ba Da Bing Records), was followed by Acquiesce (2020, NNA Tapes), produced by Cooper Crain. Pitchfork praised Acquiesce for going “deeper rather than bigger” and described its songs as “uniquely designed to pull you into them.” The Chicago Reader named Love Sick one of the best albums of the decade, and The Fader highlighted Chami as “one of America’s most compelling DIY artists.”
Her most recent LP, Shift (2023, NNA Tapes), marks a stylistic turn. Known for her warm, analog-driven sound crafted on vintage synthesizers, Chami instead used exclusively hardware digital and FM instruments for this release, creating a crisp, minimalist, and crystalline palette. She intentionally collaborated with women of Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) descent, including Oakland-based Afghan-American producer Maryam Qudus (mixing and additional production), Brooklyn-based Egyptian engineer Heba Kadry (mastering), Chicago-based Palestinian artist Mary Hazboun (album art), and D.C.-based Lebanese photographer Farrah Skeiky (press photography). “We’re out here,” Chami says, highlighting her commitment to representation in experimental music and art.
On stage, Chami has opened for artists ranging from Merzbow and Tim Hecker to Mary Lattimore and Mdou Moctar, captivating audiences with immersive sets. She has toured across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including a 2018 run with Haley Fohr (Circuit Des Yeux). As a member of the trio Good Willsmith, she toured extensively from 2012–2018 and released nine albums, including collaborations with Dustin Wong and Takako Minekawa (Umor Rex). She also performs in projects such as Damiana (with Whitney Johnson) and Mirror Ensemble (with Johnson and Brett Naucke).
Her creative work extends into film scoring and sound installations. In 2020, she scored Head to Head, a documentary exploring women’s experiences with hair loss due to alopecia, lupus, and chemotherapy, which was screened at multiple festivals. In 2021, she composed a 30-channel piece for Experimental Sound Studio’s Sonic Pavilion Festival at Millennium Park, creating an immersive canopy of sound described by ESS as “a fluid sonic architecture that bridged the focus of a live performance and the majesty of the surrounding cityscape.”
Beyond performance, Chami helped establish The Chicago High School for the Arts, serving as Vocal Chair and designing curriculum in vocal technique, music technology, and anti-racist, trauma-informed pedagogy. Since 2010, she has maintained a private music studio, and in 2019, she became a video host for Reverb.com. She currently serves as Category Content Specialist for Synthesizers at KORG USA, where she develops educational content, designs sounds, collaborates with the international team on product features and messaging, produces marketing videos, and contributes to global campaigns.
Chami continues to share her expertise through workshops and lectures at institutions including Northwestern University, George Washington University, CalArts, American University, and the University of North Carolina. In 2023, she served as a Round Two Panelist for the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. In 2025, she was invited to join Experimental Sound Studio’s inaugural Artist Advisory Council, helping relaunch online performance programming with international artists at the forefront of synthesizer- and electronics-based sound art.
Short Bio
Natalie Chami (TALsounds) is a Canadian-born Lebanese American musician and educator based in Alexandria, VA. Known for her work in drone, ambient, and improvisational music, she blends vintage analog synthesizers, operatic vocals, and immersive atmospheres into distinctive sound worlds. Chami has released music on Ba Da Bing, NNA Tapes, and Hausu Mountain, toured across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and received coverage from Pitchfork, The Fader, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. Her latest album, Shift (2023), departs from her warm analog palette and explores FM and digital synthesis, featuring contributions from SWANA women in production, art, and photography.
Chami was founding Vocal Chair at The Chicago High School for the Arts (2009–2021), developing the voice department and trauma-informed, anti-racist curriculum. She also leads workshops at universities, scores films, creates sound installations, and is the Category Content Specialist for Synthesizers at KORG USA. In 2025, she was invited to serve on Experimental Sound Studio’s first-ever Artist Advisory Council, supporting the development of new online programming for artists in electronic and sound art.