Wonder Woman of the Week: Tal Ben Ari

The musician spotlight for this week’s post maintains and impressive repertoire of talents; performing in not only a wide range of genres, but a wide range of languages. As a lead member of five separate bands and singer in five different languages, the spotlight for this week is a role model for her multi-tasking skills alone. But on top of all of these feats of musical fortitude, this week’s Wonder Woman is also a mainstay of the international music initiative known as “Playing for Change,” a group designed to spread peace through the power of song. The Wonder Woman of the Week is multi-linguist musician Tal Ben Ari.

Tal Ben Ari- better known by her stage name “Tula”- was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and almost immediately took up the performing arts. By the age of seven, Ari was already exploring the worlds of singing, piano, and dance studies and spent all of her childhood free time exploring these activities. While the young Ari child showed talent in a wide spectrum of arts, she developed a passion for music and progressed in her studies to learn about the jazz, soul, and Mediterranean folk genres. [1]

In 2005, Tula relocated to Barcelona, Spain and began collaborating with different bands to expand her range of music. She began working with groups three projects, “08001,” “Peret,” and “La Lucrezia.” She later joined four bands as the lead singer for “Gema 4,” “Asikides,” “Los Moussakis,” and “Man Ex Maqina.” The later bands would help expand her talents to Cuban folk, Mediterranean traditional, Balkan influential, and Electronic Acapella. [2]

In 2006, Tula joined the international music movement “Playing for Change,” and recorded several collaborative songs with other international musicians, recorded several music videos, and toured with the group promoting peace through art. The experience helped evolve Tula’s signature sound and she went on to write music based on the different artists she collaborated with along the way. In 2012, Tula collected her compositions and produced her first solo record, “Sheela.” On this record alone, she recorded songs in five separate languages and fused folk music from across the globe to represent the diversity of her musical talent. [2]

Tal Ben Ari evolved from childhood to go from singing jazz as a seven year-old in Tel Aviv to singing folk music of multiple continents as a full-fledged musician on tours across the world. Tula makes her music to promote peace and unity, actively engages herself in learning music from every musician she encounters, and manages several multi-genre bands.

“Tal Ben Ari ‘Tula’.” Playing for Change. np; nd. Web. 18 January 2017.

“Tal Ben Ari.” WhatAbout Music. Last.FM; 2017. Web. 18 January 2017.