Hiya t.e.d thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today, grab a brew and take a seat.
What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
Music has always been a part of my life, but was always something I was so certain I didn’t want to pursue a career in because I knew it would be lead with endless trying to make it and force me into the public eye to be seen, which is something I was always terrified of. When I was about 18/19 I went to study Philosophy but ended up so miserable and aimless.
As a headstrong person, I knew that I would rather be happy and be always working towards the goal, than be doing a career that I was unhappy in. So I dropped out literally two months before finishing, packed up and started studying music and all the things that I dreamed of being, but was too afraid of pursuing.
Introduce us to your musical history!
I have had a wild music history! I have been singing for as long as I’ve had a voice to use, writing short poems I could hum a melody to.
I remember when I was about 4, my Aunt missed my school play, so I stood up and gave the performance in the middle of a shopping centre. I have always been so fascinated by the voice and how to use it. I didn’t start looking into music theory or instruments until I went to study music at 20.
I quickly became obsessed with songwriting, spending all my days living through poetry and expressing my depression of the time. This led to collaborating with my current band, allowing me to orchestrate the vision I had, ultimately leading to t.e.d.
Name me your 3 favorite albums?
It is ever-changing, but currently, it is
It’s Called: Freefall – Rainbow Kitten Surprise
Teens of Denial – Car seat Headrest
Vertigo- EDEN
What was the first song you heard that steered you into a music path?
A change gonna come – Sam Cooke
I used to listen to this song on repeat when I was lost, it always felt so close to what I wanted to do with what I wrote, and It inspired me to delve into music as a pursuit.
The music industry is the hardest industry in the world to progress in, how do you feel you are doing?
I feel like it was a very slow start, with my first EP ‘Halfpace’ and single ‘Black Smoke’, I didn’t know what my identity was as a human, let alone an artist.
After taking a hiatus and really developing my sound, I was able to come back with full force, and have luckily been received with great reception from fans who have stuck with me since the beginning, and new ones I get to make at each live show.
Hopefully, I can continue this momentum with music set to release later this year.
What’s your thought on Spotify’s monopoly on the music industry?
It could be better. It is extremely hard to make a mark in the industry already, so having a streaming service game to play is very stressful.
, I think this only motivates me to work harder, making sure my music is the best it can be to cut through all the noise.
Do you sign up for any conspiracy theories?
Do ghosts count? I have always had a sneaky sixth sense when the atmosphere feels strange, so believe in all the supernatural becomings and intuitions.
What was the worst experience on stage?
I have had my fair share of bad experiences on stage. My top would have to be at a live show, the event organisers didn’t secure the roof, so water started dripping onto our electric gear.
We begged them to cover it up, but the sound engineers just told us to go for it, so we had to play a show with the impending doom of possibly being electrocuted.
Tell us something about you that you think people would be surprised about.
I am obsessed with black cats. They are viewed as bad luck, but are so enchanting and beautiful, they must be good. I have a little one called Pickle, and she is the love of my life!
What makes you stand out as an artist?
Obsessive transparency. My one goal as an artist is to be myself, completely real, unfiltered. This lets fans see every step, every struggle, every dream that comes true.
I think as a listener myself, we often don’t see how much work this all takes to just exist as an artist, so I want to honour the people and fans who have helped me through all these struggles and lifted me up. I want my fan base to view it as family, where no one is left out or unloved.
I hear you have new music, what can you tell us about it?
I’ve just released a single called ‘Sweet Devil’. It follows the idea that we make excuses for people and inevitably hurt ourselves in the process.
It is one of my favourite songs I’ve written, so full of different nuggets of sonic goodness. I have a few exciting releases planned for later in the year as well. All I can say is to expect the unexpected!
Talk me through the thought process of the new tune.
I always start with a melody or lyrics I like when writing new songs. But for ‘Sweet Devil’ I came up with the guitar line first, envisioning different rhythms to surround it, but wasn’t sure what to do lyrically.
As a queer artist, I was struggling with the idea of religion and commitment to something intangible at the time, so knew I wanted to form the song around something sinful and disobedient, thus the concoction of sweet sounds was made.
What was the recording process like?
I had so much fun recording this one! It was recorded at the same time as ‘Let Me Be’ so the recording days definitely morphed together!
My favourite part was that I got to collaborate with some exceptional musicians, experimenting with sounds and ideas with them to create something new and unexpected.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tune?
It was trying to make all these rhythms make sense together! And my mixing engineer (Cal Lewis) spent months just trying to perfect the different rhythm sections in the song.
We had to take out and add a few parts along the way, but the mixing process was definitely the most challenging, because we both wanted perfection so pushed each other every step of the way!
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Absolutely not. I spent just under a year perfecting this into what I envisioned, so every sound is completely intentional and reflects the struggle and thoughts I had at the time of writing it.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Your true self is your best self! I have spent my whole life trying to fit into a box, but in reality, I am the box. If I can be a weird voluptuous queer artist, you can be anything.
The world is scary and strange enough, we have this amazing community in one other, this is where our focus and love need to be, supporting the weirdness of us all.
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