Interview by Carol Wright | Photos Courtesy of Tallulah PR
We got to chat with Taryn about some of her musical inspirations, her latest single “Brand New” and advice she has for aspiring musicians.
Growing up did you have any interest in creative writing or poetry before you started writing songs?
I always loved writing and reading when I was a kid. Writing little poems in a notebook about the mundane tasks of childhood. But I’d say reading expanded my vocabulary the most. I started picking up a pen and paper much more frequently once I started writing, just for pure sanity and to gather my thoughts in a more constructive way. Sometimes a piece of writing would turn into a song, sometimes it would just sit there like a good friend listening to your fears. But I genuinely think the development of writing happened in tandem with the increase in memoirs I was reading, philosophical literature, etc. The more I wrote music, the more I wrote in general, the more I read, the more invested I became in the power of a single word.
Who are some of your music inspirations?
There are hundreds of them, I’m overwhelmed by the inspiration around me. This makes it hard to really pinpoint favorites but the running list I have now are people like Jordan Rakei, Linden Jay, Jorja Smith, Joy Crookes, Eloise, Bruno Major, Yuseff, Olivia Dean, Nick Wilson, Mathilda Homer, Arlo Parks, Ady Suleiman, Lianne La Havas, Chartreuse, & Puma Blue from the UK. The US brings us people like Richard Saunders, Elliot Skinner, emawk, Ben Lusher, Adam Melchor, WENS, Dijon, AG Sully, Jamila Woods, Alex Isley, Miette Hope, Amber Mark, Drea Rose and, my goodness, so many more! I can also sit all day and talk about singer-songwriters of the ’70s. I’m a sucker for Carole King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, the early Beatles, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, I try to pull inspiration from every decade and genre.
“Brand New” is all about growth and shedding old skin. Do you think the times we’re living in inspired the lyrics?
I do think that where we are and where we’re heading as a society will inevitably enforce the premise that we have to be willing to grow. If we’re going to progress forward in a constructive way, we have to accept what our past looked like and actively walk with the past beside us as we make better-informed decisions. The song represents this idea, that the past is as momentary and temporary as the future. If all we have in the realm of our reality is the room and people and objects directly in front of us at this moment, why constantly ruminate on what the past looked like or what the future could look like instead of looking at what’s being presented to our eyes and senses every moment of the day. Brand New isn’t mean to be a “cool I have a clean slate, everything I ever did or said in the past is null and void”, it’s meant to express “I see my past, I recognize the pain I may have caused and the pain I’ve felt, and in realizing the course of these emotions, I can now look at my present in a different way. I have the ability to reframe the reality I want to exist in.” None of this is easy to do, we love living outside the present because it distracts us from the elements of our reality we aren’t thrilled with. But working against that grain and truly finding the core of who you are as a human, what you want to say while you’re here, what you want to do, that’s more worth it than being stagnant in current endeavors. Maybe you feel you deserve the pain because you failed that one time at that one thing 5 years ago, but what we really deserve is the chance to grow from those experiences. Learn the lessons, move forward with a better frame of mind.
Were there particular artists or songs that influenced the way the song sounds?
Since the release I’ve had a lot of people compare it to Maggie Rogers, the new Lorde song/feeling, I pulled inspiration from people like Kinnship, Jack Garret, people who express emotion with instrumentals that build slowly and layer on top of each other to truly embody the idea that you can grow however you need to and whenever you need to, slow and steady wins the race.
How creatively involved were you in the making of the song’s music video?
The concept was always there since the day we demoed out the mix, I knew the visual for the track needed to hold onto the idea that we can become whoever we want over the years. To embrace the many pieces of the self as they come together in self-expression. The one-shot esque scene changes, outfit changes, and the concept overall was the idea I had before taking it to Joseph Wasilewski. Joseph made it soar. He took these concepts and created a functional way of looking at the project. We didn’t have the movie magic or the money to make a one-shot work, so we compromised the day of. We created curtain lifts, turns, doorway openings so that the character had an opportunity to change without the camera seeing. Joseph brought in the gaffer and lighting designer Richard Chilton – I wasn’t even thinking about lighting when the idea came up, I’m eternally grateful that Joseph did. I think this was a lot of collaboration and hard work from the crew, Ysa Fernandez our choreographer, Garrett Boling as AD, and all my wonderful friends that came to help out. I love the collaboration, I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
Write as much as you feel inspired to. Take the time to figure out what you’re trying to say and who you are as an artist. What imagery and creative impulses are in line with the message your soul wants to work with. Question your motivation. Are you writing songs and telling stories because you want people to look at and admire you as a being, or are you doing it because your life would be incomplete without it? I understand how important financial stability is, but that’s a lot of pressure to put on a piece of artwork. It’s delicate, fragile, subject to change and reformation, let the art flow through you. Let creativity be the thing that drives you forward, not the idea of fame or glory. And write from your heart. Write about real, raw, vulnerable, damaging experiences that ripped your emotions in two. Write about the greatest feelings of euphoria that you’ve experienced in this life. Write about your version of reality, your world, and get into the nitty-gritty of who you are, let the art reflect the inner workings and people will follow that honesty.