Name: Tessa Violet
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Tessa Violet's new single "Play with Fire," featuring Frances Forever and taken off her latest full-length album MY GOD, is out now via TAG. She will be performing a London show with Cavetown on September 24th 2023 at Alexandra Palace. For more live performance dates and tickets, go here.

If you enjoyed this Tessa Violet interview and would like to stay up to date with her music, visit her official website. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I listen to music when I'm driving in the car - when a new album I like comes out, time to go for a drive. So definitely eyes open for me haha.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

Well, my belief based on my personal experience is that anyone can learn how to write a song, because there was a day when I had never written a song and then I did. And then I learned how to get better and better at it by practice. So I do believe it is a willingness to be bad at something that allows you to become better at it.

That being said, lots of people would disagree with me on that - but my personal belief is that you can learn.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

When I was 13, I was listening to exclusive musical theatre, so I don't know if this study tracks for me - I might be the outlier ...

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

Write what's true, focus on telling your story. What's personal is universal, and don't settle until it's right.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

Discovered, definitely!

I think to be a songwriter is not to invent, but to listen and be open enough to hear the song and bring it into this realm via the portal that is you.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

When I listen to my music I always try to hear it as if it was the first time hearing it, and I think 'what does this make me think or feel? Does it feel good? Does it feel true? Is it clear what's trying to be said?'.

That's how I like to hear my music - as if it were the first time.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

I love the sound of cicadas, crickets, and birds. I like that those sounds invite you to be very present, and there isn't worry in the present moment - just acceptance.
 
From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

Within my own music I like a large spectrum of feelings and sounds - from something acoustic and sad to upbeat and bassy.
 
Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

It always starts with "what am I trying to say, who am I writing to, what do I wish I'd said to them? And how do I feel now?”

And then it's labour - to bring a song into the world is labour. Parts of it come easy, but to really finish something is to work.
 
Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Yeah! Sometimes I'll have a choice and I like both options, so I will send it to 7 people and see what hits people better.

But almost all the time it's evenly split - because art is subjective, which is a good reminder too.
 
How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

As much as I talked about writing being work, I try to let it be play - and to remind myself that's what it is.

In my life when I have work that I don't wanna do, I remind myself that it can be play and an experiment
 
Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I definitely think it's different, haha. Writing music is so deeply personal - you're letting people into your internal world, which can be very vulnerable
 
Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

Yeah - I love the song 'at the door' by the strokes.
 


If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

When it comes to my own music - just more! More art, and continuing the journey, and continuing to be a student.