TE/MO On the Making Of ‘LOVERS, UPRIGHT & LOVERS, REVERSED’ (Double EP)
Can you tell me more about 'LOVERS, UPRIGHT & LOVERS, REVERSED (Double EP)?'
The LOVERS EP's (or the LOVERS Twins, as fans have started to refer to them!) are my second tarot-themed release. I'm calling them “clarifier” EP's, because in tarot, when you get an initial reading, any cards you pull after the first reading are called “clarifiers” and are typically used to elaborate on themes you see in the first reading. So while my first set of Tarot EP's touched on the idea of love, these EP's really dive in and explore the complications and triumphs that come with every kind of love.
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for this album to life?
I worked with a longtime collaborator, JP Warner, on a big chunk of this album, but also coming aboard for the first time is 80s-nostalgia connoisseur Joey Chelius, who produced almost all of “Upright.” The idea was for “Upright” to reflect the beginning of a relationship, with rose-colored glasses and sparkly synths, and for "Reversed" to bring in more of an edgy, rock sound to reflect what it feels like when the rose-tint falls away and everything starts to fall apart. So even though we had a great time bringing a unique feel to each track, we also used that deterioration as a guiding thread for the collection as a whole.
Can you talk about any standout tracks on the album and what makes them special to you?
Well, first of all, every song in the collection has a “sister track.” So for example, every song on "Upright" has a corresponding track on “Reversed” that is its opposite in some way. So that being said, I think one of the most interesting pairs is “Dream Guy” and “Bombshell,” because they sound completely different, but to me really represent the two ends of the spectrum of how a relationship can go. Either they're everything you ever wanted, or they end up cutting you, deep. “Dream Guy” is the potential, “Bombshell” is the fallout when that idealism goes wrong.
I also love to highlight “Neverland,” because it takes these fairytales that we all know and love, and flips them on their head. Because sometimes, in life, a situation that feels like a fairytale is actually a nightmare covered in glitter. But you often don't know until it's already too late! So to reflect that reality, we created a danceable but dark synthscape for our princesses to have to escape, like a video game.
What is your creative vision as an artist?
To make even one person out there feel less alone. Always. That is what fuels each and every piece of my writing. The initial ideas help me learn more about myself and my inner world, but then I just want to release those stories into the outer world so that they can go find the people who need them.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a musician, and how did you overcome them?
To be perfectly honest, my health. Being an indie artist is no path for the weak, and yet my whole journey as a songwriter began when I had a horrible health crisis, and writing became my way through it. So I am still dealing with that even years later, but also I am essentially the CEO, manager, marketing director, designer, etc of my own company, plus working other jobs to fund all of that. So keeping a balance in both physical and emotional health is definitely something I'm working on right now.
