In this interview, we chat with Terrane about influences, surviving as an indie muso in a digital age, the new project and more.
Full Q&A with links and streams below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wUo6Lq-dPw
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I grew up in London (although I was born in Australia) and would describe my music as a mixture of soundscaping & electronica with a folk & songwriting flair. I adore creating moods that indistinctly reflect emotions that I’ve been feeling and/or things I’ve been going through.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I’ve always been obsessed with vocal harmony and the voice, along with writing lyrical songs and playing piano. I’m drawn to ethereal sound design and I think it helps tie all my influences together, hopefully giving Terrane a unique aesthetic. I also love writing this kind of music; the process is very hypnotising. I learn a lot about myself and about other people when they hear the tracks.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
I think I’m lucky that creative ideas flow quite naturally to me, although I definitely have my moments when an idea will hit out of the blue, so I’ll drop everything to start writing. Ideas can start from sitting at the piano, or writing lyrics on the tube, or creating loops out of cassette tape – anything goes.
I also have some people who are very close to me and who inspire me. I work closely with an artist called Conor Jatter who’s amazing – his visuals are so important in the process. My upcoming album is coproduced by another close friend Oli Rockberger, who’s a huge source of inspiration for me.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
People have told me that ‘Over You’ is both sad but also uplifting; that’s really exciting to me – creating music that’s not distinctly one thing or one feeling. It was also needlework trying to sew together the folky nature of the song with the electronic feel. It definitely went through many, many revisions.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
I’ve met most of my closest friends on Youtube, so I’m very inclined to say that the digital age is an exciting one to live in. It’s not without its difficulties, but I love the fact the connectivity has never been easier.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
I adore cassettes! They are currently my favourite physical format. For the upcoming record, I’ve been hand-designing a few, and I think they’ve turned out great!
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard / read, you can follow me over on www.facebook.com/terranemusic, www.youtube.com/terranemusic, & www.soundcloud.com/terranemusic for more music – I have a debut record on the way that I’m very excited to share with you, dropping over the next few months.
https://soundcloud.com/terranemusic/overyou
