I recently had the opportunity to have a chat with local Indy / folk artist, Tessa Devine. Hailing from Wollongong originally, and then from Canberra, where she began her music career as a busker. After plying her trade anywhere she could for a while, itchy feet meant that Tessa purchased a van and hit the road,and after some time made her way to Cairns.
“I played wherever I could, at cafes, on the street, at bars and venues and then shows and festivals, and then one day, here I am in Cairns. This is my fifth year straight in Cairns, but I have toured up here since 2012.. well, since I started touring actually.”
I asked how the band experience compared to solo work.
“I still like to do my looping. It’s mainly vocal looping, rather than guitar, but I really wanted to keep that aspect of my show. It was actually my drummer’s idea initially. He suggested that I keep the vocal loops happening. We tried it and it worked, so that’s what we do. Is nice to have the support of a band though.”
It has been said that there are as many different styles or approaches to songwriting as there are songwriters, but the songs that become loved over time are the ones that come from the heart and soul, with little regard for commercial appeal, profitability or all of the other factors that make record companies salivate. We discussed what songwriting means to Tessa.
“Songs kind of come to me subconsciously. I can just be messing around, and a song will just fall out of me. I didn’t always understand it at the time. It takes a while, then I’m like ‘Oh, now I get it…..So that’s what I meant by that.”
“Sometimes I feel like the music just brings the feeling out and I write from there. We don’t always have control over what music makes us feel. You feel the emotion, and the words just seem to come from there. ”
“I actually wrote ‘Walk Away’ from my twin sister’s perspective. She was going through a divorce, and somehow I could feel what she was feeling, not just understand, but actually feel it. Again, it just fell out of me, and I realised ‘This is about her’. I have been through similar things in my life, but it was different somehow, kind of like a subconscious download. It was interesting to write from that perspective for the first time”
The role music plays in her life is apparent when one studies the lyrics of Tessa’s work, but also in the earnest and passionate delivery. Taking full advantage of technology in no way masks the fact that her writing comes from a pure source.
“I owe my life to music. I think it led me down a path that I otherwise might not have gone down. Enjoying music and playing and learning all these different skills, like patience and persistence and then getting to the end and thinking ‘I learned that song. It took me months but here we are’, that’s fun. I don’t know how people do without it”
I asked about upcoming local performances.
“I have a Tablelands show on the 22nd of February, at Tableland Music Lovers in Grainger Lane, Atherton. I did a show there early this year. Such a great venue.I can’t wait for it. It’s such a cool place.
“It’s a band show, so I’m really excited.”
“I will also be doing a Cairns show around the same time, and I’m off to Woodford Folk Festival this year too. I’m excited about that.”
“I can’t always control what comes out of my mouth. Curating what you say and how you say it to the audience, and introducing the songs the same way every time doesn’t reach me when I’m watching a performance. You’re not the same person every time you perform. I find myself really allowing the audience into the space. I really value being myself. I think it’s all I have to give. Who I am is who I am, and if I’m up on the stage, I want the audience to feel and see that it’s O.K. to just be themselves as well. My music allows me to be vulnerable, but the chats in between allow me to have a joke , or make light of things , and not be afraid to be me. That’s what I strive to do every time I perform, is to remember that there is no wall. I want the audience to feel like part of the show.”
“Walk away” is one of the most stropped back, acoustic songs I have done. Part of the reason for that is that it’s self produced. I don’t want to become a producer, but I did it that way mainly because of money. I needed to do as much as I could myself, and I’m excited about it. It’s a heartfelt, stripped back song, with just acoustic guitar, vocals and some harmonies.
I’m doing a launch show in Canberra, which is pretty special to me, because I started in Canberra, and because my twin sister is coming to the launch, so that means a whole lot to me. That’s happening on December 1 at ‘Smiths’ in Canberra”
“Walk away” drops on November 29 and will be on the usual streaming platforms.
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