THE GOLDEN AGE OF WHITNEY TAI
One of our own favorite discoveries is Los Angeles-based artist WHITNEY TAI. Her cinematic blend of electro-pop, rock, and alternative metal is powered by her velveteen, honey-coated soaring vocals along with fine art imagery. The New York City native also balances her time as an architect and designer which explains the delicately-crafted visual periphery that accompanies her lush, expansive sound. She recently released her brand new full-length LP, APOGEE - a transportive and emotive 10-track offering that blends sublime, atmospheric harmonics with her own brand of modern pop rock edge and a touch of ‘90s alternative nostalgia. Her vocal style reminiscent of Sarah Mclachlan, Chromatics, Goldfrapp, Tori Amos and even at times, the late Scott Weiland, carries a wide dynamic that showcases effortless power and control - especially most evident in her tracks “Surrender,” “Righteous” and '“Electrified.” ABSYNTH got to sit down with Whitney and discussed all the details behind her unique and compelling artistry.
How did you initially get into music?
Whitney: Music really chose me. My parents said as a baby, I would hum and sing nonsense words or dance to music and already felt I was musically inclined. My dad played singer-songwriter and classic rock songs on guitar in the house every night and we would practice together all the time. From writing really deep and painful poems / songs from age 7, it was sort of this natural progression into performing. I began to partake in school talent shows, plays, seeking private music instruction and performing until it led me to the right producer for my first single. It was tough at first because my initial stage fright was super legit.
What is the story behind your recent latest release, Apogee?
Whitney: Apogee is like being in my backpack the last few years. I wrote these songs over the span of 2 years of leaving my home city of New York and relocating across the USA. I wrote a few of these tracks when I lived in Portland and the rest in LA. I was struggling for a while to find the right way to describe what I had experienced with all the loss and abuse I was wrapped up in but after a late night conversation with my co-writer Emer the evening we wrote Incantation, I described I’d been in pain for quite some time. I explained how I had been putting myself second to tend to the needs of those who needed me and these tracks were my detachment from that pain, feeling like a revolving satellite or observationist that finally got a moment to just be. Apogee is having clarity, suspension and resolve to reflect on traumatizing emotional stimuli the universe tests us with.
How long have you been producing music and tell us about how you got started and your history?
Whitney: I love crafting songs, been doing it since I was old enough to remember. I love everything about it from exploring verbiage and word relationships to the mechanics that make up the composition where I can explore my fascination of rhythm, tonality and dynamics. I especially love how certain notes and chords can invite a certain type of word and its shape. It’s probably why I later went to study architectural design, form and function are beautiful processes I continually want to move through.
Who are your musical influences and heroes. Is there anything in particular (whether it’s a film, event, occasion, era) that has shaped your creative perspective and stylistic direction?
Whitney: I would say I am very much shaped early on by artists like Pink Floyd, Bill Withers, Sarah McLachlan, Michael Jackson, The Police, Celine Dion and Fleetwood Mac. Once I got into my young & angsty teen years, I noticed I was really into metal, alternative rock, trance, R&B, and house music, listened to a lot Tool, Killswitch Engage, RA, Alice in Chains, Chris Cornell, Metallica, Linkin Park, Korn but loved electronic acts like Paul Oakenfold, Oceanlab, Portishead and The Chemical Brothers.
What got you into electronic music?
Whitney: One year when I was on a vacation in Pompano Beach, I met these two really cool teens from Argentina who shared a playlist with me of some really dope Pop Italo-disco dance music and I felt my ears explode with excitement since I hadn’t heard synth sounds like that before. I loved the beats, melodious voice and leads and the way the instrumentation or production sort of lifted you out of reality into another hyperreal dimension. I’m pretty sure I had heard other really cool electronic music prior to this that impacted me but for some reason this stands out.
What direction do you see your music going in the future?
Whitney: I think as all art does, it evolves away over time from the unnecessary into the purest form of itself before it reincarnates into the next body it needs to manifest a new experience. I’m just a humble servant and the direction I intend to go is where my crazy life and love for all of creation can guide me. It began as a seed of love and connection and I wish for nothing more than to always further and deepen that bond.
Do you plan on touring (as soon as the pandemic gets under control)? Dream lineup and co-bill?
Whitney: It’s definitely on the top of my list of priorities once it becomes safe again. My dream lineup or co-bill would be something like: Interpol, Moby, Bjork, Stone Temple Pilots, Goldfrapp and Aurora. Eclectic, emotional and ethereally themed.
What would you say is the most important thing about being a musician today and what continues to inspire you and drive you?
Whitney: In 2020, a time when our world of liberties and freedoms are deeply pressing with urgency for change, music is still a tool to speak powerful wisdom to our contemporaries. Music is communication and connection. It’s a living, breathing organism that allows artistic expression to be consumable. What drives me is the 8 year old girl inside who cared about making the world a better place by being a confidant to others through creating something meaningful that makes others feel less alone or less valuable in this big ole nutty place.
Do you have new releases coming soon?
Whitney: I am currently working on some new solo songs that are stripped, dreamy and super intimate that I’m really excited about. I am also working on the very first single in my new dark mood rock project, The 1905, which we are pushing hard to have out by the holidays. Few interesting collaborations in the fire too. Music video stuff too, lotta goodies =)
For more Whitney Tai, visit www.whitneytaimusic.com
