Harp Of Gold: TATYANA On Her Influences
Her new EP 'Shadow On The Wall' is extraordinary...
*TATYANA* is - outwardly, at least - something of an anomaly, a unique figure on the landscape.
A songwriter who works with a harp, a chance entry into London's subterranean rave landscapes flipped her imagination upside down.
Travelling through Holland, exploring her Russian heritage, and settling in Boston - where she attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship - TATYANA returned to her home city of London in 2017.
Since then, she's allowed her music to gestate, formulate, and evolve, signing to Captured Tracks side-label Sinderlyn in the process.
Remarkable new EP 'Shadow On The Wall' is out now, a snapshot of her unrelenting creativity, and her desire to move forward.
In spite of her idiosyncrasies, however, TATYANA has deep musical roots, something she explores with Clash.
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*Teebs (ft. Rebekah Raff) - 'Verbena Tea'*I found this track recently and was blown away by it. I love the world they created here; the production really compliments the harp. It sounds like flowing water to me.
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*Catriona McKay - 'Kronos Reel'*I will forever love this album. It’s just harp and harmonium, but Catriona McKay is such a master - she brings all these internal melodies in her playing, it’s so intricate and stunning to listen to. Well worth hearing the whole record.
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*Joanna Newsom - 'Baby Birch'*My favourite song by Joanna, it always makes me cry. I saw her play live at the Orpheum Theatre, and I’ve never seen anyone so beloved by her fans, people were screaming and crying the whole way through.
She played this song that night and it cut me to the bone. Incredibly moving.
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*Dorothy Ashby - 'Soul Vibrations'*The beat is so nasty. The song is so ahead of its time - it sounds kind of psychedelic with the dub-like delays and sound effects. I’ve always wanted to play harp on a dub track.
Dorothy is just so damn cool, and truly a pioneer!
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*Zeena Parkins with Ikue Mori - 'Inquisitive Finguers'*This track is a wild ride. I used to spend hours watching all this live concert footage of Zeena doing her thing on YouTube. I don’t know of anyone who’s pushed the envelope of the instrument sonically like she has.
I love duos and Zeena and Ikue communicate beautifully here - they really compliment each other.
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*Low Leaf - 'Take Time'*I heard this in high school and loved it - Low Leaf is a whole vibe.
I’m a bit of a multi-tasker myself, so I respect the brain power it takes to do all these things simultaneously. I also just love the song, the harmony is really interesting and surprising.
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*Alice Coltrane - 'Journey Into Satchidananda'*It can’t be a list about harpists without Alice! She’s a huge inspiration to me, not just her music but her whole life.
The story goes that John Coltrane gave her a harp on her 50th birthday and since she was already an accomplished jazz pianist, she invented her own technique without ever having a lesson. Alice was a healer too, and I think her energy and flow and openness allowed her to access places and music that had never been heard before.
She has a totally unique way of playing and I absolutely love it.
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'Shadow On The Wall' EP is out now.
Photo Credit: *Nwaka Okparaeke*
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