An Interview with Tirzah (ISsue 7)

Tirzah: Growing up I thought more about working in the fashion and textile industries. Singing was always something I liked doing by myself, when there was no one else around!

Tirzah: I never could really imagine myself playing the harp for a living. I wasn’t enjoying my lessons but I connected a lot with the musical focus and its constant presence at that school. It was good, having just that one element in common with all the other kids. I did meet lifelong friends there, one of whom was Mica, who I’ve written songs with ever since. 

Tirzah: It was always something I was really interested in, art, design and textiles. I spent most of my time in the art room at school so it was a natural progression. 

Tirzah: I’d say the harp studies and the singing/songwriting were very separate in my mind. I was never actually really listening to classical music in my spare time, which was the only repertoire I played at school so there was definitely a disconnect in interest there too. I didn’t know about Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby at the time. Things might have been different had I discovered them or been shown different genres that could have been played. I obviously didn’t have the initiative or the drive to look elsewhere either! 

Tirzah: I’d say the people that inspire me most are the artists in my friendship groups who are local or have been local to me. They’ll also recommend that I take a listen to something every so often if they’ve come across something or someone they like. Artists like Klein, Aissia Ghendri, Lorraine James, Anja Ngozi, Still House Plants. 

Tirzah: I’m rarely compelled to write anything that isn’t put to a sound or a melody. To my mind the words in the songs I write with Mica are poems. It feels free-er and less constrained that way. Lyrics feel more rigid.

Tirzah: I do naturally write more about human thoughts and emotions. They’re universal and are of particular interest to me. Love is also always a reoccurring exploration. Across different creative mediums, inspiration for songwriting is generally more insular whereas inspiration for live shows opens up interest in dance, theatre, art, lighting design and other live music shows. It takes a lot of fine tuning, and usually feels ‘ready’ when you’re at the end of the tour! 

Tirzah: It can be minutes or it can take longer, in which case it’s either scrapped or rewritten. It also depends on the music and whether the vocal melody has been found first and needs words. Sometimes it’s written in stages spread across different recording sessions. 

Tirzah: I struggle when it comes to videos! I enjoy throwing ideas around and been involved to a degree but I heavily rely on and hand over the task to others whose work I really like or who’s ideas I think are really interesting. 

Tirzah: I usually work at home and can be any time of day though mainly evenings up until now. In the past I’ve worked alot at Micas house /temporary studios and also the The Room Studios in Hitch Green. Usually whenever it is, its usually fairly local which is how I prefer it. Writing where there’s a window is always a real positive.