Interview: Whitney Tai
Whitney Tai is an award-winning singer-songwriter and visual artist. Symphonic and cinematic, “her dreamy soundscapes deliver tantalizing wisps of surface pigments to cinematic proportions.” Tai's signature sound of electro-pop, rock, and alternative metal is powered by her nuanced, soaring vocals. Her art pop style is compared to the likes of artists such as Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Amy Lee, however, Legendary Boston programmer, DJ Oedipus says that Tai is "an artist who defies categorization." After a more pop-leaning debut of Metamorphosis in 2015 with producer Tim Janssens (Nelly Furtado, Ne-Yo, Flo Rida), they reinforced this sound on 2020’s, Apogee. Following the loss of her mother to a tragic cancer battle as a pre-teen, Tai pushed on writing music and seeking healing in the fine arts, becoming an architectural designer in Manhattan. Her departure to LA follows her late grandfather’s advice to not give up her dream as a musician where she formed a new backing band & frequented the LA scene. Tai’s cover story on the 50th anniversary issue of The Aquarian Weekly marked the beginning of a new journey, soon headlining at NAMM in 2020 and releasing her award-winning sophomore album, 'Apogee' June of that year. Tai is currently co-writing and performing music on Cleopatra Records with multi-platinum songwriter/bassist, Chuck Wright, LA rock supergroup Beauty In Chaos, English musician, Julian Beeston (Nitzer Ebb, Cubanate, Billy Idol) and Montreals, Harry Vato.
What led to you becoming an artist?
My house growing up was always very musical. My dad played guitar often and after dinner, we would perform songs by The Beatles, Neil Young, The Temptations, and James Taylor. I really enjoyed when my grandfather would tell me stories of his dad who was a Vaudeville singer-dancer and seeing how music was part of my family’s story before I was born sort of underlined the feeling I had inside. It started early in my backyard, I had this wooden swing under a massive apple tree that would bloom like wild. At sunset and sunrise, I’d write songs on the swing and run around my yard into my “mock” treehouse where I would climb up the ladder and sing out over an imaginary stage.
What inspires your music?
Inspiration for me has always drawn from the undercurrent, from the state of awareness between physical and metaphysical, ya know, quantum mechanics. The emotional sensation of a warm breeze penetrating skin, the portrait of a tear-stained cheek on a stranger's face, the sound of leaves tumbling on concrete, awareness of the space and function between the sections of your brain, the way an amber horizon touches an emerald wave infusing you to be whole even though the questions of its mystery surmount. Mother nature, kindness and suffering in their raw existences were always enough to draw ideas from. We essentially are all just individual universes ever-expanding.
Who are some of your influences?
It’s a mixed bag. I have my really young childhood influences like Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Sarah McLachlan, Fleetwood Mac, Bjork, Tears for Fears, Skunk Anansie, and Alice in Chains to name a few and then there are a few later influences like Massive Attack, Bowie, Depeche Mode, Low, Morcheeba, Agnes Obel, Thomas Newman, Radiohead and Stone Temple Pilots. I love most genres and a lot of underground artists so it’s hard to really pin it down sometimes.
What are some of your favorite memories from your career?
One of my favorite memories in this current moment was flying to Atlanta to co-produce Forever with Spencer Garn. We brought in a whole team of amazing musicians to play on this EP. Picking up and getting to a new city in my development as a budding artist with people like Spencer taught me to be experimental, know myself deeper, and trust my instincts. Also, another favorite was filming Truth Be Told with Sunfreakz. We had so much fun creating the visuals for that, ingesting Manhattan’s skyline day to night with a bed of music that inspires you to swim into a neon galaxy.
What have been some of the greatest challenges of your career?
I remember when I was so fed up with my career back East that I stood up from my desk to finally quit being a desk zombie and choose a life free of safe, cyclical comforts. I wanted to throw myself to the wind and see what losing control would feel like. I don’t think there is any higher existential crisis as an artist than expecting nothing but monotony in a static incubator. The challenge was realizing I’m not a robot. Once you remove that blinding mechanical hand moving your body parts around, there’s a joy you find as the brilliant ball of energy you are.
Which of your songs/eps or albums is your favorite? Why is it your favorite?
I think Metamorphosis will always be my favorite. She was my first, my allowance to be my deepest self. The bravery it took me to make that record with Tim and speak my truth was liberating at a time when I was finding my voice after years of trauma, mental abuse, and gaslighting from toxic people in my life. Tim really understood my songs and composed a universe around them that captured my truth. I also really love my recent collab with Beauty In Chaos “Orion” which is a dreamy goth rock anthem sticking a middle finger up to the narcissistic abusers of the planet.
You recently released your single “Free Time” with Harry Vato, is this single a precursor to a larger project? Can you tell us whether or not you’ve made any plans for your third studio album?
Free Time is my second single with Vato. He reached out to me last year to co-write and we dropped our first dance-pop collab, Dream Catcher. We enjoyed working together so much that we decided to drop, Free Time this year as a sister song. The stuff we make has its own hyper-real retro pop splash. However, my forthcoming record is not quite like anything released yet. I am really emotional about these songs I’ve been working on with co-writer/producer, Tommy Hatz. I wanted my 3rd record to elevate into a different degree of organicness and intimacy, forging new rules and reminding you of nothing you’ve heard while possessing a familiarity that holds you in its arms.
Preview “Free Time”:
What are your goals for this upcoming year?
Working on finishing this new record and getting out to play some exciting shows now that we have emerged from this strange and eye-opening hibernation. I have some amazing co-writes coming out with 80’s metal hero bassist, Chuck Wright from the multi-platinum rock band, Quiet Riot. His solo project has a debut album on Cleopatra Records coming out in May that has me writing and/or featured on 3 tracks.
How can your fans best support you right now?
Come out to shows, cop some merch on my website, tell your friends, post a cool-ass video with your favorite track, call your local radios and tell them you want to hear our music! I believe the actions in the tangible world combined with social media are powerful as hell. The dark web has watered down and numbed our real-world influence but fans are everything.
Whitney Tai’s Links: