Messy nights out within the pub, conquering stage fright and phrases of knowledge from Dave Grohl himself: TTSSFU – or Tasmin Stephens – has had a wild 18 months. Between driving the rollercoaster of life, the Wigan-born, Manchester-based DIY artist has shortly turn out to be one of many north-west’s most enthralling new acts.
When NME catches up together with her on Zoom shortly after the discharge of ‘Name U Again’, the primary single from her upcoming EP ‘Blown’ (out August 29), she describes the final weeks as an emotional whirlwind. “I used to be actually frightened in regards to the single,” she admits. “I didn’t assume it’d do very effectively. I’ve simply listened to it a lot that I used to be like, ‘Oh, that is shit!’, however now it’s out I’m like, ‘Oh no – that is really the most effective factor I’ve ever launched!’”
She would possibly now be driving a inventive excessive, however the EP’s inception was a problem. Stephens discovered herself battling author’s block and imposter syndrome – “I actually needed to die. I’d simply been signed and I couldn’t write a factor!” – instantly after being taken on by Partisan Data (Fontaines D.C., Geese). On high of that, her personal evaluation of her current stay performances had her doubting what she was making. “I realised my stay units had been actually doomer and never very… enjoyable,” she says. “So my purpose was to jot down some completely satisfied pop songs, however as I wrote them, nothing felt sincere or actual.”
It was solely as soon as she’d met somebody who “actually pissed [her] off” that she felt capable of write once more. The result’s ‘Blown’: an abrasive, glitchy EP that takes reference from The Remedy, Wolf Alice and Sky Ferreira. It follows Stephens as she navigates her very early maturity; the punky opener ‘Cat Piss Junkie’ is “a chaos night-out anthem”, whereas the shoegazey ‘Endlessly’ is an ode to the musician’s greatest good friend.
“After which it slowly begins going actually downhill, into the deeper emotions of what’s happening…” she says. ‘Sick’ is a gothic descent into all-consuming lust, earlier than she polishes off the EP with the Xiu Xiu-inspired ‘Being Younger’. Catchy pop melodies are amplified via scuzzy distortion, siren-like guitar riffs and breathy vocals. Vulnerability seeps via with self-awareness, and the result’s a melancholic piece of alt-pop.
Although terrified of unveiling her secrets and techniques in such a public means, she causes: “The privilege of being signed by somebody like Partisan meant I actually wanted to push myself to be as open as I could be, as a result of that’s the place I discover the most effective music.” It taught her she wanted to jot down what she was feeling, regardless of dreading such publicity, as a result of authenticity has at all times been a very powerful factor for her.
That’s one thing that was evident on Stephens’ earlier EP, ‘Me, Jed and Andy’, which took inspiration from artists like Alex G, Soko and Coma Cinema, and was fully self-made with Garageband. Taking that method allowed Stephens to remain accountable for the emotions she revealed via sound, whereas additionally offering “no strain” and a chance “to actually examine” her personal work, which she did obsessively. “I’ve at all times been fairly merciless to myself and thought, if one thing is shit, then it’s shit and it is advisable to realise that. I’m fortunate that when I assumed issues had been ok, all the things simply kinda panned out.
TTSSFU first began selecting up because of Stephens’ different undertaking – the dreampop band Cover, by which she performs guitar – getting signed to FOMO Data. From there “trade folks” began taking an curiosity in her solo work, touchdown her help slots with the likes of Model Pussy and Kim Deal. Her childhood goals of “getting wherever else” moreover rural northern England had been swiftly turning into a actuality, and it was loads to course of.
“I actually wanted to push myself to be as open as I could be, as a result of that’s the place I discover the most effective music”
“I used to be extremely overwhelmed after I first acquired observed. All of those unimaginable issues I’d at all times needed to occur had been occurring, however I barely keep in mind any of it.” All of the sudden, she was being instructed by Kim Deal “to put on footwear in any other case you’ll get electrocuted” and Missy from Model Pussy was giving her recommendation to keep away from burnout (“be taught that you could say no, be taught that there’s boundaries, and as soon as they’ve been crossed you’ll be able to say, ‘that’s sufficient.”).
“I used to get in a daze about this stuff, however I’ve actually began to really feel the feelings that include these loopy however superb conditions. Like, I met Dave Grohl! He gave me the loveliest hug ever. He requested us how we discovered the present we’d simply performed, and the entire band had been like, ‘We hated it, we thought it was shit’ and he simply casually [said], ‘Yeah me and Nirvana used to at all times have that after exhibits’…we simply checked out one another like, whaaaaat?!”
Having at all times suffered from stage fright, being thrust in entrance of large crowds was not solely an ideal little bit of publicity remedy, but in addition gave Stephens the chance to expertise her music in a brand new context – outdoors of her bed room.
“Performing with a stay band remodeled the music and made it one thing utterly completely different, and the songs sounded precisely how I needed them to sound,” she says, which made her conscious that her personal expertise might solely take her thus far. With this newfound realisation, she determined to usher in an additional pair of fingers for ‘Blown’, and approached producer Chris Ryan (NewDad, Simply Mustard) to assist her alongside.
After a protracted Zoom name and writing “an essay of all the things [she] thought was going improper with the EP”, she felt she’d discovered an ally in Ryan to assist convey the imaginative and prescient to life. “I knew he was my man as a result of he wasn’t simply gonna are available in and rip it aside,” she says. “I could be cussed and a management freak on the subject of my music, so to belief folks with it was a large step.”
If one factor’s clear, it’s that nearly each motion she takes is a “huge step”. Her journey thus far has concerned large leaps of religion and dealing with fears head-on, trusting she’ll have the ability to decide herself up if something goes awry. That’s the prevailing theme of ‘Blown’, too. It’s the product of a younger artist breaking via all of the bins she’s locked herself in by experimenting freely and slowly coming into her personal.
TTSSFU’s ‘Blown’ EP is out on August 29 by way of Partisan Data.
