Tempo Talks: A Conversation with Eric Tano
THE RELEASE
Eric Tano, an upcoming artist hailing from the vibrant city of Miami Beach, Florida, is a multi-talented musician, songwriter, producer, and environmentalist. His musical journey commenced at the age of 14 when he discovered his affinity for bass playing. Although music had always been a passion, Tano never envisioned it as his career until he embarked on a new chapter in 2015, moving to Tallahassee to pursue Environmental Science at Florida State University. Now, at the age of 26, Eric Tano brings a fresh and invigorating sound to his craft, crafting songs from the comfort of his own bedroom, employing a refined color palette that resonates with shared human experiences of longing, grief, and love. With his upcoming works, Tano aspires to blend naturalistic imagery with innovative electronic elements, pushing the boundaries of the electronic music genre.
Ever found yourself awake in the late hours, plagued by thoughts of what could have been in past relationships? "Past Lovers," the latest offering from Eric Tano, encapsulates the yearning for someone when the stars refuse to align. This poignant track is best enjoyed when in need of an energetic yet introspective ambiance, invoking emotions of both melancholy and validation. "Past Lovers" showcases the finest facets of electronic music, providing solace and comfort to those who seek it. As part of his promotion strategy, Tano plans to be featured on influential playlists, employ targeted advertising to direct listeners to his social media profiles, and release another captivating single in June and July. All roads lead to August, when Tano will unveil his eagerly anticipated EP and complement the release with captivating live performances, further solidifying his presence in the music scene.
THE INTERVIEW
What song or moment in time sparked your passion for music?
A variety of memories come to mind when I think about this question. The first instance where I felt a spark of passion goes all the way back to early grade school where a local band came in our classroom and performed. At that moment I knew I wanted to be a musician of some sort but couldn’t conceptualize what that was really going to look like. It wasn’t till years after that where I picked up a bass guitar and never put it down. The first song that truly inspired me was Californication by the Red-Hot Chili Peppers. I would go on to learn all their songs and incorporate a lot of that flavor into my early instrumentation. I wouldn’t say that they carry a heavy inspiration in my music these days but my roots are founded there.
If you had to create a Mount Rushmore of inspiration, what four individuals molded the artist you are today?
If I had to narrow it down, I’d have to say Porter Robinson, City Girl, Robotaki, and Madeon. I draw different ideas and principles each from artist ranging from sound design ideas, song writing arrangement, and what I think of as “color” palettes for my mixes. These days inspiration from an artist for me isn’t so much “let me transpose the bass line and learn it” but rather listening actively to the mix and incorporate ideas of that mix into my own. It’s rare that these mixing ideas even translate 1-to-1 into my own production but they’ll always put me down a new path of trying something new.
How does your creative process work from the moment you develop the idea to the completion of the record?
There are a lot of hills and valleys when writing a song for me. Usually, it starts with a super simple idea. It could be a drum loop, some melodic sample that I’ve chopped up, or a chord progression that I wrote with a unique patch on my synthesizer. When I get a lot of momentum going on a project I will purposefully “overwrite” the song in a sense. I’ll pursue every spontaneous impulse during the song writing process to help get these songs to the end even though most of those spontaneous decisions don’t make into the final cut. The spontaneity is geared towards gesturing these songs into the drama I imagine is unfolding for them.
As for this release, who is the producer and what about the production moved you?
It’s me, I’m the producer! What I loved about producing this song was creating the contrast between what the song is about and how in your face the production is. The drums are super punchy and aggressive, and the synths along with the rest of the arrangement are pushed to be distorted; All while walking the line with very heartfelt lyric. When it came to the sound design of this song, I wanted to try to push synth elements into feeling like they were sonically breaking down. With the sound design in this track I especially took inspiration from Porter Robinson.
When it comes to the songwriting on this record, what is the message you want to get across to your listeners?
I wanted this song to serve as a sort of self-admission. I’ve had this sense of yearning and guilt for relationships I’ve moved on from, yet couldn’t fall in love with. I think everyone has these kinds of moments where they think back to the pleasant parts of their ended relationships and desire to experience them once again. We wish maybe there was some version of these relationships that could’ve worked out while wondering where they went wrong. Reminded by moments from when I’ve lost my composure, I realized I felt the most hurt when I couldn’t love them. Relationships end for a multitude of reasons, but I wanted to help listeners listen to their heart.
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