Italy-born, Singapore-raised, and South London-based Stella Talpo is making her mark in the alt R&B music scene. Following a series of three EPs, she has finally released her highly anticipated debut album, MEDUSA, an 11-track musical project where she merges her unique R&B hooks with Mexican feminist folklore and electronic grooves, all backed up by a powerful set of lyrics inspired by womanhood and feminist empowerment.
This new album marks an important chapter in Stella’s career, the result of years of musical growth while collaborating with producer Lewis Moody. Together, they inject an ethereal darkness and alt-pop sound design into Stella’s soulful R&B songwriting. The final track of the album, “GOOD GIRLS,” is an ode to feminist empowerment. Stella describes it as follows: “GOOD GIRLS is about empowerment and solidarity. It urges listeners to be strong and fight for freedom, rather than conforming to the expectations of being a ‘good girl’ who follows the rules and stays in the shadows. I aimed to depict the struggles women face in a male-dominated world and the ways in which they have been held back and manipulated.”
In this interview, we connect with Stella to discuss Medusa and her creative process, the emotions and narratives she aimed to convey in this new album, and what fans can expect from her in the future.
Listen to Medusa…
Read the full interview…
Congratulations on your new album! Can you tell us a bit about the tracks and the story behind it?
Thank you so much, can’t believe we’re here!! There are 11 tracks on the record, most of which were written between November 2022 and March 2023. A lot of the themes in the record were heavily inspired by the mythological stories broken down in Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ incredible book, ‘Women Who Run With the Wolves’. I was feeling so lost in my own image and understanding of being a woman, and what womanhood was, in the modern world, and this book kind of woke the ‘wild woman’ it speaks of within me. I don’t necessarily mean this exploration in a gender-exclusive way, more in an understanding of how I identify myself, my intuition, my spirituality, how do I solidify my sense of self and own who I am, because I felt like I was always running, or wishing I was someone else who looked like they understood life and how being a woman works and feels, or looking elsewhere for answers. I think reading the book planted the initial seed, the idea that the answers are within me, not outside and there’s an ancient wisdom deep in ourselves that we can, should, turn to, but she’s been drowned out by the noise of society, duty, fear, others’ expectations and judgements of who we are. Writing the record then, was the excavation and consolidation of all the selves that I had hidden away somewhere to be more digestible, tolerable, to accommodate the needs and expectations of others and avoid conflict or rejection. I wanted to finally honour all the ‘shadow’ parts of myself, many of which I hadn’t ever really come face to face with until I sat down to write these songs so it is as much an empirical album as it is a conceptual one. That’s when the idea of using MEDUSA as the album title came up and it was only then I realised how prominently she’s been used in feminist literature, oftentimes to symbolise female rage and power, both aspects of which I had struggled to express and was able to finally express through the writing of the album.
How did you first get into music, and who were your earliest influences?
It was kind of a natural succession of influences that began with a very strong pop-inclination and I can definitely thank Britney for my initial decision to pursue a career in the music industry. My mum used to play Whitney and Mariah and Stevie at home a lot, and then I moved through Chistina’s ‘Stripped’ era and Avril Lavigne arrived, which was a darker and more emotive slant to what I’d been exposed to before, and which I really resonated with because I was writing pretty dark sh**. Once Limewire was in the picture there was no going back really, I discovered Nirvana, Elvis, John Mayer, Damien Rice, Guns n Roses (the classic rock era was fun), after that it was Beyonce, Alanis Morissette, Regina Spektor, Etta James but it was never one thing. Then of course came Amy and it was end of story.
How do you approach the creative process when writing and producing your music?
I didn’t really have a trusted way of doing things until MEDUSA. I had become pretty afraid of writing on my own, the lack of immediate feedback (probably goes back to not trusting my gut there, which is a hilarious parallel I hadn’t spotted until now) and not knowing if or how to pursue an idea without the rich harmony provided by a far more eloquent keys player or producer. But thanks to my producer being away over the period I needed to get these songs finished, I was cornered into spending time, alone, with an instrument and a DAW again. As time went on, the creative process became less ambiguous and menacing, and I carved my approach slowly until I realised it was: to go in with no expectation and to just play and follow the sounds and the words that light you up. That’s really what it came down to by the end, and once again, I’m so grateful to this album because I found the elusiveness of creativity so paralysing until this process unfolded. It really was the process of learning how to listen to and trust myself again.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that you think helped shape who you are as an artist today?
I think the moment when I decided to stop giving a f*** what anyone else thinks.
How would you define your artistic essence today?
Power, introspection, soul, unapologetic, self-acceptance.
MEDUSA explores themes around our inner darkness & imperfections. What inspired you to delve into this profound subject matter for your music?
Definitely the book I mentioned earlier and also just I guess an inner desire to understand myself and my fears better, to hold myself in those imperfections and stop trying to iron them out. I also really hoped to start a fire in other people’s bellies around their own aspects of self they haven’t quite accepted or are afraid to set free. You know, we have such a problematic relationship with rage in society. Rage doesn’t mean hurting other people, that kind of rage comes out harmfully because we have swallowed our power for too long, and I think real rage is passion, its life source, it’s the energy churning inside you which is absolutely necessary to make sh** happen and to incite change. So you can imagine the damage we do to ourselves and others when we are suppressing all of these things and I will be the first to admit that I took on the role of peacemaker to avoid being called bossy or mean or selfish and to evade blame or judgement at every corner. But I shut off my life source by not honouring my needs, my voice and you could definitely hear that block in my singing and my self-expression, and in many moments it would manifest as depression and anxiety. I wanted to inspire people to accept themselves fully by normalising conversation around those ‘fringe’ aspects of self.
Could you share some insights into the emotions and narratives you aimed to convey through your music?
I aimed to convey radical self-acceptance. There were moments when I was writing SCREAM and FULL/GROWN where I was on the edge of being like, wow I really don’t know if I want people to know I feel like this, it makes me look weak or self-indulgent or depressing. But see, if those are aspects I don’t want people to think I am, they are aspects I am judging in myself first and foremost. So that’s what I mean when I say this album was as much transformational as it was creative. I was watching myself go through the motions and really experience the influence of those outside (and inside) voices and in some ways exorcising them by finishing the songs anyway and making them a little less palatable and a little more ugly or raw anyway (and sometimes in spite of). My whole ethos when making this album, even when bringing the bare demos to life with Lewis was, do you love it? Then who gives a sh**, go with it. Don’t worry about everything else. Emotionally, I really wanted to convey rage through my writing. I wrote the album at a point where I’d really had enough of myself and these circling negative thinking patterns and lack of self-belief and beyond me, I’d had enough of the music industry and so if I had to pick a pervasive emotion that runs through the album I’d say I felt, finally I felt, rage.
How has your activism influenced your artistry and the messages you convey in your music?
I don’t know if what I do is enough to be given the label activism. I am really moved and driven by the threats we’re facing as a society including climate issues, discrimination, mental health crisis and so on. I think the message in my music is really about self-empowerment, about starting the movement within you so that you have the necessary tools and strength and grace to make changes outside. When we’re living from the truest part of ourselves, we’re guided to take the most aligned action in the direction we and the world needs and I really do believe that.
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and goals as a musician?
I’d love to get paid. And I’d love to work with Little Simz.
Finally, what’s next for you in your musical journey, and what are you most looking forward to in the future?
I am the most excited about getting back on stage next month and performing again, these songs in particular! Working with people who inspire me, playing with people who inspire me, coming to life on stage with a full band is really what I live for. I’m looking forward to sharing this album with the world and seeing where my curiosity and hunger takes me next.