London-based producer, singer, and harpist Tatyana is finishing up the last bits of a never-ending to-do list before going on tour as she connects with Wonderland. “I’m really excited to get out on the road,” she says. For the next couple of weeks, she would be travelling around the UK to introduce her home country to her newest musical endeavour, her second album It’s Over. Over a 10-track project, she takes listeners on what feels like her most personal project to date. The album is solar, feisty, and fun, and presents her as an artist who feels finally ready to have a good time, on a tale around the joys and angst of dating in the modern age, whilst delivering a masterful exploration of her dance-pop influences.

“As I was making the record, I was also consuming many different kinds of media,” Tatyana starts, reflecting on the early days of the album. “And I ended up reading this book called Theory of the Young-Girl by a French anarcho collective called Tiqqun, which was super interesting. It feels applicable to where we’re at as a culture and society. Basically, I wanted this record to explore the way we mediate our relationships through technology,” she continues. The name of the record, It’s Over, is a reference to a meme, she tells, and to actually understand how, when, and why our generation relies so strongly on technology as a foundation for dating, she dedicated a lot of her own time to an online deep dive on message boards and forums.

“I was seeing all these different communities, and it was super siloed. I was struggling to find a framework to build on love and intimacy, which I found kind of relatable,” she tells me. “And then I started doing all this research on the theory of a young girl. And there are so many people who are exploring this concept right now, exploring feminism, but for the new generation. And all of this really helped in building the perspective of the character that I was crafting and singing from for this record.”

It’s Over is out now. And connecting with Wonderland, Tatyana reflects on her creative process coming as the triple threat behind this new career chapter, what this second album means to her artistic evolution, and her sonic explorations around electronic beats. But first, I can’t help but wonder… What did she learn most from this journey? Is there any hope out there? “I guess one of the things that I felt during this record is that vulnerability isn’t a bad thing,” she says. “It’s like a source of power, and being under threat of predation doesn’t place you in an entirely powerless position. You know, it’s kind of like speaking from the bottom. Sometimes you can use your vulnerability to your advantage.”

“But I’m logging off going forward,” she adds. “I delved really hard and deep into the online world, and I made this record because of that. My advice is to log off and touch grass.”

Listen to It’s Over…

And read the full interview…

Hi Tatyana! Thanks so much for chatting with us. Could you tell us a bit about the release, the story behind it, and what excites you most about this project?
My second record reflects the progression I’ve made in my musical style and also in my life – the emotional triggers that ignited the songwriting were new, so the tone of this album is very different from what I did before. It felt like I was playing with a character and a perspective that was more experienced and mature, and maybe a bit more jaded. I was influenced a lot by this album called Miss Diamond To You, made by Kathy Diamond and Maurice Fulton.

I’m most excited about moving the sound towards dance music and placing my music closer to a club atmosphere, which I enormously enjoy.

How do you see this project reflecting your artistic evolution?
It’s a natural evolution. The process of making this album was like being in a chrysalis. Writing it put me in the most creative stage, where I felt like everything that I had learnt or done before was finally amalgamating into one cohesive thing. Making this record was a chance for me to take these moments in the club where I get inspired and to reflect it back through my songwriting.

Can you take us through your upbringing? What initially led you to a career in music, and which artists or experiences have influenced your musical journey?
Music was always a very big part of my life, I come from a family where as a child I was exposed to very different types of music – the diapason was very wide – from classical to mass market pop. Music for me is the most amazing and abstract form of art, where I feel like there is no end to the way that I can develop and pursue it. I understood this very early on, because by 11 years old I was already writing songs and making albums for my friends.

The development of taking it more seriously happened at Berklee College of Music. It was this incredible chance of being taught by legends. It enlarged my vision and the creative atmosphere was incomparable – all these different cultures, people from different places, etc. It really enriched my musical vocabulary.

What do you mainly look for in an artist when collaborating? And what was your experience like with collaborations for this project?
I was incredibly lucky with my recent collaborations – getting Dave Okumu, Jason Lindner, and Mikko Gordon on this project. I would say that the most important thing about collaborating for me is intuition and a sixth sense – through the music you can feel that this is your person, and you can open up to them during this most fragile state of creativity. I’m so lucky that we reached that stage. I’m still excited about it and I’m very grateful that these wonderful musicians worked with me.

Talk us through your creative process for “It’s Over”. How did the idea come about, when did you start working on it, and how do you reflect on the overall experience?
Well, you can say that every project starts with purely emotional research where I try to find the idea and the theme and the initial image – it’s like writing a book. It feels like this thing is brewing inside me and then one day I feel that I’m ready to put it down on paper. Then I’ll go to the studio and I have to shut myself off from the world. It feels like going into solitary confinement, almost a monastic retreat, where I’m disconnected from the outside world, in order to protect my vision and my ears from unwanted influences. I spent five months at Strongroom Studios sitting in front of a bare wall, trying to connect all the pieces.

You found inspiration in modern dating for this album. Could you tell us a bit about your overall experience exploring the scene and what fascinates or intrigues you most about it?
I’m a young woman and of course it’s natural/normal to add to my life with these new ways of communicating with people – all these dating apps that you see everywhere. People are using them in public transport, when they are with friends, etc. It’s become a part of our lives. On one hand it seems like it gives you lots of choices (and I understand that some people are lucky with it) but at the same time I feel like it’s become a mechanical process and you are losing the element of surprise and serendipity of connection.

What inspired you to start experimenting with electronic music, having a background as a harpist? How do you find common ground to merge such distinct sounds?
Electronic harp has been part of my music practice quite early, I was always able to experiment and extremely lucky to have this special instrument – even when I initially didn’t have the knowledge of things like synthesis. I just enjoyed experimenting with my electronic harp, and making sounds that I was not able to produce on my classical harp. My second major at Berklee was electronic production and sound design and I think that’s where I really immersed myself in production and experimenting with computers and synthesisers.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about what’s to come?
Of course, meeting and connecting with audiences and people who love the project. Especially at shows. I’m going on tour soon in the UK and it will be really exciting to dance and perform this music for new people. I’m already in that brewing process for the next project and I can feel a new album in me. I won’t say what it’s about, but I’m going to delve even further into my growing interests in club and dance music. I’ve also always wanted to make an ambient harp record so that will definitely happen at some point too.