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Hi Rob, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
I’ve been doing pretty well thanks! I’ve been stuck inside, in quarantine like everyone else. Maintaining sanity is probably the best way to put it – haha I’m just kidding. It’s been good actually, I’ve been working on a lot of new music, I’m really excited for stuff I have coming out over the summer and very excited to share it with you guys.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “The Storm Front and The Sea”?
It’s actually the first song that I sang on, so it definitely marks a musical shift for me, in terms of using these vocals to create more of a sonic identity for my production output, in comparison to the music I’ve made in the past. It also has some alternative rock influences and that’s something I’ve been trying to incorporate into the house music sound to really build a unique style.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
It was mostly about this one really gloomy day, when I was driving down pacific coast highway, which is a major highway in California, USA. I noticed how the Pacific Ocean looked almost illuminated and quite beautiful in contrast to the dark storm clouds. It made me think about how a lot of things in life that appear beautiful, have that contrast with things that are dark and evil. It seemed very fitting for the time that we are living in right now with the global pandemic, and got me thinking about how much creative potential there is and how much incredible art and music could come out of this.
How was the recording and writing process?
Writing and recording this track was pretty similar to my usual production process. It usually starts with an acoustic guitar or some type of acoustic instrument, whether that be a piano or a bass. I basically came up with the guitar chords, using this quite odd tuning method, where I tune the high E string on my guitar to an E flat which gives it a slightly different sound. Then once I had those down, I’d start writing over the chords. Once I had the song done acoustically and had recorded the vocal over an acoustic guitar, I started building the production around it and made it more electronic.
Any plans to release any sort of video for the track?
I don’t have any plans at the moment but obviously if it gets certain traction then I can definitely look into doing that. I might put out an acoustic version of the song out at some point but at the moment no plans for a video.
You sing on the track too; your debut vocal. Why did you decide to do this now?
Because right now, with there being so many producers and so much electronic music coming out, I think having your own identity and authenticity is quite key to breaking in and I thought, what better, in terms of developing a sonic identity, than to sing on the track. I want for people to listen to the first couple of seconds and recognise, ah that’s Rob Tirea. I want to have that type of identity as a musician, so I figured that would be a good first step to really solidifying my sound.
What role does LA play in your music?
I wouldn’t say it plays a huge role. I think in terms of the amount of creative opportunities and people that you can work and collaborate with; writers, different vocalists etc, then it definitely offers some inspiration, being able to see other people’s processes. But I’d say that’s the extent of it. The L.A culture is very diverse so you can definitely write about that, but a lot of my songs are just from personal experience, whether that’s living in L.A, or where I used to live in Boston. My parents are Romanian too, so there are just so many different influences that go into it. I wouldn’t say that L.A plays a specific role however.
How did you go on capturing the ugly and the beautiful?
I think that the piano and the guitar are quite beautiful and simple in terms of the production and I wanted to keep it simple, whilst also incorporating a vocal that was a bit dark and portrayed itself as slightly ugly at times. The interesting part about encapsulating both the beautiful and the ugly is that you can have a song that appears quite sad, but once the chorus hits, it can be danceable, which makes for a really interesting back and forth dynamic. That’s how I was able to capture those two contrasting things, but I guess it’s also open to interpretation and I think that’s the beauty of music.
What made you want to go in this direction in terms of style and genre?
I was already doing house music but I think a lot of people are doing house music and I wanted to make something more emotional that resonates with people. Emotional appeal is the key to longevity in my eyes and if you’re always trying to make hit after hit after hit, it can end up being disposable chart-topping music, which gets lost in the noise once the hype dies. I want to go in a direction where I’m making music with an emotional appeal; like a nostalgic appeal. The kind of music people can look back at in 10/15 years and remember the song sound-tracking a really important part of their life. I know I have records that I listened to as a kid that bring so much nostalgia and I can remember vividly, the places I went to when I was listening to the record. I want to build that kind of longevity in my music so I figured that emotional appeal was the best way to do that.
Does the new single mean we can expect more new material – how’s that coming along?
I’m going to start releasing almost a song per month throughout the summer. I’m planning to put out an EP mid-summer – that’s the goal! I have a lot of material, stuff I’ve been working on for almost a year so I’m quite excited to share that and I hope that everyone will enjoy it.
Any tentative release date or title in mind?
So, I’ve actually just dropped my single ‘Hypnotize’. I have another single release in July. The tentative date for the EP to fully drop will be sometime in August. That being said, you just never know how things are going to work out and if anything comes up in the process, so I can’t be too specific on date yet! I do also have a title in mind but I’ll keep that a secret until it drops and reveal it that way.
Any plans to hit the road once the lockdown is lifted?
Absolutely! I would like to play in as many cities as possible and hit the road as much as I can, to wherever people will have me. I do have a fanbase in South America; that would be an amazing place to play. Would love to go to Brazil and Argentina and play some shows there. But yea, I just want to play in as many different places as possible, so that will happen hopefully once the lockdown is lifted and we can get on the road!
What else is happening next in Rob Tirea’s world?
I’m trying to put out music and to release bodies of work that really have that emotional feel. When I look back at electronic music artists and acts, The Chemical Brothers stand out as big inspiration to me. I’m quite influenced by alternative rock; the Editors are one of my favorite bands, along with Depeche Mode. I definitely want to follow suit in that way, producing house music that has those alternative influences and different indie pop sensibilities. So, I guess my goal is to keep on pushing out my tracks and to really develop a cult following from that and have something that really means a lot to people and have music that people look back at fondly. Aside from this, the big plan for next year will be to hit the road!
Watch The Storm Front And The Sea – https://bit.ly/2Z7vWca
