Foto-© Roland Owsnitzki

Berlin ist ein kreativer Schmelztiegel und so wundert es auch nicht, dass sich dort eine irisch-norwegische Songwriterin und ein italienischer Komponist und Pianist zusammen tun, um an einer gemeinsamen EP zu arbeiten. Es geht um die höchst spannende Songwriterin Tara Nome Doyle und den ebenso spannenden Pianisten Federico Albanese, die heute ihre gemeinsame EP The Moments We Keep via Mercury KX veröffentlichen – der Titel der EP, ist eine Anspielung auf Virginia Woolfs Konzept von Zeit und ihrem Verständnis von flüchtigen Momenten und der Erkenntnis, dass diese relativ sind. Textlich kreisen die Tracks alle um Momente, die zu der Zeit vielleicht gewöhnlich erschienen, die aber bei uns haften bleiben und über die nicht greifbaren Qualitäten der Zeit reflektieren. Für uns haben die beiden ein Track by Track zu den vier Songs geschrieben!

1. Too Lost To Be Found

Federico: „I was contacted in early January about the possibility of a collaboration with Tara and, knowing her and her music, I was very interested in doing something with her. There was a piece that was written and recorded during part of the session for my new record but I never really managed to resolve it, to close it. I know it was a strong track, but somehow it was lacking something, an element, a colour. So I thought about sending that to Tara, and she came back shortly after with something out of pure beauty. She really lifted the song immensely with amazing vocal layers. I was blown away by it and it all started there..“

Tara: „When I received the first demo from Federico, I didn’t know what to expect. We had only met briefly before and you never know whether you’re going to be able to connect to someone on such a personal, creative level. I was very positively surprised about the ease with which I was able to write to Federico’s instrumental track and wrote the base of this song in just 2 hours.. Lyrically the track is about the strange sensation of being overwhelmed with a situation and realising that you’ve been at the exact same point before, experiencing the same problems and finding the same solutions. We recognise that there is this mental amnesia that creeps in while we’re not looking, luring us back into old patterns, because there is a peculiar comfort in going back to what we know, even when we know it hurts.“

2. Morning Light

Tara: “Shortly after Federico and I had started our collaboration, I had to stay at the hospital for a little while. While I was there, Federico sent me this beautiful, calming piano track.
I remember listening to it on repeat in the middle of the night, because I couldn’t sleep and it really helped me calm down. Writing the lyrics and vocal melody, I tried my best to enhance the soothing energy of the track. Lyrically, it speaks about how the discomfort, conflict and stressful thoughts we have at nighttime become a lot more manageable, if we can just make it through ‘til the next morning”

Federico: “I composed and recorded this piece one afternoon in my studio in Berlin. I wrote it for Tara. I knew that she was having a hard time, being in the hospital. As I know how it feels, I wanted to send her something to comfort her somehow, to give her some kind of relief. It was not my real intention initially for it to be a song for our EP, I just made it for her, spontaneously. But she did find comfort with it and also inspiration. And filled the music with her wonderful melodies and vocals.”

3. Waiting (To The Riverside)

Federico: „The more Tara and I worked together, the more we wanted to explore possibilities. Tara has an incredible sense of music, and a strong capability of fulfilling the spaces with her powerful, and at the same time fragile, voice. So with this track I aimed to write something that was as minimal as possible, just a simple progression of chords, to give her all the space to craft layers of melodies and vocals. It has been a beautiful process, especially in the production, almost as we both committed to work with very few elements only, and making it work..Very inspiring.“

Tara: „Sometimes you get this sudden feeling that you’ll remember an exact moment forever.
Waiting (To The Riverside) was written about a time like that, when it felt like one was looking back at a future memory whilst actually experiencing it for the first time.
This track was a lot of fun to make. We both challenged ourselves to leave our comfort zones and create a simple, yet powerful ballad. I remember the first time we listened to it in the studio after recording the vocals and feeling so elated and energized. Writing on my own is usually more of a somber, earnest experience and one thing I loved about this collaboration was the feeling of lightness and joy that we were able to share over our love of music.“

4. The Moments We Keep

Federico: „One afternoon we were in my studio in Berlin, having a chat about what our last song could be, listening to music, checking demos and ideas. I remember sitting at the piano and improvising a tune that was going round in my head for days. Tara was into it as well.
We wanted this piece to be an evolving work, that would have the feeling of something that reaches the top somehow, and resolves into a closure. We really took it easy and let go on this final tune. The production was much fun, originally it did not have drums, but it felt it needed it. Honestly, the first time that I’ve used acoustic drums in my music, I spent days trying the perfect pattern. With this song, but generally also with the whole EP, It is such an inspiring process when we manage to detach from our comfort zone, and explore new and different leads, it’s enriching, truly.“

Tara: „Making this track felt different. We had already written all the other songs and there was no pressure to deliver anything. I think we both managed to let go and create a song that developed very organically, flowing from one part into the next, a symbiosis between Federico and I. It feels quite mystical and melancholic to me, but without being heavy and I think The Moments We Keep really works as a closing song for this EP.
The lyrics were written about how when we’re at our lowest, we’ll often find ourselves reaching back for memories of when life felt light and warm. Even though they might have seemed fleeting at the time, The Moments We Keep’ hold so much energy and we can find solace in reliving them.“