Tafari Anthony
I’m beyond happy to feature Tafari Anthony for the release of his debut album When I Met Your Girlfriend.
As some of you may already know, Tafari Anthony is the artist of the month and interviewing him for this release only made sense. He’s become one of my favorite artists ever featured on my music blog and I believe this album is one of the best projects of the year. It’s unique, honest, fun, energetic, emotional and beautiful. He’s the king of harmonies and has incredible vocals. Lyrically, he didn’t hold back. If I had to pick a favorite song, it will definitely be “S’posed To Be” - mind-blowing.
Congrats Tafari on this record !
When I Met Your Girlfriend is now available worldwide.
Photo credit: Joshua Rille
Hi Tafari, how are you? What have you been up to since our last interview?
Hey friend! I've been alright over here. Pretty much since our last conversation that I've just been working on this album. I was probably unknowingly writing it already last time we spoke, and obviously this year doing the release rollout.
You’ve just released your debut album When I Met Your Girlfriend - how does it feel like?
Honestly, it is very fucking scary. I put a lot of myself into this album, and it is quite personal. Not of the other work wasn't as personal but I feel like I held back a lot less on these songs. And there’s something about putting together an intestinal body of work like an album that hold a lot of weight for an artist.
When did you start working on this album? Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this record? Who helped you create it?
I started writing this album at the top of 2020. I didn’t know at the time it was going to become an album, but that’s how it started. This album was written in real time. As I was discovering myself, discovering my wants and needs, I was writing about them. So, I feel like there's a lot of questions on the album because I'm literally in the process of asking myself those questions, asking my partners those questions, and just trying to work out what was unfolding in my life.
On top of the writing portion of this because it was worked on during the pandemic, I had to really learn how to record myself properly at home to get the work done. In my previous projects I would always do demos at home, but they would just honestly be shitty recordings and then I’d take them to the studio. On this album I did a lot of recording on my own which I'm very proud of and I feel like it helped make things feel even more honest and raw.
I also had my hand in all of the production, really being vocal about the sounds I wanted, the rhythms, breaks, all of it. I’ve always done this but more timidly. I don’t think I ever trusted my own instincts when it came to production because I felt like it was someone else’s job. But I had and have been doing it, and this time around I didn’t shy away from making sure things would be produced exactly as I was imagining them.
I had some great collaborators on this album. I still did a lot of writing on my own, but I had a couple co-writes this time around; I wrote the opening track with Lu Kala and co-produced it with my friend Ava Kay. I co-produced a handful of the album with a production duo out of Edmonton, Alberta (Brandon Unis & Bradley J. Simons). “Steady, Waiting, Hoping”, which is the song that the album title came from, I worked on in Toronto with an amazing songwriting duo Good Grief (Bryn McCutcheon & Kirstyn Johnson) and produced over Zoom with Zach Cooper who’s worked with some of my favourite artists like Leon Bridges & Moses Sumney. I also worked with Colin Janz, Jared Manierka, Louise Burns, Hill Kourkoutis, Jordyn Woodside, Derek Hoffman, and Breagh Isabel.
A lot of talented people worked on this album and I’m so thankful for all of them trusting the vision with me.
What different topics are you talking about on this album?
I mean this album is are is all about me exploring polyamory. So I find this a lot of questions because again it was in real time as I was discovering this part of myself. So it deals with varying types of queer relationships.
Any favorite memories from the making of this record?
My favorite memory was going to Edmonton to record six of the songs. It was the moment that made it even more real. And I had booked and paid for the trip myself. It was kind of nice to just finally be working on my music and my dream and not just being the supporting artist for others. I think this is the moment that I knew this is going to be special and that I really started to prioritize myself.
What was the biggest challenge when recording this album?
Scheduling! I was working on this in the height of the pandemic just their own house was getting back to work. This meant that everyone was doing about two years work in one year. Trying to book studio time with producers was like a bad game with Tetris, just trying to fit into everyone's schedule. So things took a lot longer than I would have hoped but ultimately I think things work out this supposed to work out.
What did you feel when writing/recording "Steady, Waiting, Hoping"?
This one was a very hard song to get through from start to finish. It was the last full song that I wrote for the album I had been trying for months to get this message out but nothing I was writing was giving me the right feeling. It also didn't help that I was again in real time going through the situation and so I was asking a lot of questions to myself and trying to understand what was going on with this relationship. Things had been in limbo for so long and then all of a sudden, he would be back around for little bit and disappear again without any care for what I needed.
I end up doing a writing camp in Toronto in May of 2022 and this is one of the songs that came out of that camp. I was in the room with Good Grief (Bryn McCutcheon & Kirstyn Johnson) and Zach Cooper was over Zoom. These sessions always start almost like a bit of a therapy session. You’re kind of put into a room with people that you don't usually know and you have to open up very quickly if you want to get something meaningful out of the session. We started talking about my partners and I wanted to find a way to write this story which at the time hadn't really been concluded and it was hard to bring up these questions to myself and talk about them with strangers because I was really hurting from what was happening with our relationship.
It was months before I could actually sit down and record the vocals for the song because I was just too angry. And even when I thought I was ready to record it, it took me a long time to actually finish the recording because it was just so emotional to get through.
How did "S'posed To Go" come about? What's your favorite lyric on this song?
“S’posed To Go” it is one of the oldest songs on the album, I guess. I hadn't really thought about it until this moment. This one was written closest to “The Way You See Me” era and was about somebody that I care about a lot. We weren't technically in a romantic relationship because at that point I was not polyamorous. I had been open with my husband for many years at this point but was not engaging in other romantic relationships. But this person and I were very close. I would say best friends and probably would have been more had the mind been opened more on both sides.
To me this song is like the epitome of alternative queer relationships where you have friends with benefits style situations and then all of a sudden one of those people ends up in a monogamous relationship. Which of course you want for them if that's what makes them happy. In an ideal situation you don't expect that the friendship part of it will just be discarded because they now have a romantic partner. It makes things feel like it was only sex and the rest meant nothing.`
My favourite lyric from this song is “How could I play the role and not see that you’d always go?”. It just sums up this experience so well.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
Like everything with this album the artwork was meticulously thought out. I knew I wanted something that felt classic but also fresh new. Something that felt light but also heavy. And I wanted to really pull you in emotionally. The sound of the album is so diverse that it can be tough to sometimes put a single visual to something. But I think the photographer Joshua Rille was really able to capture the right feeling.
What biggest lessons have you learned after finishing this record?
It’s such a massive undertaking, not just the recording and writing process but, the process of releasing an album is so tough. Where in such a climate of singles and playlists and a lot of listeners don't really take in full albums anymore. So as an artist, it can feel like what is the point of doing an album? But ultimately, my take away is that this is what I needed for my artistry, this is what felt right to me, and I'm more and more doing what feels right for me as opposed to what anyone else thinks I should be doing.
What message do you want to deliver through this album? What do you want people to feel when listening it?
I hope when people listen to the album they feel seen and feel that it's okay not to just be one version of themselves. We're multifaceted as humans and the album doesn't just span one genre or vibe. It may seem all over the place musically but it's just an honest representation of what I enjoy and what feels good to me. I think people should do more of that; what feels good to you, what makes sense to you rather than what you feel people want from you or what you feel like you need to be doing. I also hope it feels like a conversation with your bestfriend. That friend that just tells you exactly how it is.
What does singing make you feel?
Singing and writing music is how I process a lot of things. Singing, as cliches as it’s gonna sound has always given me my voice. I was not always one for talking a lot, but I would always say a lot through singing and music.
What makes you happy?
Doing what I love with good people. There's so much darkness in the world but it's really important for me personally. I think for most people to surround themselves with good people, good energy. If you have that I think that's all you need to be happy.
What is your definition of Love?
Total trust in openness. Love doesn’t mean perfection. Love doesn’t mean no disagreements. Love to me means being able to be open and share without fear of judgement and being able to be your full self.
Connect with Tafari: