Dianna Agron

Meet Tramayne Tirrell: Singer/Songwriter/Lana Del Rey Enthusiast


YM&C recently stumbled upon a beautiful video accompanied by an equally beautiful voice belonging to one Tramayne Tirrell. The song titled “Thorns” is deep-seated from beginning to end and we felt/loved every second of it. I had the opportunity to interview Tramayne and was completely in awe at how sincere and passionate he was. Check out the Q&A below to learn more about the man behind the music.

Who do you idolize?

There are so many people that I idolize across so many platforms and for different reasons. It’s hard to pinpoint just one, but specifically speaking of contemporary artists, I’d have to say Lana del Rey. Her voice, lyrical style and story are all so inspiring to me and it was her song “Blue Jeans” that officially set me down the path, musically, that I am on. It was late summer 2011, and I just packed my bags to drive across the country leaving everything I knew behind me. I played her song and I almost cried. There weren’t many artists singing as melancholy and despairingly as her and it was identical to what I was writing/feeling at the time. I’ve got a very somber voice and I tried, when I was younger, to change it but artists like her and Chris Martin made me realize I needed to embrace it rather than reject it. I respect her as an artist because she isn’t afraid of taking chances. You can hear and feel that in her music. She’s unashamed of saying she’s unhealthily in love with someone, that she’s a work in progress and that’s beautiful to me. She’s been so condemned for her music, performing style, features…everything and she still produces the most stunning music I’ve ever heard. She’s opened a door for someone like me that was sealed shut just 3 to 5 years ago. For that, I am forever grateful.

If you could collaborate with any Artist, who would it be?

Right now it would most likely be Chris Martin. I’m a massive Coldplay fan and I just think his melodies are genius. The first time I ever heard “Yellow,” I felt like I saw myself for the very first time. There weren’t any artists out that I knew of that sounded like me, but he sounded like me, and it was moving. I was very young at the time so it gave me the confidence to start pursuing singing as a career. I think all of the artists I look up to share very similar characteristics. The beauty of a vocal and tone that’s not overly produced or manufactured along with the fragility of the human struggle in a song is just so appealing to me. I’d of course, love to collaborate with Lana as well. Could you imagine? Chris, Lana and I working on music? I’d love it!

How does the songwriting process begin for you?

It’s always inspired from something. I’m an avid reader and film buff, so I can be deeply entrenched in either and something will spark! I immediately write down or record my idea. If I see a word that elicits something from me – for example, the word Thorns – immediately a melody comes to my head and I write within that. The very first line of “Thorns,” which is, “I left my heart in Hollywood,” starts with that because my publisher Steven, played a chord and it was the first thing that left my lips. My lyrics are unfiltered – almost like a stream of consciousness flowing out on a page. I can tidy them up if need be, but I prefer not to. I don’t like to alter my thoughts, feelings or emotions. Which can make me quite intense, but I’ve grown to accept that and embrace it.

“Thorns” is such a powerful ballad, what mindset did you have to tap into to convey so much raw emotion?

Thank you! Unfortunately it wasn’t too hard, as I was extremely heartbroken at the time I wrote it. I’m usually not a writer who can write in the moment as I typically write in retrospect. I’ve always been able to write from another’s perspective or from the stories of others.

For “Thorns,” it was different. At the time, I was in a relationship that just depleted me of everything that I had. I was constantly shattered and put back together. When they took, I continued to give because I felt that’s what they needed. I’m a very sensitive person, I feel every single thing, and I’ve learned that most people that I’ve been in love with aren’t like me in that regard. So, after being crushed so many times, I wanted to try and understand love from their perspective and I wrote“Thorns.” It was, as most of my songwriting is, extremely cathartic. The relationship didn’t last much longer after I completed the song, but it did help me heal a bit. I haven’t been in love too many times, but when I have been, its been all consuming.

The video has a visual aesthetic that is simpatico with the lyrics of the song, how did the concept for the video come to be?

I have a good friend, Eamon Davern, who works for a production company, and we were having a conversation late one night at El Carmen and I said, “I have a song I’ve written and I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever done…we should shoot a video for it.” As a singer, it’s hard to feel that way about every song. You usually don’t, but this one I did. I felt it would be such a shame for this song to never have visuals to go along with it. Eamon is usually very private about his personal work, but he shared a link of visual he did when he was back home in Australia. I just happened to be listening to a rough mix of “Thorns” as I was watching it. My first thought was to do a video of just beautiful images, without me present, and then it just grew from there. He brought in a colleague, Clayton Nepveux, who has a great eye for stunning cinematography/directing and they story boarded some things to present to me. They really immersed themselves in “Thorns,” poured over the lyrics and presented me this near perfect vision. The original concept was to end in the ocean, but I had an idea of the El Mirage Cracked Lake Bed, and we ended with a video plan there instead. The song is about utter isolation, and I feel we achieved that with the desert. I couldn’t have asked for better partners to work with, they understood my vision and executed it flawlessly!

What do you hope to achieve through your music?

There have been moments in my life, where music has changed me as a person. To name a few, the first time I heard “I Only Have Eyes For You” by Frank Sinatra, “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, and “I Want You Back” by ‘NSync as I immediately connected with Justin Timberlake. Also, the first time I heard “Yellow” by Coldplay and most recently, “Blue Jeans” by Lana del Rey. To quote Lana, “We Were Born To Die” and that’s so true. We come into this world alone, just as we leave it. However, the silver lining are the moments you truly connect with another human being – over a glass of wine, looking eye-to-eye and sharing a connection, or falling in love. However, it also happens in music. When you hear something for the first time and it really stirs something within you that makes you feel “I’m not alone.” It sounds morbid, but I want people to feel my pain… To empathize with it.. To feel like they’re not the only one who feels it too. My hope is that my music could touch someone in that way and that’s really the most I could ever ask for.

Music is ___

A universal art form that has transcended race, religion and time. The fact that I was given a tool to share. I feel so very fortunate.

TramayneTirrell.com instagram.com/tramaynetirrell soundcloud.com/tramaynetirrell youtube.com/TramayneTirrell

The post Meet Tramayne Tirrell: Singer/Songwriter/Lana Del Rey Enthusiast appeared first on You, Me & Charlie.

  • Love
  • Save
    2 loves
    Add a blog to Bloglovin’
    Enter the full blog address (e.g. https://www.fashionsquad.com)
    We're working on your request. This will take just a minute...