Talented singer-songwriter, Terra Naomi, will be performing and releasing her newest single “Machine Age” tonight at Hotel Cafe, and the best part is that it will be publicly released tomorrow! I got the opportunity to talk with her about her show tonight, her beliefs, and how her beliefs influence the music she creates.
I love what you’ve done in the past with your music videos and working with your fans and people around the world to push out the message of everything is possible. I’m a dreamer and optimistic person myself when it comes to accomplishing your dreams. Can you tell me a little bit more on how your beliefs influence your music? And have your beliefs changed throughout your musical journey?
Oh wow — that’s a big question with many layers! I love it. Often times our biggest lessons and moments of growth come disguised as real struggle. The songs I write are often more of a goal than a statement of fact, i.e. it feels like my beliefs result in my writing a song that has a lesson in it, for me. I feel like the song you’re referring to, “Say It’s Possible,” was sent to show me how powerful we really are, and what is actually possible, because for most of my life, I struggled with almost crippling self-doubt, and overcoming it has been my biggest challenge.
The same thing happened with “Machine Age.” I was angry when I wrote it, emotionally exhausted, outraged, frustrated, depressed…the last thing on my mind was working through those emotions and moving to a place of love. But that’s how the song came out — fully written, as you hear it, only a few words changed — and it had me repeating that ending line over and over again, “I believe in love more than I want to hate,” when that was not how I felt at all. But that song helped me connect with my own desire to feel love, at a time when it was buried beneath a lot of anger.
So I think it’s kind of the other way around…or maybe circular — my beliefs influence my music so it can influence my beliefs…
Here’s what I’ll say about this new single: I’ve never been more excited to share something I’ve created. It’s a totally new feeling, to stand behind every decision I made on every element of this song — the writing, the production, the video — because in the past I’ve released music and there are various things that could have been better, in my opinion, or things I would have done differently. Not the case with this song. It’s the first time I co-produced my own music, and the first time I came up with a concept and co-created the video. So everything you see and hear is exactly the way I want it to be, and the most incredible thing is that in standing 100% behind what I’ve created, I don’t care how it is received. Obviously, I want people to love it. But if everyone hates the song, I will still be able to say “I love it and I’m proud of what I created.” And that is a definite first.
I don’t know about surprises — I’m more raw, authentic, and comfortable with myself than I’ve ever been, so fans can expect to see me, on stage, with my instruments, singing songs. And hopefully that will be enough.
The new music is completely different, because I am different. Actually, the new music is closer to the songs I wrote when I first started writing songs. My favorite song on my first album is “Flesh For Bones,” and I feel like it would fit stylistically and thematically on this new album, because it is raw and real. It was one of the first songs I wrote, when my only goal was to communicate emotion, and it’s honest.
4. How have your goals as a singer-songwriter evolved throughout your different experiences within music? And what are some of your music goals for 2018?
My goals have changed a lot. It’s probably the first time I am able to set intentional goals — I know where I’d like go, and have a good sense of how to get there. For most of my life I was running on autopilot. I didn’t make choices, I reacted to situations. The period of the last ten years, since my first album came out, has been like the mother lode of life lessons, both career and personal. It’s been painful and challenging, and it’s forced me to grow up and take responsibility. From the outside, my goals probably appear to be very much the same as they’ve always been — make music, find a way for people to hear it, support myself through the music I make.…but internally it’s a very different landscape.
In 2018 I’d like to release this new album, tour all over the place, meet lots of people, play music for them, and enjoy the process as much as possible.
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