I’ve had very little sleep so far this year. My little girl has just turned 4 and is seemingly testing all of her emotions to the very limits. This new hyper awareness of feelings has left me mentally drained to say the least. It’s a journey I was not unprepared for, but perhaps I didn’t expect it to be so intense.
In the midst of all the chaos, a much needed injection of happiness came with the discovery of TTSSFU (AKA Tasmin Stephens). I’ve said it before, but beyond the algorithms and major label obsession with play figures, there is so much more to be found scratching beneath the surface.
The Manchester nu-gazer is the kind of artist mid 2000s bloggers would have thrust into the spotlight by excited consensus. There’s a real sense of freedom to be found on her Bandcamp with plenty of unearthed treasure, lovingly crafted songs reminiscent of Bradford Cox at his most tender.
Forthcoming EP – ‘Me, Jed and Andy’ is destined to propel them into giddy stratospheres. Inspired by the complicated romance between Jed Johnson and Andy Warhol, the EP also tackles Tasmin contextualising the anger, failure and disappointment of their own relationships through dreamy, whirling soundscapes.
In addition to being the lead guitarist for rising post-punk band Duvet, TTSSFU has been recording, producing, mixing and mastering all their own music on Garageband since they fell in love with classic shoegaze music as a teenager. Baggage blurs elements of pop comforted by a faded nostalgia, both ambitious and intimately majestic, with panoramic proportions and a lovelorn vocal destined to find the most loneliest of souls.
Me, Jed and Andy’ EP will be released via Fear of Missing Out Records on 24th February 2024.
