DEAR TASH

Speaking to Tash aka Tara Noble, it was clear that she possessed a pragmatic, grounded approach when it came to her music career. This has come from the time growing up while furthering her skills in various bands and when dealing with the highs and lows up to now. There really is no way to learn but through hard work and experience. A recent EP release show in London is an example of the progress under her own terms. We started by talking about the New EP FATAL,

Return To Sound: “You finally have your new EP released, which must be damn exciting, I'm sure. It's been a long time getting to this point, so for me, especially, plus anyone who's going to read this interview, would it be possible for a little potted trip through your past up to this EP release, which is one of your  big epic life moments so far, I'm guessing? 

Tash: “Yeah, yeah, of course.  

It's quite a long journey, so I'll try and do a sort of mid-length version. So I started playing music, probably when I was about eight or nine. I started playing the violin at school. My sister played the cello, so we always did little duets for the family. It was you know, at Christmas, a little show for the grandparents, and we did that every year for quite a long time, actually. 

I was in the orchestra at school, learned to play with other musicians. And back then I was in the choir as well, I went to quite a Catholic school, so I was in the cassocks in the choir, the big red robes, singing in lots of different cathedrals and going around the country, a kind of little choir tour thing. So it was very classically based growing up, and I would say that's how I fell in love with harmony. I was singing next to other people and learning to stick to your part whilst everyone around you is singing something completely different. 

Then at about the age of 12, I moved to school, and everyone at the school played the guitar. So obviously, I was like, “mum, I want to play the guitar”. So I started playing guitar, but then very quickly realised that there were no bass players at all. 

"Then my mum

took me to see

Muse at

the O2”

When we were doing school plays and school shows, there was no one to play bass. So I thought, oh, I'll just step in. You know, I think it was an Adele song, "Rolling in the Deep", I think. 

So I stepped into that, and very quickly, no more guitar, I wanted to do bass, I focused predominantly on that. We played a lot more contemporary music, which is where I then fell in love with the Now That's what I call music CDs.

I got one for Christmas, I think it was number 74. 

It was when Muse and Biffy Clyro were in the mainstream and the charts were slightly rockier. I just fell in love with that "Uprising" track, that Muse track completely. 

So obviously I just had to learn all the bass lines, get really stuck in. And then my mum took me to see Muse at the O2”. 

"I didn't know

that music

could be

like that"

RTS: “How old were you when you saw Muse?”

Tash: “Maybe 13 or 12, maybe. It was my first gig, first ever show.  

We were right up at the top, where you feel like you're about to fall off. And it was just incredible. I just hadn't experienced anything like it. 

I didn't know that music could be like that. So I went away and got really stuck into the rockier side of things. I was in a band from the age of 13, at an after-school club and we ended up playing loads of shows, we played day festivals around the UK, just local village festivals, that kind of thing. So I would do that on the weekends. 

And we were writing all our own music back then. So that was from age 12 to 18, I did that, it was incredible. 

I just couldn't imagine doing anything else, with my time and the people were really lovely to work with as well. Yeah, with school, there were lots of opportunities to perform as bands. 

They were really encouraging of your passions and we had end-of-year shows where we'd just cover loads of bands, a lot of Paramore, Royal Blood and Kasabian. That was pretty amazing. I was just completely surrounded by alternative music, which was incredible. But then I was going to go and study psychology at uni until a music teacher suggested doing music at uni, and I just didn't even know that was a thing. I know, it seems crazy. 

I didn't even realise that that was something that I could pursue. So I went on to study and came to London for my degree. I studied four years of undergrad, and then I did a master's for another year. 

So I only finished a year or two ago and I basically just wanted to stay in my degree as long as I could because it just afforded me the time to really focus on practising, meeting people, going out and playing gigs in London. It really gave me the space to explore that. 

So that brings us up to now basically”.

RTS: “Thanks for that back story, the first thing that sprung to mind was, you mentioned the Catholic background at school, which sparked my interest a little bit, I wondered if that plays into some of the imagery you use like the gothic side of things. Do you think it's had a bit of an influence?”

Tash: “Yeah, I would say it's had quite an influence on me, in the sound of the music, because a lot of the classical pieces we were doing were quite dark pieces. I probably took some of the harmony and the darkness as you know, some classical music can be quite heavy”. 

RTS: “Yes, and cinematic as well”.

Tash: “I do try to view the music as very cinematic, I love the quieter moments and I love the bigger moments and I love the epicness, which has probably been inspired from being at that age and listening to lots of different classical music, So I think that... and then I think I would say, probably the imagery as well. I wasn't at that school for very long, but it feels like there's a hint of influence from there”.  

 "I feel like

it really

resonates

with my soul"

RTS: “The next thought I had... you started playing the bass originally through circumstances, you then went to uni, where you were open to other instrumentation and many musical options... You stuck with the bass and you're still playing the bass, I take it, live, aren't you?”

Tash: “Yeah, it kind of... sounds a bit cheesy, but I feel like it really resonates with my soul. I feel the most connected to it, something about the vibrations of playing it. Even if you play it not plugged in and if you put your chin on the top...  

... I love that, you know, standing on stage and feeling the rumble in your feet, it just really stood out to me. It just felt very natural, I guess”. 

RTS: “So, the band now, is this a band you've had for a while?, or has it constantly changed,  you're the front person and it's others involved?”

Tash: “The guys I play with, I've been playing with for a really long time. Our drummer I played with in the band before, Dear Tash. So, he's a very fixed member. 

But… Dear Tash is me. The same with my guitarist, I've been playing with him for a while though every now and then I have to do a little switcheroo, but I do try and keep it the same people, just because I love the relationships I have with people and I love sharing things with people, to be able to play with them from the start and kind of grow with them, it feels really amazing. 

And they're my friends, so I want to give them the opportunities as well. I want to share it with them. But, yeah, I have a rotation of just a couple of other people that I can call on. 

Yeah, last time when I did the Great Escape (Brighton Music festival) a couple of weeks ago, my poor drummer rang me up in the morning and he said, he's got food poisoning, he just can't come. And I was like, oh my goodness. So I rang my other guy up and I said, are you by any chance free today? And he was, and I managed to make it work”

RTS: “So...this other guy knows all the songs?”

Tash: “Yes, that’s right”

RTS: “That's pretty handy, isn't it?" 

Tash: “That's useful. Yeah, yeah, really handy”. 

"I'm very

influenced by

modern rock

and a lot of

pop music"

RTS: “On a musical timeline what period would you say you are most aligned with?”

Tash: “So everyone's taking from somewhere. Yeah, I would say, the 90s, 2000s, that is a heavy influence but then I would also say that I feel very influenced by music that came out two years ago. But then obviously that music was influenced probably by the 90s and the 2000s as well. So you get a bit of a knock on effect. I'm very influenced by modern rock and a lot of pop music, to be honest, especially melody lines and vocal lines”. 

RTS: “Leading on from that, who do you currently listen to? Do you have any recommendations?”

Tash: “So there's a band that I found about a month ago and I was so surprised by how little following they have to how amazing their music is. I almost did a double take. I thought this can't be right. 

I think they're fairly new on the scene and from Brighton, they're called Mirror for Princes. 

It's got an indie influence, but to me, it sounds new. I haven't heard anything new that I was really excited about for a really long time. So I've been listening to them a lot. 

Plus a lot of Black Honey, who else have I been listening to? Wolf Alice of course.  

RTS: “When I ask this question to musicians they tend to go for the latest cutting edge option but everybody has their “comfort blanket” artist that they always return to?”

Tash: ”Yeah. I mean, I definitely have that.  

I would say an artist I always go back to is, Phantogram? They're an American band. They've been around a really long time. I would probably say, next to Muse and Biffy Clyro, they're a band that I've been listening to for 10 plus years, and continuously gone back to, and they just released a new album, it's amazing. I think that's really difficult when you've been around for so long, is to release an album that is really, really good. They're kind of more of an electronic influence than rock, but the melodies and the chords are really inspired. 

I went to see them a couple of weeks ago at The Electric Ballroom. Best gig of the year so far. I felt very inspired leaving that show, I was like, wow!.  

RTS: “The EP has been out for a couple of weeks and you had a launch show in London. How did that go?" 

Tash: “It was pretty amazing, actually. I felt strangely just very relaxed about the whole thing. In the past, I've gotten quite anxious, quite nervous. And I think it's because I feel like I've reached a point where I truly feel like this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing, I think artists need time to figure out what they truly want, and I think it takes a really long time and people this age, they don't quite realise you need that artist development time and that's kind of why I put DEAR TASH together maybe five years ago. 

 It's just taken me a while to figure it out, but I'm not even mad about it. I'm really grateful for the time I've spent to really dig deep and figure out what is the real me, what is it aside from any ego or what I think people think I should be creating or what I think they want or what's hot right now. So I really spent the last few years figuring it out. 

So this EP, when it came to actually releasing it and doing the show, it's weird because it feels like the beginning, even though it's the end of the first chapter, it feels like the beginning of what's next. It was received so well. I was almost crying. 

So I felt really emotional, “Flowers” is such an emotional track. It was the first time I played it live that night and I just had that opportunity to feel very present and connect with people in real time. 

I did an hour set and it went by so quickly”.

"What is the next step?

You know, I haven't

quite figured that

out yet"

RTS: “And hopefully the impetus from that, you're going to keep it rolling, does that mean more touring? Have you got an album on the horizon or the next plan?”

Tash: “I just got back from the Netherlands, I did a show supporting a band called Survive Said The Prophet, which was incredible. They're a Japanese band and I played with them in London as well. I was really blown away by the tight-knit community that they have. 

They have a really dedicated fan base and it was really amazing to see and be a part of. So I did that and that was really incredible to kind of push the EP and keep shouting about it and then obviously Brighton this weekend. I really want to spend the summer just sharing more about the EP You know, it's funny, just because I've sat on it for a year, it's very new for everyone else. 

So I want to take an opportunity to really just share as much as I can about it because I've got loads of content, I've got loads of interesting details that I want to do. And then maybe spend the summer teasing some new stuff but also just spend it really grafting. What is the next step? You know, I haven't quite figured that out yet. 

But, you know, I'm really excited. Already the new stuff is evolving, it's moving. I'm being more influenced by indie stuff, I'm being more influenced by even rougher sounds, like less electronic, more guitar. 

RTS: “You're not going to drop the bass? (mock horror)”

Tash: “ I'm not going to drop the bass and pick up a guitar, don't worry we'll still have lots of big bass riffs. Lots and lots of big bass riffs”. 

"I know one

can get into

routine and things

can get quite

autonomous"

RTS: You’ve worked hard on these 5 songs in the studio and it must have been great just hearing those coming out of the speakers as you recorded them. I’m sure you would like more of that?”

Tash: “Yeah, yeah, I hope so. So my manager's moved out to Toronto and he's also my producer, so he's really helped me just bring this all together sonically. 

So I'm hoping in a month or two I get to go out to Toronto and work on some stuff out there,that would be incredible. I haven't really travelled with my music properly so I think different places have different sounds and I'm really interested to explore what inspiration comes from just being in a different space. Because, I know one can get into routine and things can get quite autonomous. So I'm looking to kind of break away slightly from London for this next record and hopefully go over and meet some more people out in Canada and see what happens. It's quite exciting. 

Coming to the last part of our interview I threw in a few "favourite" questions.

RTS: “Favourite movie? All time”. 

Tash: “Of all time? Oh my God. I'm a romantic, so I'm going to have to say The Notebook”. 

RTS: “Favourite book?”

Tash: “Kill All Your Friends. I can't remember who it's by, but I loved it. It's about the music industry. It's terrible, but I loved it, you know. Yeah, it's quite dark”. 

RTS: “Favourite place?”

Tash: “Favourite place? Um, my mum lives in Wales and there's this beautiful waterfall, which is labelled the passage to the other world and it's quite a spiritual place and you can go and swim in it, it's absolutely beautiful and it just reminds me of being with my mum and it's very wonderful”.. 

RTS: “And to finish the BIG ONE.... Vinyl or download? You can't have both”. 

Tash: “Vinyl. I just got the test presses back for the vinyl for the EP and I was just blown away listening to it. It was funny because I've obviously heard the songs loads of times, but I was hearing new details that I hadn't heard before”.

A review of the FATAL EP is here

Review for Return To Sound by Dan Reddick

Photography by Dan Reddick