Meet...Tiggy

New-York based former cellist and opera singer, Tiggy is embracing on a new journey of being a self-taught songwriter and producer.

As she creates everything independently, Tiggy has just released her fourth single 'Dear California'; an upbeat, sun-soaked and nostalgic track that is her opener to her upcoming debut EP. From one country to another, Tiggy has learnt to be a talented artist from the comfort of her bedroom.

With an EP in the works, the love of finding out new artists and throwing back to her first single 'Might Last' of 2020, Vibez had the chance to talk to her about her adventures.

Firstly, how are you and what has been the weirdest thing that has happened to you throughout lockdown?

Hanging in there! Some days are harder than others but, trying to take it a day at a time and make sure I’m setting some sort of schedule for each day. Lots of music, lots of reading and a decent amount of cooking and baking. I tried to make banana bread the other day without eggs or milk and without following a recipe. Disaster. I’ve been staying on a farm for most of the quarantine so would have to say the strangest thing so far has probably been doing a cross-country road trip to go get a bunch of dogs and sheep. Driving them back was quite the adventure.

Recently, you've released your fourth single of 2020 'Dear California', could you tell us a bit more about the story behind it?

“Dear California” is a letter to my childhood home. I grew up in California until I was 13 but, since then I’ve lived in five different countries and often struggle with where to call “home”. I’ve always associated myself with being from California - every bone in my body is loyal to that state - but all I must hang on to is the nostalgia and feeling of living there so many years ago. There’s sort of an untainted innocence surrounding those memories since I was so young, and we left before one starts to grow up and lift the hood on less happy things. For this song I wanted it to embody that feeling of sun-soaked nostalgia and innocence, so I purposefully produced it to sound like that - hence the more washed out, surf-pop vibe.

In the past, you were a former cellist and opera singer, why now have you decided to pursue being a singer-songwriter and producer?

I was! Performing took up so much of my youth but when I went to high school and college I was focused on classes, playing sports, friends and trying a bunch of new things I hadn’t before. Singing and playing instruments fell out of the picture for a bit. Then last December I was able to take some time off work and travel around, and I remember I was alone in Europe when I had some version of a pre-quarter life crisis where I realized I wanted to spend more time doing things I love. I’ve always been so serious about my future but, I decided I didn’t want to waste my younger years always focusing on the next thing instead of enjoying what I’m currently doing. So, I turned to the thing I love most: music! It’s helped me stay present.

What inspired you to pursue music and where do you hope to see yourself in years to come?

I’ve been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember but, mainly as a consumer of it. It may sound naive, but I didn’t realize until recently that nowadays really anyone with access to a computer can record something that sounds halfway good and put it out on any streaming platform. Then I watched an interview with FINNEAS who said he recorded & produced Billie’s entire debut album in his bedroom. That blew my mind. So, I started to learn. In the years to come, I hope that I can continue to grow as a songwriter and producer. I’m still super new to this and have a lot to learn about the craft and myself as an artist. I hope to perform my music for the first time ever when shows are a thing again! But mainly I just want to continue making music that I feel represents me and that hopefully resonates with other people.

With music across the board from a range of artists, who are your top three and is there anyone we should be listening to?

Top 3 may be the hardest question of all time but here it goes. I’d have to say, Lorde, Frank Ocean and Jack Johnson. I have so many memories associated with their music. I shuffle “This Is Jack Johnson” on Spotify anytime I feel stressed. But there’s a long list of artists tied for those spots in my mind! In terms of recs, I’ve been finding up and coming artists lately. A few off the top of my head are Holly Humberstone, Jany Green, Genevieve Stokes and GRAE. Pretty different vibes but check them out!

Throwing back to the beginning of 2020, you released your first single 'Might Last' - what is the main story of this track and did you see yourself releasing more tracks afterwards?

That feels like years ago! “Might Last” was inspired by all the feelings you start to have when you’re in a long-term relationship. There comes a point in relationships where you start to think “wow this might actually last” and its sort of a terrifying thought. Especially when you’re in your 20s. The chorus captures that feeling. For the verses, I wanted to highlight little vignettes that often go unnoticed or underappreciated in a long term relationship: being comfortable enough to drive together in silence without feeling weird about it, holding hands when an aeroplane lands, someone sneaking out to work in the morning trying not to wake the other person, and so on...

The main talking point is your upcoming debut EP, what is your inspiration behind it, and could you let us in on any secrets of the project?

I’m super excited about the EP - it’s been fun to create a body of songs that feel cohesive. The main concept behind my first EP is my life growing up as a diplomat’s daughter, hence the title “Diplomat’s Daughter”. I feel like moving around so much has shaped me in a big way, and so I wanted to reflect on those experiences. Each song on the EP is inspired by a different place I’ve lived - sort of like little time capsules for my memories of each place to be kept in forever. I produced each song to sound like how those places have made me feel. “Dear California,” is upbeat, happy, the type of song you might play driving down the Pacific Coast Highway. “Two Year Stand” is sort of the thesis statement for the entire EP but is mainly inspired by Paris, the last place my family lived. That one is bittersweet.

What would be your dream tour and who would you have as your support act?

The sort of tour that sounds the coolest to me right now is made of smaller and more intimate, Sofar Sounds-style rooms around the world, where you get to connect with the audience and talk with people before and after. I’m not at a place in my career as an artist where I’m dreaming of like sold-out stadiums, you know? But I love the idea of being able to look the crowd in the eyes and see them. A festival stops mixed in there would be sweet too. Assuming I could tour with anyone, I’d love to be on stage with Maggie Rogers. She has such great stage presence and I feel like she’d also be the best to hang out with. I admire her a lot.

With being in the music industry what has been your biggest accomplishment and what has been the most challenging task?

My biggest accomplishment so far is creating this body of work that is the EP. I went into 2020 intending to have one song by the end of the year since I had never even opened production software before and didn’t know the first thing about songwriting. I probably could have reached out to people to learn or collaborate, but I wanted it to be a fully DIY project because I knew that my music was going to be very personal to me. It’s self-written, recorded, produced, and all that. I’m super proud of the journey and ultimately the output! I think the most challenging part of this has been self-promotion. If you want people to hear your music you must do it, but I’m not good at that! I respect people who have no shame.

Finally, what is your number one spot of your bucket list?

Greece! My real name is Antigone and I’ve never even been to my homeland...