Q&A: Tex Patrello Wants to Make Everything Magical
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY SHERIDAN AGUILAR ☆
TEX PATRELLO FINDS ROMANCE IN NOTHINGNESS-Dallas-based experimental pop musician, visual artist, and performer known for blending theatrical storytelling into deeply atmospheric music. Her work combines dreamy melodies, layered production, and surreal lyricism with themes of mythology, desire, Americana, and obsession. Patrello gained wider attention with her debut album Minotaur, a sprawling self-produced project that explores modern Greek tragedy through eccentric characters, cinematic soundscapes, and emotionally raw songwriting.
Now based in New York City, she took her storytelling on tour with Sword II. Her performance showcased her ability to combine all the themes of her newest album through visual storytelling. Patrello arrived at her performance in a sultry wedding gown and glimmering makeup, ready to tell a story layered with passion and nothingness. She fascinated the audience with theatrical elements consisting of props and actors. The audience responded with enthusiastic applause and remained captivated throughout the performance, fully immersed in the world she created onstage.
Her creativity extends far beyond the stage and into every world she builds around her music. From custom puzzles and unconventional merch concepts to immersive, interactive stage designs, Patrello treats every detail as part of the storytelling experience. Nothing exists separately from the universe of the album - the visuals, performances, costumes, and physical objects all become extensions of the narrative she creates. Whether working with a limited budget or an ambitious idea, Patrello approaches each concept with the belief that no idea is impossible, transforming even the smallest details into something theatrical, surreal, and deeply intentional.
During her discussion with The Luna Collective, Patrello explores her inspirations - musicals, drag and nothingness.
LUNA: You're almost done with this leg of tour with Sword II. Tell me about how that's been going?
PATRELLO: It's been really fun. I like, like, people will be like, Oh, my vacation was magical, or whatever, yeah. And like, I've always like, Okay, I know what they're talking about. But I've never understood. The last time I experienced, like, magic on vacation or, like on an outing or whatever, but like low key, I feel like there's been times I was like, tonight was magical.
LUNA: How's the crowd been reacting to your set?
PATRELLO: I did a tour last summer, and I met a lot of new people. Not a lot of people knew my music. But this time, I met a lot of people who were really into my music. It's just been amazing to talk to people. In LA there was 10 people I knew that came. If you want to call it fans, you can call it fans.
LUNA: If people are listening to you the first time, like, maybe on this tour or your previous tour, how would you describe your sound to them?
PATRELLO: I usually don't describe my sound. I just say like pop.. I'm just not very literate in genres. And I don't really care to be, no shade. I just don't really think in genres. I guess I just kind of want people to judge for themselves.
LUNA: I read about your production process, and you kind of mentioned in a previous interview, writing and making songs about things that have no interest to you, can you say more about that?
PATRELLO: What's something I hate? Home Depot. Yeah, I really don't like Home Depot. But romanticizing it, writing a love song about it, maybe it's a song about falling in love. People are like, Oh no, no, it looks dangerous. Dangerous, okay, yeah, people like to cruise in Home Depot bathrooms, that’s not my place to be. But you know, there's romance happening, yeah? Yeah, that was just the first thing I thought of. I feel more when something's new to you, it's easier to love the ideas that come out of it.
LUNA: You wrote kind of about, or someone wrote about your process of, like, having 400 maybe, tracks on a song before it’s finished. Tell me how you know a song's done for you?
PATRELLO: I honestly never get tired of my music. If I get tired, then I just leave it alone and come back to it. I would say that the ideal way to finish a song is just to feel like every second is perfect so that's why I come back to it, like, over and over. Sometimes I leave it alone for a year, and then I come back to it. So I think it's not a feeling, it's just like a thought. Yeah, don't tire yourself out.
LUNA: I'm curious if you're writing any new music. If there is anything, okay, yeah, I mean about it.
PATRELLO: I'm always writing, constantly. No timeline or anything like that, but I do have a story. That I'm, creating music similar to how Minotaur was a story. But I would say this is even more so, like, this is to the point of it being like a true musical. I would maybe stage it one day. I think it's gonna be a movie.
LUNA So tell me a little bit more about your creative process?
PATRELLO: I feel like I'm able to, like, sit down and think of an idea. Not always, but I just feel like no idea is impossible. If something sounds ridiculous there's a way to do it low budget not low effort. I put in a lot of effort, yeah? It's like, why not make a puzzle? I think there's so many cool, merch concepts I would love to do.
LUNA: How do you come up with those ideas?
PATRELLO: I'm sure it's just a combination of every piece of media I've ever seen in my life. Some ideas pool in my mind and I am able to form images out of the reflections.
LUNA: Tell me more about how makeup plays a part of your creative process?
PATRELLO: . All my real jobs have been in makeup sales and skincare. I was a makeup artist for a while, and I've just always been like a counter girl, working for a Clinique Nordstrom, and Ulta. I love makeup and drag and yeah, makeup is a really fun part of my life.
LUNA: Tell me a highlight or fun moment from this tour?
PATRELLO: My friend who I'm touring with, Taylor. We went to Marfa. We had two days off, and we saw the lights! I did not think it was gonna happen. And in fact, I kind of sing about the lights of my album- in Minotaur. It was really cool to see that in person. It felt like I'm there interacting with them.
