Q&A: TEZ on “When Our Worlds Collide”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY GIGI KANG ☆
TEZ ARE A UK-BASED TRIO—who just released their latest single “When Our Worlds Collide.” The group consists of Owen Mellett, Joe Martin, and Dan Hughes. TEZ started as a bedroom project which has grown into a community of summer-loving, surf, indie-rock appreciators.
Compared to past releases, the band’s surf-rock sound comes through even clearer in “When Our Worlds Collide.” Layered vocals in the chorus, easygoing drums that drive the song, and catchy keys create a beachy vibe that the band says they’re “going to lean more towards” in upcoming releases.
Read Luna’s full conversation with TEZ about the release and more below.
LUNA: “When Our Worlds Collide” was written super quickly. Does that happen often for you guys?
TEZ: Yes and no. The way I’ve always written is to freestyle and just play. 20, 30 minutes just with the guitar and seeing whatever comes out. Usually a lot of random stuff, then I go back with more of a corrective eye and see if there’s a pattern or a theme, then build off that. It’s always the way that I’ve worked.
As a band, we’ve always been in the studio and grown songs together that have a foundation, maybe like a verse or a chorus. This song was just like a riff that someone started playing, and everyone sort of layered on top of it. It felt really good. I started writing lyrics on my phone. Around 10 minutes later, we had the verses, chorus, and an idea for the bridge as well. The structure was completely there. It has had a lot of tweaking structurally since then, but definitely the idea and the vibe of the song was there in that moment.
LUNA: This song seems like your most surf-rock sound to date. Is that a sound you’ve been leaning into more?
TEZ: It definitely feels quite surf rock and that’s fun. I think with our change of lineup, it’s something we’re going to lean more towards. That’s where our personalities lie. We’re excited to keep exploring that surf rock, surf pop, shoe gaze, indie-surf vibe.
A lot of our favorite bands have that as a beachy vibe. almost monday, we’ve been getting into a lot recently. We always love Palace. [There’s also] Foals, Yellow Days, and Sam Fender.
LUNA: You’ve said the song “is the next chapter in a story still being written.” How would you describe the upcoming new music we can expect?
TEZ: It’s a variety. I feel it’s quite honest. I’ve always written honestly and from the heart, but I think meanings have sometimes been a bit inferred. With these songs, they’re very direct and more raw than I’ve ever been before. Maybe that’s a [result] of doing this longer and feeling more comfortable to share my feelings. Maybe [it’s] a result of people being really receptive and kind towards the music.
I think it’s definitely our best work to date. It’s something we’ve been self-producing for the most part, self-recording in a bedroom which is where Tez started. It was a bedroom project of mine. So it’s cool to take it back there, but with the friends, contacts, and connections that we have now, and do sort of a hybrid studio-bedroom model, which I think has given this track a really nice lo-fi energy as well.
LUNA: In September, you’ll be playing the Hope & Anchor in London. What have you planned and what are you most excited about?
TEZ: It’s our biggest ever headline show in London to date, and that’s really exciting. It’s nice to be doing something that’s a main event, a bit of a longer set. Rila’s Edge are supporting.
It’s going to be all the new upcoming music, the songs that we already have that people love, and it’s just lovely to connect with people. We’re having messages from people that are fans of the music that we haven’t met as of yet. That’s always really exciting—always so happy to meet new people.
To have music that connects with people is one thing, but to have music that connects with people to the degree that they buy a ticket and spend an evening to see you live is just unmatched. It’s so special. I can’t ever be grateful enough for that.
