Out now on indie label Not Saints, Little Tealeif’s new single ‘Pedestal People’ is a brooding earworm of a debut. Little Tealeif blends elements of dance, rock, hip-hop, and pop with the mastery of producers like Mark Ronson or Rick Rubin. Currently based in Kent, the multi-instrumentalist, producer, and lyricist’s music is easily relatable and tackles modern themes such as isolation, inadequacy, addiction, and self-belief; all delivered with perfectly crafted genre-bending skill. Having discovered guitar bands in his early teens, Little Tealeif’s passion and fascination for all things music was instant and he quickly became a prolific songwriter.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello Little Tealeif. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
I'm pretty headstrong with my musical ideas when I'm writing, and I've also got the patience to work out how I can make the musical ideas fit or grow. And I'm very aware that just doing music, just writing anything is so beneficial. So I work on things that might never get released or that are just for a laugh and I always learn a lot. I suppose being able to learn and adapt is important too. There's an Eminem line that goes "I'm not a rapper, I'm an adapter" and I think of that often. Adapting and evolving, it's important stuff.
What is your dream project?
I've still got a lot of music in my head that I want to explore and record and put out. If I was in a situation where I could do that 24/7 then that would be a "dream project". I have several venues and festivals in my head that are "targets" somewhat, so achieving that would be part of the dream.
Your latest track is 'Pedestal People'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
I wrote it in Paris, during some of the grimmest times I've had, I'm surprised I even managed to finish writing it. I was trying to reason with addiction, which never works, and that led to a lot of mistakes and wrong paths, and so I lyrically I was trying to understand why I wasn't living a "normal" life. I was looking at others and asking myself why can't I keep things together. The first line "I came back from the dead too quick" fell out of my mouth, and it was exactly how I felt - I had gone back to the UK to get help and I returned to Paris 18 months later but I wasn't any better. I love dropping little references to show my appreciation for things at times too, hence the spin on Bob Dylan's "Get dressed, get blessed, try to be a success". The guitar riff came about from listening to a lot of bands with Arabic influence, like Oum Shatt. And then everything else just made sense in my head, step by step.
What makes you angry?
Powercuts and cold weather. I haven't got time for either of those. But that's more frustration than anger to be fair, I just don't like interruptions and shivering.
What is the most surprising fact you’ve learnt about yourself?
I'm surprised at how difficult I'm finding these questions. Usually I can blag or chat nonsense easily but these questions are making me actually use my brain... I suppose I'm pretty resilient - I've lived through a lot and I'm still here just chilling, making pop songs.
What do you dislike about your work?
I dislike the amount of time I waste rerecording stuff that doesn't need to be tweaked. I get stuck in a loop and just do things over and over again, even when the first or second take was great. So I waste a lot of time on that - I try to streamline my processes as much as possible but that one still happens a lot.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
I feel like I've set a good foundation for things to come, so I'd like to thank people for their support so far. Also I'd want to let folks know that this just feels like the beginning of something good - I'm very happy with the music I'm creating these days so there'll be lots coming out in the future.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
It can be, but I learnt a while ago that I prefer to write on my own anyway. So I like the process of creating sounds in solitude and working over lyrics for long periods. I can work whenever and wherever I want and just get in the zone with it. Once I'm ready, it's then that I love sharing it with people and actually playing the music with others. My live set-up is currently a solo venture, which I'm loving, but at some point I'd like to have a full band, the whole shabang. That way I would get two different worlds that I could make the most of.
What do you think is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen or experienced?
Mikado chocolates. I lived in Paris and was with an ex, we were standing by the river Seine at night-time, so everything was beautiful but we lived there so...that's just the way it was, it was normal I guess. Anyway, we kissed and this dude came up really sheepishly and was like "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but you guys looked so romantic and I wanted to give you something but all I have is this box of Mikado" and he kinda just leant down and put it on the floor in front of us and smiled and then walked off. That was it. We laughed and took the box, and it became a "thing" between us about Mikado. It was beautiful that the guy was so touched by the moment that he felt the desire to give us something and then just disappear.
What are your plans for the future?
My EP 'Charcoal' has just come out so I'm spreading the word and appreciating the feedback, just enjoying things. I've already started the next EP so that's keeping my mind busy. I'm always tweaking my live-set up, my set lists so I'm excited to play some new gigs with a splash of new music. I have some ideas for a few videos too which could be cool, as I said earlier - this is just the beginning so there's a lot of cool stuff to be getting on with!