She’s a shooting star, a fiery artistic explosion that shines with surprise and mystic and raw, noble energy and modern pop-rock eccentricities. She is magnificent, down-to-earth, and open-minded. She is Whitney Tai, and her American Wasteland is on its way.
As we were preparing to interview Whitney Tai, we asked her publicist (and friend), Michael Trainor, what he enjoys most about working with her right now, in the midst of “Rhea” and the personal, musical world she’s created. He said, “I remember the first time I heard ‘Rhea.’ I felt like I was floating in Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise. Time was suspended. I felt a chill. The hairs on my arms stood up. Every time I listen to ‘Rhea’ I make new sonic discoveries. It’s multidimensional. You experience layers of color as the narrative continues to reveal itself. I love the spirit of ‘Rhea.’ This song is an anti-inflammatory for the soul. I’m very proud to have the opportunity to represent such a beautiful and timeless song. Whitney Tai and her co-conspirator Tommy Hatz have created a very special musical journey with American Wasteland. ‘Rhea’ is just the beginning.”
With that, our interview with Whitney is out now – as is “Rhea” – and we’re thrilled to let the people behind this introspective, atmospheric, and distinctive new project do (most of) the talking.
Friends and mutual fans of one another, Whitney, we would be remiss to not say that you are a rare breed of an artist – grounded and honest and ethereal all at once. How do you maintain a sense of self, a true sense of intimate individuality and originality, when putting parts of yourself into the world through art?
The Aquarian has been a kind and welcoming home to me over the years. The dedicated history of your team, a tried and trusted source for music appreciators and music-makers alike, cements that sentiment. It’s with a grateful heart I express thanks for a sacred exchange of support. As a disciple of quantum physics and the Dao, what helps to maintain a true sense of self is realizing there isn’t one. We are one universal consciousness, a loving and altogether volatile energy coalescing across a chaotic grid of perceived time. By honoring the intuition, being a student of life, and embracing the fascinating weirdness of being alive, it helps maintain a sense of wonder about the world (even when life’s experiences can break a person down). Music and poetry are my channels, and I, too, am just a channel for them.
With that in mind, today you are sharing the glorious “Rhea” with the masses. What do you hope that people take away from this single, and why was now a good time to have people hear it?
I would genuinely hope that when people find “Rhea” they can interpret – through its melody, lyrics, and arrangement – a deeper messaging of what it means for them in their current experience. As a compound of my own struggles, traversing an equally dark and profound transformation, “Rhea” is the mind’s eye. It’s the part of us doing the inner and outer work it has come here to do. This impending moment, coincidentally, feels like the right time for people to meet this song– where souls are longing for equity, true connections, reciprocity, and acknowledgment of their right to exist peacefully amidst a deeply troubling place.
American Wasteland album cover / Photos and visuals by Joey Cultice
From listening to the track myself, I notice some soulfulness – a more fleshed out understanding of what truth, freedom of expression, and soul can be. How did you tap into that this time around?
Soul takes on shapes for me, if I were to do my best to describe it. It is water, air, fire, and earth –and because it is all those things, it must adapt. When I set out to write or capture a sound, I let a more encompassing voice take the wheel. If that’s nature, I bow to her and thank her for even seeing my vehicle as a means to understand itself. I’ve overcome and continue to reconcile some painful junctures in my personal journey, but they have only become gasoline on the flame. It’s courageous and steadfast to choose love day after day in a reality that can coerce you to disbelieve its power.
“Rhea” has a run time of close to four minutes, but the way it’s layered and lilting in its earnest nature and glistening dreaminess, it feels like it can go on and on. When do you know a song is finished, complete, and checks all the boxes? Whether it be this single or another?
More often than not, the song tells you when it’s finished. You can fight against that volition or just check your ego at the door to be a servant to the song’s request. When TommyHatz and I began working together, it was glaring that we shared the same values around the song being the ‘Alpha Omega.’ Once we set the ball in motion, the songs speak and we just listen intently. There’s also something to be said about the earlier intentions behind American Wasteland, as a whole, which was to yield to its request to suspend time. What that meant was acknowledging negative as much as the positive space, challenging the listener to remain present rather than inflict a definitive expectation aroused by the ego.
You write, record, sing, and produce with color, brightness, and intention. When crafting the songs of this era – from ‘Simulation’ to ‘Rhea’ to what comes next – what were you thinking about and what were you listening to, as a music lover as much as you are a musician?
This era of my music has become what you’re experiencing by a number of variables. I’m a growing writer and continually aspiring to challenge myself in dissecting my experiences more visually and sonically than I’m comfortable with. Tapping into trauma with piercing visual tact, bridging the divide with Little Tai and Adult Tai after loss, exploitation, heartache, and struggle. My appetite during this time is thoughtful, meditative, storytelling-inspired music (old and new) that propelled me down a rabbit hole of more quality ear-time with what moves me: Nick Drake, Low, Vast, Radiohead, Dylan LeBlanc, Slowdive, RA, Björk, Steven Wilson, Circa Survive, Alice In Chains, Kendrick Lamar, Agnes Obel, Opeth. After working with TommyHatz, who did a magnificent job producing this record, he tapped in as a great producer generally does with drawing out artistic individualism. Honoring the spirit of someone’s aura, messaging, and atmosphere becomes the ultimate goal in the production room. I can’t stress enough for songwriters everywhere how important it is to make art with people who are divorced from ego and genuinely care about a common goal.
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