Teigen Gayse is still feeling the shockwaves she made from the release of her self-titled album last month.
The album is a contemporary-country hit, with each song displaying clever uses of sweet, summer-esque melodies and attitudinal instrumentation. To keep up all the hype, Gayse recently released a music video for the single, “Don’t Look Back,” that includes an additional intro-section. At the start of the video, Gayse can be heard reading off an emotional quote about finding bright spots through dark times.
Down below, you’ll find the “Don’t Look Back” video as well as our very own interview with Gayse regarding her album and what other surprises she has in store for us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=vTG6-fJykT0&app=desktop
This album has been a long time in the works for you. Can you describe a couple of moments in the album that are most personal to you?
“Austin” was the last song that I wrote on the record, therefore, the wounds were fairly fresh and because of that, I had a couple of bittersweet moments in the studio while the production was going on. I am also a huge sucker for melodies and I love the melody in that song. When Cody was recording the steel guitar solo in the Bridge I just remember my heart racing cause I loved it so much, I almost started crying. I also had a moment when Tyler was tracking the acoustic guitar for “Don’t Look Back”, he played the simplest guitar picking but it gave the song such a sweet sound, and it was exactly what the song needed. I remember me and Cody looking at each other going “wow that’s it”!
“Don’t Look Back” catches your attention immediately with an inspiring quote in the beginning. Could you take us inside your metaphors and really let us know what your message was in the poem-like section?
I heard the quote a few years ago and I loved it “Don’t look back, you’re not going that way” it was so powerful and I knew I wanted to do something with it but I didn’t know exactly at the time what I wanted to say. About a year ago I had an idea after watching tv one day and it just came to me. After that, the melody and words poured out in a matter of minutes. I’m very proud of how the song turned out and sometimes you have to sit on songs for a bit so now I never get discouraged if I can’t write at that given moment. The song is very fitting for the times we are living in today and I loved how it was completely happenstance that I had a positive uplifting song on the record to release during these times of uncertainty.
Teigen Gayse is your debut album. What has been different about releasing a full-length record rather than a string of singles?
It has been the most incredible gratifying experience. I am always having people ask me “when is the album”? “Where can I find more of your music”? And I always felt so bad that I only had a couple of songs for people to listen to, so I’m stoked I now have an 8 track record for the fans to listen to. Singles are fun for sure and I think they are a very important process for releasing an album but man it felt good releasing a whole whack of songs.
What was the experience like releasing an album in a quarantine, lockdown setting where fan interaction is prohibited? Did you have any concerns or did you just roll with it?
I have been waiting to answer this question in an interview.. I was so scared at first and had thoughts of not releasing. The whole game has changed now, I can’t promote the album by playing shows, the media is only talking about COVID. But I took a leap of faith and I’m so happy I did. Music heals and I know how powerful it is and I just pray that during these times I make some smiles, feel-good moments, and some source of escape. I was in Texas staying with my manager while releasing the record when everything started going south and every day we worked our butts off to find some new innovative ways to come out on top of all this. I’m very fortunate that I had her, and the record to concentrate on these times.
When physical distancing is through, do you have plans to tour and to continue promoting the record?
ABSOLUTELY! I dream of the day I get to hit the road and perform on a stage again. My soul is still on fire and I will be ready for it when this is all over, and I won’t take anything for granted! So for anyone reading this, follow me on socials, if you haven’t listened to the album, go check it out, and if any of the songs meant something to you, please tell me about it. I have been keeping up with doing my virtual live shows on Insta and Facebook and would love to see y’all there. xo
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