In Conversation With #171 - Tara Nome Doyle
Berlin-based Norwegian-Irish singer-songwriter Tara Nome Doyle has just released her second album ‘Værmin’ - which tells a tragic love story, rich in symbolism and nuances, orchestrated with piano, violin and synthesizer and sometimes pulsating beats – and with singing that is both intense and varied, sometimes angelic, sometimes rough and threatening. Tara took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Tara, how are you? So your new album is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
It feels pretty surreal to finally release “Værmin” after working on the record for over 2 years! I’ve taken quite a few creative risks with it, which makes me feel both proud and nervous. The songwriting and production processes have been such great sources of energy and purpose for me throughout the various lockdowns and restrictions here in Germany.
It is called ‘Værmin’ - what is the meaning behind that?
The title is a combination of the word “vermin” - as the album tracks feature a lot of symbolism around unwanted pests like leeches, spiders and snails - and the Norwegian phrase “vær min”, which translates to “be mine” and represents the love story that is told over the course of the record. I personally love creating concept albums and weaving in small easter eggs like this one.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process?
We recorded most of “Værmin” at Voxton Studios in Berlin, Germany. A lot of the pre-production was done with my producer Simon Goff at his home studio over a span of several months. I really enjoyed the slowness of our production process, as it gave us time to reflect on every decision we made and allowed us to bring in amazing musicians like Tobias Humble (Ghostpoet, Tricky) , Anne Müller (Agnes Obel, Nils Frahm) and Larry Mullins (Nick Cave, Iggy Pop) whenever we felt ready for their contributions.
What are they key themes and influences on the album?
C.G. Jungs concepts of “the persona” (what we want the world to see us as) and “the shadow” (what we have learned to suppress and hide) were the main inspirations behind “Værmin”. I am fascinated by shame and how it relates to anxiety and self-acceptance. These are topics I have struggled with quite a lot with in the past and writing this record meant confronting my shadow and reevaluating the role of shame in the relationships I have with myself and others.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
I love writing lyrics, so it’s hard to pick one, but I have to say that I’m always a sucker for wordplay. An example of this can be found in “Caterpillar” where I sing:
“sacrifice makes me swoon
come creep in to my cocoon
feed my lice and watch me bloom come creep into my cocoon”
I like that it sounds like I could be saying “feed me lies”, because that would also make sense in the context of the song.
Now the album is out there - what’s next for you?
My band and I got to perform the album tracks at a gig last August and it was the most amazing live experience I’ve ever had so I really hope that there’ll be some opportunities for us to play shows this year. But who knows!
Apart from that, I plan on spending a lot of time on songwriting. It is truly the core of my passion for music and I have to be careful not to get swept away by all the other tasks and organisational aspects that can come up in this creative career.
