april 2021
in a letter my dear friend lesley wrote to me last year, she said “this page is the sunflower I struggle to care for” – I feel similarly about this newsletter. for months I have wanted to start, but then, a fear of oversharing, of not knowing what to write and how to write it… for now I will push these fears aside and think of it as an exercise – in trust, in expression, in writing, in sharing.
this year we received the gift of an early spring. if you have ever lived in montreal from october to april then you know that the arrival of spring is like a drug. people are smiling on the streets, filling the parks. you begin to run into friends you hadn’t seen since last summer. everyone excited to share the projects they spent the winter working on.
this winter in particular was hard - I missed friday nights at the studio, sharing a meal with friends, crowding into a club to see live music. more time was spent outside though - lots of walks and lots of coffee. ice skating with hot toddys, late walks up mount royal before curfew. there was the day of the big storm, where everyone in montreal managed to make some sort of snow sculpture - a phenomenon unseen before covid winter.
I spent much of the winter devoted to finishing my second record, and two weeks ago I sent it to be mixed. there are many steps in making a record, but let me tell you – this is a big one. writing and recording began in 2019, and in 2020 everything stopped. for an entire year. 2021 brought a renewed sense of optimism, and I was able to find the energy and time I needed to finish the record. it has been so emotional listening to these songs, hearing my growth as a producer and vocalist, knowing how much energy, time and love for what I do it took to get to this point. all to say – I can’t wait to share this music. there are years of work, and years of reward. I am looking forward to the latter.
there’s lots more in the works too, including the Dawn to Dawn record, which will be out later this year. Our next single will be out two weeks from today, on Friday, May 7th - it’s called “A Colour Named By You”. Pre-save it here and it will be added to your streaming library the day it comes out - a small favour to ask, but it really helps get the word out!
I’ll leave you now with some things I’ve been enjoying lately, in no particular order.
the new rêves sonores album – lush soundscapes, dawn in the garden of my dreams. my highlights are “mondial” and “swan song”.
patti smith’s newsletter – patti, my queen. I think of her often, and these weekly transmissions are such a treat.
come back to me by janet jackson – this video has over 14m views but somehow I had never heard it until this past weekend? an incredible track
braiding sweetgrass - robin wall kimmerer – I have little words for how much this book makes me feel, and would encourage anyone reading this to read it too.
honestly - my messy desk. when the desk is covered in paper and cameras, notebooks, pens, photos and receipts, tangled wires, it means I’m busy. and often this means I’m happy.
if you’re still reading, this is for you ♡ until next time. xx tess
there are still prints available on my webshop! each sale goes directly to helping me release my record. 15% off with the code: NEWSLETTER
You can find Tess Roby on Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, and Bandcamp.