Leaving it Up 2 Me
new single, record release shows, and an appearance in the New York Times
Last week I released the second single from my forthcoming sophomore album, Ideas of Space, out April 22nd on my newly launched record label, SSURROUNDSS.
Up 2 Me made its way all the way to the New York Times, featured in their weekly round up of songs alongside Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Tinashe, Floating Points and Father John Misty. Here’s what they had to say;
Tess Roby, a singer and electronic musician from Canada, stacks up two-bar loops in “Up 2 Me”: trickle-down scales, bass riffs, flickering percussion sounds and her meditative vocals, which offer terse considerations of temporality: “calling it like it was/looking at it like it is.” It’s a four-minute track that could easily have circled through its materials for much longer.
Friday morning I boarded my flight from Los Angeles back to Montreal. Before I turned my phone to airplane mode, I turned to Hugo and said “When we land I’m going to open my phone to some good news” – and this was it. What a feat to see my independently released music make it’s way to the New York Times. A win, to say the least.
I also just announced my record release shows in Montreal and Toronto. These are my first headlining shows in my home cities since my last record was released. The shows are in beautiful venues, the tickets are affordable & all ages are welcome! I will take the stage with my new band, consisting of incredible Canadian musicians Nick Schofield & Yolande Laroche. Please buy tickets, and spread the word! I have worked so hard to organize these and they will be full of joy and beauty. Tickets for these shows & future live dates can be found here.
The making of Up 2 Me was very meditative. It was the first song I wrote following a situation that had taken a toll on my mental health, and had kept me out of the studio for a long time. The first iteration came in the summer of 2020, and it rested as an instrumental demo for a while. When I was close to finishing the album, I searched through all my recordings to find a final track – this one stood out to me. I wrote the vocal melody and arranged the song, then brought the instrumental to Austin Tufts along with a beat and asked him to program and expand on the idea. At this point we had been working together for awhile and he was totally immersed in my sonic universe and knew the mood I was after.
When I first heard the track with the drums, it was early Spring in April 2021. Montreal had this ridiculous 8pm curfew– it was 7:30pm or so and I left my apartment so I could listen outside. The sun was setting, the streets were empty, and I listened to the track on repeat until I had to run home.
The process of writing and recording this album was healing. I learned a lot about myself, as a person and as an artist. Lyrically, this song is about trusting myself, and leaving behind any negativity. For the video, I wanted to give the listener an intimate glimpse into my world. It’s a huge contrast from the Ideas of Space video, which I love. So much of the album, and this song in particular, was written in my home studio so it’s special that it’s captured in this video.
That’s all for now – thank you as always for reading and for listening. If you want to support, please pre-order the vinyl or digital album on Bandcamp! The limited edition vinyl are sold out (there will be some available at my record release shows) but there are still lots of classic black vinyl available.
Spring is on the way, live music is back. More news soon,
xx tess