Tuvaband is the highly strung and wildly eclectic brainchild of fearless songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser. After Grammy nominations and multiple album successes, she has taken on her own mountain with her upcoming album ‘New Orders, having full creative control of the whole process. ‘Something Good’ is one instalment of this and it’s simply breathtaking. Sonorous indie folk that will keep you under Tuva’s spell for many many hours of listening. We caught up with Tuva and asked her all about her new single, plans for the future and so much more. Check it out!
Hey Tuva, how are you? So, your new single ‘Something Good’ is out now – can you tell us what it is about?
Hi, I feel very good, thanks! During the pandemic and lockdown, I started to listen to more music that were either comforting, uplifting, or filling me up with dopamine. I listened a lot to ‘Cloudbusting’ just to hear the sentence «I just know that something good is gonna happen». I wanted a song with more of this sentence, so eventually I made that song myself. It was both about hoping for something good happening in the world, but also on a personal level.
Where are you from and what are your favourite things to do there?
I’m from Norway, and I currently live in Oslo. And no matter where I live I seem to always end up spending the most time in my studio making music, and forgetting to see the city. But when I’m off, I try to see friends. Either over a beer, a concert, sewing, playing Ligretto, hanging out in a park or the woods, or we go swimming.
What are the key influences when it comes to your music?
I mainly get inspired by how a song is produced, or the sound of the production. Other than that I usually take inspiration from one element from each song that inspires me. The last years I’ve made a lot of playlists, where one is for drum inspiration, one is for bass, one is for catchy parts, and stuff like that. The songs seem to be coming from very different genres. That’s why I tend to use elements from different genres.
Listen to ‘Something Good’ here:
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never listened to your music before?
I would say my sound is unpolished, and a little rough around the edges. My main goal is to not make it sound like it comes from a high end studio by a commercial producer. I need to keep some imperfections and mistakes. I like the sound of shoegaze used in different type of songs. And my music is definitely melancholic.
‘Something Good’ is a really captivating listen, how was the recording and writing process for this one?
Thank you! This was the song on the new album where I just really couldn’t decide on the main instrument. Neither the drums. First I tried having the guitar as the main instrument, and I tried a lot of different sounds, and then I tried to have bass as the main instrument. Eventually I tried the piano, and that was it. The same process with drums; I had to try a lot of different drum arrangements before I found the right one. I find my drum «arrangements» by drawing squares in Logic, and can spend way too much time on details; like one day I’ve spent a lot of time on how and where the fills should be. The next day I might change it completely and move it to a different spot. In the end I was very happy with all the details.
Ok, that was a long ramble. Thank you for having me!
