by anne-elise tidwell
photo by gabrielle ravet
Unobsession, the latest record from NYC-based rock artist Taraneh, confidently embraces her artistic evolution. While she began her music journey recording alone in her bedroom, this album allowed Taraneh to tailor her sonic identity alongside her band, resulting in a gritty, rock sound that she said authentically channels the energy of her live performances. Unobsession stands out in her discography as it merges raw rock power with a bold musical intensity that pushes her sound into exhilarating new territory. Unclear had a conversation with Taraneh about the spiritual liberation that came with releasing Unobsession, her unwavering dedication to putting on a high-energy live show, and what this chapter means to her, both as an individual and as an artist.
You mentioned earlier this year that you were beginning to let go of some persistent struggles that you had saying: "Now feels like a time of old wounds surfacing to be released once and for all. Perhaps the theme of this year even. Healing and releasing things that must be and are now cleared for us to enter our next chapters of abundant new beginnings.”
Do you feel like the process of making your newest album, Unobsession, helped you achieve that clear conscience? Does it mark a new beginning for you, not only as an artist, but also just as a person existing in the world?
Taraneh: “I think it’s really interesting because I feel like I didn’t achieve some sort of release through the album making process. It was more so about documenting and chronicling my experience while processing and experiencing a lot of different things.
I always view releasing an album as kind of having a double meaning. When putting something out into the world, you also release and surrender whatever that work was for you as it takes on a life of its own.
I think since the album was released, I’ve been able to actually kind of heal, process, and release a lot of themes of the album for myself, which I think is a beautiful thing that music can do for us. It lets us process, analyze, document and dive deep into certain themes or experiences in our life. Once the music is finished and we put it out into the world, then at least for me, I’m able to really move on from some of those experiences or concepts or cycles, whatever they may be.”
You were a full-time journalist before focusing on your music career. I was wondering how you think your work as an investigative reporter influenced your creative process or artistic direction?
Taraneh: “I wouldn’t say that my reporting has influenced my music or creative focus. I would say that I was reporting on what I was inherently drawn to, and so I think that’s part of my fingerprint, in a sense. My interests shine in whatever I do and I think that’s what it really comes down to. I never really thought to analyze the parallels between my reporting and my music, but the parallels are obviously there –– they’re just not so intentional. I think it’s more of a subconscious thing.
However, a lot of what I learned about getting work out and moving on was from being a journalist and working with tight deadlines. You have to relinquish control at a certain point or else you just won’t get anything submitted. I think that is a subconscious thing that journalists will forever do, even if they aren’t actively practicing as a journalist. What we learn is in us forever. [laughs]
Having a reporting background can also inform positively in any venture in the sense that you know how to articulate yourself and you know how to tell a story. I think a lot of things boil down to storytelling in their essence. Being able to have a very clear narrative and being able to articulate that for yourself and for another audience is very important.
At the same time, I love to leave a lot up to interpretation. You don’t see me explaining the intricate details of everything, but everytime I release an album or single or whatever, I always write out the thesis of what that means to me. I’ve never released those pages, but I have my own archive. That practice for me is really helpful in terms of contextualizing what a work means for me.”
I personally think you really thrive as a rock artist, which is the main sound of the new record. You mentioned once before how creating a live band inspired you to lean more into that vibe you explored on your previous album, “New Age Prayer.” Would you have expected yourself to go this direction before?
Taraneh: “Honestly, I didn’t expect it. But I’m not surprised. I think that each stylistic phase I've gone through has just happened so organically. I released both Grab Bag and A Fleeting Feeling before I even played a live show. New Age Prayer was the first album that I released once I started playing live –– solo –– but still playing shows.
I think the sound of New Age Prayer came from this very organic synthesis of me being on so many mixed-genre bills and wanting to create music that was a bit more conducive to a live performance. My back catalogue at that point had been very slow and didn’t necessarily include songs I wanted to perform live, at least not in a club setting, which was a lot of the shows I was playing at the time.
I feel like my back catalogue is very intimate and is the kind of music you should listen to alone, at least to me. That’s my childhood music. But I’m not going to tell anyone how to listen to my music. New Age Prayer took my music a step further, but it still had some residue of the old sound, especially on the later half of the album. That’s not to say that Unobsession is void of intimacy, but it’s different. I wasn’t recording it alone in my bedroom, I was recording it surrounded by five guys in a studio.
We toured with a hardcore band, which is not our sound at all, and we adapted older songs to fit that kind of live performance. It was a really fun and auspicious opportunity for us to switch gears and get a bit heavier with the sound and get a little more intense. I think I was able to expand my vocal range in that as well and to try out things I otherwise wouldn’t have.
When we came back from that tour is when we started writing Unobsession, and it just happened so naturally. I’m not surprised the sound went where it did. Now that Unobsession is out, this direction is what resonates with me the most in terms of where we’re going from here. I love what I’m doing now, but there are some elements of intimacy from my back catalogue that I want to bring back, so I don’t know. That’s all I’ll say for the next chapter.”
You have a lot of spirituality motifs woven throughout your artistry like your “type yes to affirm” website and Instagram chat. Do you have that sort of spiritual connection and does it manifest in your artistry?
Taraneh: “I would say my spiritual practice is one of the most important things to me just as a person. I was raised Muslim, and not in a super dogmatic way, which I am really grateful for, but I definitely had to find my own way within it. There is a lot that doesn’t resonate with me. I would say I’m culturally Muslim, but my spiritual practice is pretty separate from Islam as a whole. I feel like I learned a lot from my dad about having a personal connection with the divine.
College was when I really started to dive into spirituality, and I think since then I have been able to take on the world in a way that I previously was not able to do –– I wouldn’t be here without it. Asking for guidance and listening to my intuition has been my guide in a very strong way. I love to consume different forms of spiritual content, even if it doesn’t relate directly to my practice. It’s just kind of one of my niche interests. I think that is why it comes through in all of the branding.
The phrase ‘Typeyes’ is a bit tongue-in-cheek, referring to those TikTok videos that encourage an audience to type ‘yes’ to affirm readings like ‘you’re going to gain a large sum of money’ or ‘he’s coming back to you.’ I think there is definitely a deeper meaning that I haven’t quite parsed out yet, but it’s fun and it’s funny and I enjoy it.”
Your Bandcamp page says that you have been making music since 2015 and you mentioned before that you even sat on some of your album covers for years, yet you didn’t release anything officially until 2020. What made you finally decide to pull the trigger and release your music on streaming platforms?
Taraneh: “I started writing when I was thirteen and started releasing under a name I still haven’t told anyone. Grab Bag was released in 2020, but I had been working on that album for five or six years. I think the time was just right and I honestly think that’s all there is to it. I was able to get over the perfectionist approach and be like, ‘I just need to release this and move on to the next thing,’ which is how I approach my work in general.
I always think back to the five year gap I had. I was growing up and I went to college and all of these different things, so I really think I had a lot of life to live before I could release that album specifically. But I will always remember that five year lull –– and that won’t happen again because this is what I do for a living, so it’s a little bit different.
Things can always be better, but I always tell myself –– I really do believe this –– that things will be what they’re meant to be. I made Grab Bag on GarageBand and it was just me and a guitar. It was so DIY, and it could have been better. I could have been a more skilled musician. I could have had better production skills. I could have had more people in on it. Whatever.
But that album is exactly what it’s supposed to be, and I feel that way about all of my albums. I always tell myself that. Even with Unobsession I think that the album is exactly the way that it’s supposed to sound. I know it’s perfect. I know what it’s meant to be. I always look back [at my discography] and I’m like, ‘Yes. Absolutely. This is what it’s supposed to be.’ I think this is something that a lot of artists experience. The procrastination that comes from perfectionism can be really debilitating if you let it take over.
The point is to get it out, release it, and move on. That’s how we grow and move forward and get better and not get bogged down by the details.”
I read you started making music at 14 and posting to thousands of followers on Tumblr. I was curious how the evolution of your artistic direction has evolved since? Since having a band? How do you think your mindset compares now versus when you first started building your identity on Tumblr? Who are the two Taranehs?
Taraneh: “There are so many Taranehs. I feel like I am always having a transformation in my sense of self, but there are obviously core elements that are still there.
But now versus Tumblr, the world is different. I am different. I’ve grown up in a lot of ways. There’s something really special about the anonymity of Tumblr, about being able to embrace my creative identity. Having a space to separate my physical appearance and other kinds of visual features of being a person was a really valuable experience. It provided a low-stakes way for me to share my creative identity with the world, and that is something I would never take for granted. It’s really informed the way I now move throughout the world and the way I’m able to share my creative identity with others.
My music has evolved so much as a function of time and as a function of my experiences, which is what I think it should be. I always listen back to my old music at least once a year to remind myself where I came from like, ‘Okay let’s see where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going.’”
What can those who are interested in attending phase two of the Unobsession Tour expect from your performance?
Taraneh: “You can expect a great time.
When I see artists I've only heard on recordings live, it all makes sense. I think that’s a universal experience and my live show is no exception. Putting on a performance, putting on a show is very important. I hate going to concerts that are low-energy, where no one is really doing anything, where it sounds exactly like the record. I think putting on an engaging performance is part of what makes performing exciting and fun to me. If I’m having fun, then the likelihood of other people having a good time is much higher.
If someone wants us to play near them, come to wherever the closest show is and show up. The more people who attend our shows, the sooner we can play smaller markets.”