The Sit Down with Tenille Arts
Since first coming to London in October 2019 for Country Music Week which centred around a show at Bush Hall, Saskatchewan native Tenille Arts has made regular trips across the Atlantic for her own headline tours and performances at some of Europe’s largest country music festivals. The multi-platinum selling artist has been one of Canada’s most prominent female artists in the modern era who has released four acclaimed studio albums which began with her debut “Rebel Child” in 2017 and her most recent offering “To Be Honest” in May 2024. As we begin the new year, the next chapter is already underway with “Don’t Ruin Flowers” being shared last December as the lead single for will be her fifth full-length project which she is currently working towards. With the news that there is plenty more on the horizon, it presented a great opportunity to catch up with her over Zoom and hear all about it.
Hey Tenille, how you doing? It's good to see you. It's been a while, I didn't realise how long it had been since you were last over.
“I know, right but we'll get back there.”
You’ll be pleased to hear that Dishoom is still as busy as ever, it was packed when we walked past the other night, but how are things with you?
“Things are good, just really getting into the new year, focussing on the new music and all of that. It's been really fun to just start to see some things come together, because, you know, you write a lot and then you go, okay, what do we have? Then when people are excited about it, it makes you feel really good.”
I know you haven't shared too much yet about of the album that is on the way, but just in terms of where we are with it, are you still writing? Are you still recording or is it just a case of now it's going through the process and leading up to it?
“So, this is kind of a unique, different way of doing an album this time. We don't have the entire album done, in fact, we have left it open. We've picked three or four songs that are at the top right now, but we've kind of left it open to whatever happens. I'm constantly writing, so I don't think we wanted to put it in this box quite yet and this could be a very different conversation in like six to eight months’ time.”
Is the goal still looking to have something out towards the back end of this year?
“Yeah, it'll be the back end of this year or the beginning of the next year, wherever it kind of falls perfectly. The songs are being written and recorded, then they'll be released more frequently throughout this year, so you definitely won't go without new music for too long.”
The other thing with what you're starting to put out with your label Dreamcatcher Artists, you've partnered with ONErpm. How did that come about and why did you decide that it was right fit for the way of putting things out going forward?
“I just really loved their team. We met with them and it felt like they really understood where we were going creatively and all of the creative ideas that we had shared with each other really lined up with all the things that I love. Working with them is a new chapter and it opened up the world, basically, for my music because they're kind of everywhere. Then in the country space, they're really starting to grow quite a bit so, I really wanted to be a part of that and just see what happens. You know, anytime you have been with the same team for a long time, it's really great to bring in fresh new people and to just continue. It'll be still that independent vibe, but we've got a little bit more going on and some more people helping out.”
‘Don’t Ruin Flowers’ came out December as the first taste of what will be TA5, where that one come from? Was it something you'd had for a while and it just eventually felt the right time to kind of putting out? Or was it something that came about spontaneously writing with Ryan (Kohn) and Lydia (Sutherland)?
“This song was one that, you know, it was kind of towards the end of writing my breakup songs, I guess. I didn't really know where I was going to go with that, but Lydia is just so great lyrically and it was really interesting to get to sit down with her then Ryan got to produce it. He's amazing. We sat down and we were just talking about things that at the beginning of the relationship seemed really great, then by the end of it, they become something completely different. For me, that was flowers. It started with like constantly getting flowers which was so nice and then it turned into apology flowers and trying to make up for things. It just kind of seemed like this constant reminder of sitting there where like someone did you wrong and just based on social media, I've read a lot of people that have felt the exact same way so I just knew I wasn't all alone in that thought. When we wrote the song, it really came out pretty quick and it was actually the second song that we wrote that day.”
What was it about that song that you decided was the right fit to kick off and lead into this new era or this new phase of music?
“I think it was mostly that this song was a little bit of an earworm first. Everybody kept coming back to it, you know, everybody on the team was like, oh, I can't stop listening to that one and that's always a good sign. I also caught myself humming the melody, going like, hold on a minute, it's even in my subconscious somewhere so, that was one thing that always helps when the song stands out like that. I think as far as the first kind of release of this album, it was just that I didn't want to, you know, go too deep with my own very specific situation. I really wanted it to be like, okay, let's just let's tread a little bit with this first song and come back with, because it is a breakup song, but I really wanted it to feel a little empowering, like, you can't take that thing from me.”
Hey Tenille, how you doing? It's good to see you. It's been a while, I didn't realise how long it had been since you were last over.
“I know, right but we'll get back there.”
You’ll be pleased to hear that Dishoom is still as busy as ever, it was packed when we walked past the other night, but how are things with you?
“Things are good, just really getting into the new year, focussing on the new music and all of that. It's been really fun to just start to see some things come together, because, you know, you write a lot and then you go, okay, what do we have? Then when people are excited about it, it makes you feel really good.”
I know you haven't shared too much yet about of the album that is on the way, but just in terms of where we are with it, are you still writing? Are you still recording or is it just a case of now it's going through the process and leading up to it?
“So, this is kind of a unique, different way of doing an album this time. We don't have the entire album done, in fact, we have left it open. We've picked three or four songs that are at the top right now, but we've kind of left it open to whatever happens. I'm constantly writing, so I don't think we wanted to put it in this box quite yet and this could be a very different conversation in like six to eight months’ time.”
Is the goal still looking to have something out towards the back end of this year?
“Yeah, it'll be the back end of this year or the beginning of the next year, wherever it kind of falls perfectly. The songs are being written and recorded, then they'll be released more frequently throughout this year, so you definitely won't go without new music for too long.”
The other thing with what you're starting to put out with your label Dreamcatcher Artists, you've partnered with ONErpm. How did that come about and why did you decide that it was right fit for the way of putting things out going forward?
“I just really loved their team. We met with them and it felt like they really understood where we were going creatively and all of the creative ideas that we had shared with each other really lined up with all the things that I love. Working with them is a new chapter and it opened up the world, basically, for my music because they're kind of everywhere. Then in the country space, they're really starting to grow quite a bit so, I really wanted to be a part of that and just see what happens. You know, anytime you have been with the same team for a long time, it's really great to bring in fresh new people and to just continue. It'll be still that independent vibe, but we've got a little bit more going on and some more people helping out.”
‘Don’t Ruin Flowers’ came out December as the first taste of what will be TA5, where that one come from? Was it something you'd had for a while and it just eventually felt the right time to kind of putting out? Or was it something that came about spontaneously writing with Ryan (Kohn) and Lydia (Sutherland)?
“This song was one that, you know, it was kind of towards the end of writing my breakup songs, I guess. I didn't really know where I was going to go with that, but Lydia is just so great lyrically and it was really interesting to get to sit down with her then Ryan got to produce it. He's amazing. We sat down and we were just talking about things that at the beginning of the relationship seemed really great, then by the end of it, they become something completely different. For me, that was flowers. It started with like constantly getting flowers which was so nice and then it turned into apology flowers and trying to make up for things. It just kind of seemed like this constant reminder of sitting there where like someone did you wrong and just based on social media, I've read a lot of people that have felt the exact same way so I just knew I wasn't all alone in that thought. When we wrote the song, it really came out pretty quick and it was actually the second song that we wrote that day.”
What was it about that song that you decided was the right fit to kick off and lead into this new era or this new phase of music?
“I think it was mostly that this song was a little bit of an earworm first. Everybody kept coming back to it, you know, everybody on the team was like, oh, I can't stop listening to that one and that's always a good sign. I also caught myself humming the melody, going like, hold on a minute, it's even in my subconscious somewhere so, that was one thing that always helps when the song stands out like that. I think as far as the first kind of release of this album, it was just that I didn't want to, you know, go too deep with my own very specific situation. I really wanted it to be like, okay, let's just let's tread a little bit with this first song and come back with, because it is a breakup song, but I really wanted it to feel a little empowering, like, you can't take that thing from me.”
With the video, did you have ideas about the theme and the imagery of how you wanted it to look or were you rolling with Joey (Brodnax)? Were you quite involved with getting across what you wanted from it?
“Yeah, I think it was kind of a collaboration. We were just really talking about what do we want this to look like? I was like I really want it to feel a little whimsical, but also a little dark, you know. When we found the greenhouse that had all of the beautiful flowers in it, I was like, oh, that's perfect, you know, it’s the perfect setting. I really also wanted it to be a little more scaled back, I didn't want it to feel like it was this crazy big thing, I really wanted it to just compliment the song rather than be the thing that was leading the song.”
Talking about this phase of music that's kind of coming, as well as ‘Don’t Ruin Flowers’, you also put out ‘Unbecoming’ last year where you did a lot on socials around that release about what that meant. Are either of them kind of a good indication of how the overall direction is conceptually in terms of what you are working on, is that kind of something we're going to hear in other music that's on the way?
“Interestingly enough no. It's kind of going to be a mixture of a lot of things, like a lot of the songs that will be coming out, there's a few, like, pretty tempo, they're still kind of touching on some breakup sides of things, but they're a little bit more of I'm over it now and I can really move on. Then some of them are sassy, some of them are fun but it's going to be a mixture for sure. So, I don't really know if those two are what's going to follow through with the entire album.”
I mentioned things you've been doing on socials and one of the things I've seen which is really cool is sharing more about songs and reintroducing them with the song files. One of the nice things about that is being able to show things that might not have been heard by people for a while, but as people that are new fans of your music, you know, it's a way to be like, hey, you know, I've got four albums in my locker now. I think that’s always been something you are very good at with your live shows because whether you were leading up to dropping ‘to be honest’ or touring ‘Girl to Girl’ before that, you have always had a mix across your catalogue. You know like ‘Wildfire and Whiskey’ off your first record is still a big part of your set and it’s awesome how you mix in a bit of Taylor Swift with it, but are you seeing that fans are really connecting with this older stuff?
“Yeah, you know, I started that little series because I did feel like, okay, there might be new people finding my music that have never heard of me. The great thing about making albums is that you get to make an album, you get to have this concept and all of that, but the other side of that is that some of those songs don't always get the attention that you think they deserve. So, that was just kind of my way of bringing up some of those songs and as far as the live show goes, like, I listened to the fans and when they're specifically listening, I can see what they're listening to and when they're listening to certain songs significantly more, I'm like, well, they know those songs, I want to play those songs live for them. It doesn't matter how I feel really because they're all my song babies, I love them all so it doesn't really affect me that much. It's more about, okay, how do I create this great experience for them? That's just my own way of saying thank you. Then If you're listening to those songs, I want you to be able to hear them live so I try to do that and bring up some of those old songs, because I think there's some gems in there. People like love ‘Butterfly Effect’ and ‘Right Guy Wrong Time’ and I think I'm going to do ‘Right Guy Wrong Time’ in like a little acoustic thing today because I'm just like, yeah, why not bring them back?”
Talking about little acoustic things you’ve been posting, I’m like the biggest Sabrina stan so loved when you did ‘Nobody’s son’ and thought you made it sound really cool so that would be a fun thing to see in a live show too.
“That would be fun. Those type of songs that just, they feel good, you know and it just makes you happy. It's like, well, yeah, why not? Why not sing those songs in in a live setting?”
Rounding things off talking about the live shows, are we likely to get to see you in a live setting here this year? Is it something that potentially could happen? Or is obviously that working towards a record makes it quite hard to make firm plans for coming to Europe?
“I'm hoping so. I know that there's a couple of meetings going on next week on my team to really solidify what's happening in the touring space for me this year. So, I will have more answers on that, but I definitely always push for going over to see you guys, because it's the best. I mean, I always tell every artist here and in Canada, I'm like, if you're ever feeling bad about yourself, you need to go perform over in the UK because everybody there just shows you so much love and makes you feel good about what you're doing as they really care about the music, who you are as a person and all of those things. So, I want to personally make that happen.”
Because where you've been over here in the past where you've played in a round, you've played with a full band, you've just played you and your guitar, then last time you did the thing with just you with some drums from Mia, does it make it easier to plan to come here with so many options for shows that you already know work with the fans? Plus bringing a band over obviously carries a lot more cost.
“It kind of depends, I like to switch it up. Obviously, the goal would be to bring the whole band this time, just because the last time was a little more stripped down, I think it really just depends on how many dates get booked and all of those things and I always push for full band because I think then you've got opportunities to do more stripped down things along the way as well. So, yeah, just the variety, I think, is what keeps it fun.”
Amazing. Thank you so much, hopefully we will get to see you at some point this year and we’re looking forward to hearing more new stuff that’s on the way.
The latest track ‘Don’t Ruin Flowers’ from Tenille Arts is out now and available HERE. You can also keep up to date with what Tenille is up to through her socials. To be the first to hear all the news about the new album that is on the horizon you can follow Tenille on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK and FACEBOOK to keep up to date with all that she is up to.
“Yeah, I think it was kind of a collaboration. We were just really talking about what do we want this to look like? I was like I really want it to feel a little whimsical, but also a little dark, you know. When we found the greenhouse that had all of the beautiful flowers in it, I was like, oh, that's perfect, you know, it’s the perfect setting. I really also wanted it to be a little more scaled back, I didn't want it to feel like it was this crazy big thing, I really wanted it to just compliment the song rather than be the thing that was leading the song.”
Talking about this phase of music that's kind of coming, as well as ‘Don’t Ruin Flowers’, you also put out ‘Unbecoming’ last year where you did a lot on socials around that release about what that meant. Are either of them kind of a good indication of how the overall direction is conceptually in terms of what you are working on, is that kind of something we're going to hear in other music that's on the way?
“Interestingly enough no. It's kind of going to be a mixture of a lot of things, like a lot of the songs that will be coming out, there's a few, like, pretty tempo, they're still kind of touching on some breakup sides of things, but they're a little bit more of I'm over it now and I can really move on. Then some of them are sassy, some of them are fun but it's going to be a mixture for sure. So, I don't really know if those two are what's going to follow through with the entire album.”
I mentioned things you've been doing on socials and one of the things I've seen which is really cool is sharing more about songs and reintroducing them with the song files. One of the nice things about that is being able to show things that might not have been heard by people for a while, but as people that are new fans of your music, you know, it's a way to be like, hey, you know, I've got four albums in my locker now. I think that’s always been something you are very good at with your live shows because whether you were leading up to dropping ‘to be honest’ or touring ‘Girl to Girl’ before that, you have always had a mix across your catalogue. You know like ‘Wildfire and Whiskey’ off your first record is still a big part of your set and it’s awesome how you mix in a bit of Taylor Swift with it, but are you seeing that fans are really connecting with this older stuff?
“Yeah, you know, I started that little series because I did feel like, okay, there might be new people finding my music that have never heard of me. The great thing about making albums is that you get to make an album, you get to have this concept and all of that, but the other side of that is that some of those songs don't always get the attention that you think they deserve. So, that was just kind of my way of bringing up some of those songs and as far as the live show goes, like, I listened to the fans and when they're specifically listening, I can see what they're listening to and when they're listening to certain songs significantly more, I'm like, well, they know those songs, I want to play those songs live for them. It doesn't matter how I feel really because they're all my song babies, I love them all so it doesn't really affect me that much. It's more about, okay, how do I create this great experience for them? That's just my own way of saying thank you. Then If you're listening to those songs, I want you to be able to hear them live so I try to do that and bring up some of those old songs, because I think there's some gems in there. People like love ‘Butterfly Effect’ and ‘Right Guy Wrong Time’ and I think I'm going to do ‘Right Guy Wrong Time’ in like a little acoustic thing today because I'm just like, yeah, why not bring them back?”
Talking about little acoustic things you’ve been posting, I’m like the biggest Sabrina stan so loved when you did ‘Nobody’s son’ and thought you made it sound really cool so that would be a fun thing to see in a live show too.
“That would be fun. Those type of songs that just, they feel good, you know and it just makes you happy. It's like, well, yeah, why not? Why not sing those songs in in a live setting?”
Rounding things off talking about the live shows, are we likely to get to see you in a live setting here this year? Is it something that potentially could happen? Or is obviously that working towards a record makes it quite hard to make firm plans for coming to Europe?
“I'm hoping so. I know that there's a couple of meetings going on next week on my team to really solidify what's happening in the touring space for me this year. So, I will have more answers on that, but I definitely always push for going over to see you guys, because it's the best. I mean, I always tell every artist here and in Canada, I'm like, if you're ever feeling bad about yourself, you need to go perform over in the UK because everybody there just shows you so much love and makes you feel good about what you're doing as they really care about the music, who you are as a person and all of those things. So, I want to personally make that happen.”
Because where you've been over here in the past where you've played in a round, you've played with a full band, you've just played you and your guitar, then last time you did the thing with just you with some drums from Mia, does it make it easier to plan to come here with so many options for shows that you already know work with the fans? Plus bringing a band over obviously carries a lot more cost.
“It kind of depends, I like to switch it up. Obviously, the goal would be to bring the whole band this time, just because the last time was a little more stripped down, I think it really just depends on how many dates get booked and all of those things and I always push for full band because I think then you've got opportunities to do more stripped down things along the way as well. So, yeah, just the variety, I think, is what keeps it fun.”
Amazing. Thank you so much, hopefully we will get to see you at some point this year and we’re looking forward to hearing more new stuff that’s on the way.
The latest track ‘Don’t Ruin Flowers’ from Tenille Arts is out now and available HERE. You can also keep up to date with what Tenille is up to through her socials. To be the first to hear all the news about the new album that is on the horizon you can follow Tenille on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK and FACEBOOK to keep up to date with all that she is up to.
