Nashville based and Seattle born singer, producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shane Tutmarc unveils his debut album from his new project Solar Twin out digitally on October 11 and on vinyl November 11. The Solar Twin journey began as Shane was grieving the loss of his best friend, who went ahead to the other side in June of 2015 and far too soon at the age of 31. Initially Tutmarc dealt with the loss submerging his pain with heavy drugs and alcohol, but the path only grew darker. After six months with still no relief from his sorrow, and thoughts of possibly joining his friend on the other side, he finally found solace in creating new music.
With Solar Twin, this prolific artist has redefined the poetry of his songwriting, creating a worldly and eclectic aesthetic where beauty and darkness often trade punches from line to line.
With the songwriting chops he’s developed over a decade as a solo artist. Solar Twin’s first two singles introduced an idea of the scope of the sound Tutmarc is bringing to the table. Slow Motion combined R&B and hip-hop grooves, with baroque pop arrangements. Next, Black Sky Revisited (released in December 2016) felt more like a hard rock version of Daft Punk, with vocoder vocals, heavy guitars, and a Beatle-esque feel. The third single, The Big Sleep (released in May 2017) was penned specifically for the closing credits of a documentary that focuses on the heroin epidemic on Seattle’s streets. The song marries Solar Twin’s signature dreamy sound with lyrics of dependence and addiction, in a way that is both personal to Tutmarc and universal to any listener.
On Solar Twin’s upcoming album debut the songs are many things—a protest, a rally cry, a kind of musical film noir filled with life, pain, hope, healing and love.
The singer is playing at The Basement in Nashville on October 14th. Check out Slow Motion below!
We managed to catch up with Solar Twin as he talks about the upcoming album and more!
How pumped are you for the release of Solar Twin’s debut album Pink Noise?
Thanks for having me. I’m very excited to be getting this record out. A lot of these songs and moods came out of a very destructive period for me, just after my best friend had passed away at the tragic age of 31. Tired of Everything was the first song I wrote that really got me started on this path. As I began writing more, the music really brought me a renewed vigor and lust for life. And soon, I replaced the destructive path with a creative one. As I sing in Slow Motion, “I just wanna be alive, for once in my life.” A lot of the songs deal with inner demons or voices that try to tell you that you can’t achieve your dreams. Walking Wounded is from the point of view of the devil on your shoulder, or that inner negative voice that you have to try and block out to get anything done. Salvation is sort of my ode to music that inspired me when I was younger, and a call for today’s artists to rise up during these troubled times. The Big Sleep was something I wrote earlier this year for the end credits of a documentary I did the soundtrack for. It was a film about the heroin problem on the streets of Seattle. But I used it as a chance to work through some of the mixed feelings I have about my history with substance abuse. As far as the album title, I came across Pink Noise as a soothing, meditative sound that people use to help them sleep. It seemed like the right sort of idea to attach this this album. And I liked the feminine/masculine juxtaposition of the two words.
Can you tell us something about the album no one knows yet?
I don’t imagine many people know anything about this album yet. But one thing I’m kind of proud of was how thrifty I recorded this album. The bulk of the album was recorded on GarageBand, which came free on my laptop. There was even stuff I recorded using my iPhone. Everything ended up getting mixed with Protools, but the majority of it was done very cheaply with equipment that pretty much everyone has nowadays. I’ve never been a purist when it comes to gear. Use what you have around you. It’s your creativity and vision that matters. The rest will fall into place.
What made you decide to release on Vinyl too, is that your personal format of choice?
I guess as things have become less tangible, they also feel more disposable. And with this album, I wanted to have a physical representation. I love vinyl when it’s an album I want to soak in from start to finish. And I hope this can be one of those albums for other people.
Are you looking forward to playing at The Basement in Nashville in October and any tour plans you can tell us about?
Yeah, it’ll sort of be our “soft” release show, as the album will be out digitally, but not yet on vinyl. The live show has really been coming together these past few months and I’m excited to continue working out the best way to present this music. We have a vinyl release party set up at Fond Object in Nashville on November 11th, and I have some Northwest shows in the works around Seattle and Portland in late December/early January.
Solar Twin is different from any of your other projects, can you tell us about the journey that brought you here and the evolution of your music?
I’m a naturally curious person, so my music has gone many places over the years. I think the biggest change with Solar Twin was that I kind of told myself there are no rules with this project. In many ways, it’s more similar to how I worked when I was doing Dolour, and when I was working with United State of Electronica on their first album. But when I put that stuff aside, and dove head first into roots and blues music after my grandfather passed away, I rather enjoyed digging into the rules and rhyme schemes, and limited chord changes of traditional music. It was new to me, and I learned a lot about songwriting. I learned a lot about “less is more.” And now, I feel a freedom to combine all the different colors I’ve added to my palette over the years, into a mosaic of everything I love about music.
You had a few guest players on the album can you give us some info on them?
There was nothing forced about any of these “guest appearances,” they all just happened very organically. At first, I was just doing everything myself, then I reached out to my friend Matt Hoopes who plays guitar and co-writes the tunes for Relient K. I just wanted to pick his brain about music biz stuff, since he’s involved in a lot of different areas in the business. But once he heard the stuff he got super into the music and wanted to be a part of it, so he ended up playing guitar on a few of the songs, before he got busy again with his day job. After Matt became unavailable, I just went back to recording everything myself. Then one day I thought of my old friend Sammy Barrett and what a great voice she has. So, I called her up and invited her over to sing on a few things. We recorded about four songs between two sessions, but only True Colors ended up on the record. And Zach Ryan is one of my best buds and a great guitarist, so that was an obvious choice for me to get him to come over when I needed a little extra love on a few songs. Zach is part of the live band too, so it’s great having the guy that played on the record playing it live as well. He’s got a killer album coming out with his group Wanderers later this year as well. And when I was working on Intoxicated, I wanted a sort of Astrud Gilberto thing on a background vocal, and my girlfriend Tanya Montana Coe who is a great artist in her own right, and has a sexy smoky voice, so it wasn’t too hard to get her to come downstairs and record it for me. Her debut album Silver Bullet, which I produced as well, is a great album, so everyone should check that out.
What was the first gig you ever attended?
It’s hard to pin point exactly. I think it might have been Mudhoney at the Pain in the Grass Festival in Seattle, back in 1995. But for me, records have always been where it’s at. There’s been very few live performances that have done a whole lot for me. I’d usually rather close my eyes, put on headphones and experience the music that way.
If you could work with any artist or band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Maybe Lana Del Rey. Her music, especially Born to Die and Paradise, really woke me up from my Americana slumber and reminded me how powerful pop music can be. I really respect her as an artist, and I’m sure it would be easy to do something pretty cool together.
What’s your dream tour line-up?
Paul McCartney, Daft Punk and Solar Twin? That could be fun.
Where can our readers find your music and please share all your social platforms too.
Our website is solartwinmusic.com, and that has all the links to all the socials and videos on it, as well as links to buy the music. We got instagram.com/solar.twin, facebook.com/SolarTwinMusic, and twitter.com/SolarTwinMusic.