tea with friends - tea with friends (Album) + 10 Questions
Edinburgh MC and producer T. Trueman returns to music with his self titled debut album as tea with friends, a deeply personal exploration of growing older, parenthood and the experiences that continue to shape us. Released on 12th August, the project pairs conscious, introspective hip hop with warm sample based production, jazz influences and touches of spoken word, sitting somewhere between Loyle Carner, Kae Tempest and the soulful production of early Kanye West.
Written during a particularly challenging period in Trueman’s life, tea with friends looks back at the journey from youth to middle age, examining changing priorities, past behaviours, family and the pressures of everyday life without losing its sense of humour. Trueman describes the album as an honest exploration of “who I really am and how I got there”, with writing and music providing an important outlet along the way.
First active in Edinburgh’s hip hop scene in the early 2000s, Trueman previously shared stages with Skitz, DJ Hype and Nicky Blackmarket, recorded a live session for BBC Radio 1 and earned a Channel 4 Talent Award nomination. tea with friends marks a new chapter, bringing that experience into a record centred firmly on life as it is now.
tea with friends sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:
1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?
Growing up there was always a big mix of music in our house; loads of 60’s stuff, The Beatles, Kinks, Booker T and the MGs, later on Genesis and Clannad, lots of classical. My mum is an amazing classical singer. Probably because of this I’ve always loved a wide variety of music, and growing up as a kid in the 80’s and 90’s we were spoiled really. The 90’s was ridiculous. I was big into chart music, and when US hip hop started filtering through mainstream UK radio, my ears pricked up. That now classic boom bap sound that typified rap music back then, but also the dance-based stuff from the UK, The Shamen and Stereo MCs. Connected is such a seminal album. When I was eleven I found a cassette left on the seat of a school bus, one side was Cypress Hill and the other was Rage Against the Machine. Both albums had just come out, and it was my first intro to rap music that I wasn’t hearing on Top of the Pops on a Thursday night, and I was hooked. I started writing when I was about 14 or so, stupid joke stuff really, but after a few years I’d developed it into something a little more considered. I moved from the Northwest of England to Scotland when I was 19, instantly fell into the party scene there and off it went.
2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?
Mos Def and Talib Kweli were massive influences on me as a writer. Their Black Star album remains my favourite hip hop album. When that dropped it massively opened my mind to what rap music could be, away from all the Bad Boy / Death Row aggression and pop stuff I was listening to, suddenly here was Respiration and Thieves in the Night. That pairing of songs, those lyrics, they have such a beauty to them and remain aspirational. More recently, Loyle Carner. I’d already picked up writing again by the time a friend introduced to his music, but hearing his work for the first time pulled me right back into music and on to the tracks that led directly to this album. I’d love to work with him.
3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?
It took four or five years to get these songs together, and I have a couple left over that are forming the basis of my next album. I’ve worked up some new music too, so things are moving quicker than with the first record! This album was my first shot at producing, so I’m still learning a lot, exploring more possibilities, experimenting, but moving faster. Thematically I’m building this new work around the contrast of light and dark; like how can I take something sad or ugly and create something upbeat or beautiful. The world is a dark place right now, we’re all in need of a little light, and this next record explores how we might find that.
4. How would you describe your sound?
Loyle Carner and Kae Tempest start a jazz band with a dash of soul.
5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?
Finishing this album. It’s my first music in over 15 years, the first time I’ve had the balls to be truly honest with myself, and the first time I’ve produced anything too. As much as stacking samples could be called producing anyway… Alternatively, the last time I put out some music a guy from France got in touch to tell me that there were two albums he was looking forward to playing his future children. One was Dark Side of the Moon, and the other was ours. It’s ridiculous of course, but it made me realise that you don’t need massive audience figures or streams or whatever to feel like you’ve contributed something as an artist. If just one person really gets what I’m doing, and takes something from it, that’s enough for me.
6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?
Don’t put yourself into a position where you’re relying too much on other people. People are busy, and may not have time to work with you, even if they’d like to, and even then they might get pulled away onto other things leaving you on pause. It’s never been easier to lay down backing tracks, actually make something from start to finish and distribute it yourself. Load up GarageBand, get yourself a Splice subscription and away you go. It’s a short hop from GarageBand to Logic, and then you can get stuck into the science of compression and plug-in chains and you’re away! After that, just be honest with yourself. Only you can tell your story, and it’s your story people are interested in, not you trying to emulate someone else’s. People have heard them already, they’re yet to hear what you have to say.
7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?
Scotland has some really interesting stuff coming out of the hip hop / jazz scene. Check out Kai Reesu; their album Kompromat Vol.1 won Scottish Album of the Year last year. There’s some awesome musicianship in that band, and Jurnalist, originally from LA, has a great flow. Similarly, have a look at Sonedo. He’s a producer and amazing jazz pianist, works with a lot of grime MCs. From Here On Out was a great release from him earlier this year.
8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?
Ah man, there’s so much good music out there at the moment! I’ve got a ton of stuff I’m moving between, so I’ll just list them in most recent order:
The Womack Sisters
Recoechi – Act 2: Body of God
Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend
Open Mike Eagle & Kenny Segal – DOOMED!
Kelela – new avatar
Ecca Vandal – LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW
Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open
Fcuckers – Ö
Flea – Honora
underscores – U
Avalon Emerson – Written into Changes
Slayyyter – WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA
Poppy – Empty Hands
Jill Scott – To Whom This May Concern
I should probably stop there…
9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?
Having a laugh with family and friends. Otherwise, I run a video production studio called Heehaw, working across live action, animation and VFX. I love what we do, but the last few years have been insanely stressful, as anyone working in the creative industries will tell you. Music came back to me as a way to stop myself thinking about work, otherwise it would be on my mind 24/7 and literally keeping me up at night. I love photography too, but with music now taking up what little free time I have left, I’ve got to pick a lane!
10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?
A clear head. Listen to some music, go for a drive, do something to stick my head into the waterfall and get focussed.
My bodhran. I started learning the bodhran (an upright Celtic drum, for the uninitiated) last year as a first step to producing my own music. I play it on a couple of songs on the album. It’s always sitting there, and if I’m ever stuck on something or frustrated, I can swing round and smash that for a bit. It helps.
Piece of dinosaur egg. No joke. It’s 300 million years old. Picking that up puts everything into perspective.
