Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

TSENATE, the emerging R&B gem from Tāmaki Makaurau, New Zealand, has today released her latest single, sleeping next to you, following the release of her 2023 debut EP love never adds up. Known for her soul-baring lyrics and nostalgic 90’s RnB sound, TSENATE is no stranger to exploring the complexities of young love, and has been growing a fan base across New Zealand and Australia since her debut.

FMM: Congrats on the new single, sleeping next to you. What’s the reaction been like?

TSENATE: I's been really cool to see people back home in Auckland listen to the song and give me feedback. It's also nice to be able to share it with my new audience and my new friends here in Melbourne. It's definitely weird being far away from everyone that you're used to seeing after a release, like my manager and friends, but I’m super happy with how it's doing so far and how many new people have started to listen to my music over a short period of time, which is really exciting.

FMM: You mentioned sharing it with a new audience. Did you find it hard to connect with new people in Melbourne? How did you find your new audience?

TSENATE: Yeah, at first it was really hard because it really pushed me outside of my comfort zone and I had to reach out to a bunch of people and put on a brave face, but it was really nice to share it with my friends at school because I go to a performing arts school. It was nice for them to all, and to share it with them. They’re super supportive and they have sent it through to all their friends here in Melbourne, which is really lovely.

FMM: Sounds like a great experience. Looking at the actual song, what inspired this release?

TSENATE: I wrote this song quite a while ago, and I would say that it's about blurred lines and miscommunication in regards to being in a relationship with someone and not knowing whether it was more of a serious relationship or if it was just a fling to them. I talk about how there's been other people in the picture at the same time, so it was a bit of a messy situation, you could say. But, it made a cool song, so it was fun.

FMM: It sounds like a bit of a healing process as well, because, as you said, it is quite a messy situation, but it sounds like it's been a good way for you to express your feelings and your hurt.

TSENATE: Yeah, definitely. I also quite like how the lyrics are quite contrasting to the actual music behind it. The lyrics are about pursuing someone new, but then the background music is very neo soul and upbeat, so I like that contrast.

FMM: I also love the sound of it because it reminds me of that old-school RnB sound. Who do you draw some inspiration and influence from?

TSENATE: I really like old RnB. Lauryn Hill is a big inspiration of mine. I saw her live last year, which was absolutely incredible. I also really love Erykah Badu. She's just amazing, and the song was very heavily influenced by her music and the essence of her sound. For more modern RnB, I would definitely take inspiration from artists like SZA, and Cleo Sol. Every now and then, I dive into some Steve Lacy and Frank Ocean type of music, which is also really cool.

FMM: It sounds like a very good mix of different influence and inspiration that's come through and inspired your music as well. You moved from New Zealand to Melbourne. Tell me a more about that and how that shaped your music journey?

TSENATE: I originally wanted to move a few years back, straight out of high school, but I couldn't really, because I didn't have a direct vision of what I wanted to do. I then waited a couple years to apply for schools and audition for schools here. I'm currently studying at Patrick's School of the Arts, so I'm studying musical theatre there. I just moved in January, so that was all a lot. Coming from Auckland, which is a pretty big city, but when it comes to music, specifically RnB and other styles that I'm diving into, it's not as popular and it doesn't have the resources and the outreach that it does here. I would also say that applies to things like musical theatre as well and other performing arts, which is very underfunded and under resourced over New Zealand.

FMM: It sounds like a good time to make the move because you've got an EP out there and you've released other singles, so having this new audience helps that reach and connect with more people.

TSENATE: Yeah, yeah, for sure.

FMM: For anyone that's coming across your music for the first time, how would you describe yourself and what your music represents?

TSENATE: I think I would describe my music as a bit of a heartbreak and healing journey, as we previously talked about. I feel like it talks about really heartbreak and sad things as well, but it also talks about how I've chose to dive into self-love and reaching out to community and friends. In terms of genre, I would say RnB and neo soul are my two key genres that I'm currently playing with.

FMM: Do you have any live performances coming up, or other plans for the rest of the year?

TSENATE: I'm currently in the works of doing a gig. I'm hoping to do a bunch of live events over this year. I think it's just about building my audience here and finding the right community and being able to share it with people around me. I think everything I have coming up will just be shared on my social media platform, so if you want to stay updated, just check me out on there.

FMM: What’s your musical background? How did you get to where you are today?

TSENATE: I started singing when I was a bay, but when I wanted to actually start making music, I was at the end of intermediate school, which is about the age of 12. I really wanted to do music. I was in like a band at my school and I was in all the choirs. I decided to start writing music when I was around 14. I always tried when I was younger, but writing lyrics was so much harder to me back then than it is now. Obviously, the life experience helps, because what am I supposed to write about at the age of 12? I took it more seriously around the age of 15 and started writing quite consistently. Ever since then, I have just been writing heaps and working with different producers. At first I started producing myself, which was really, really hard. I don't know if that's my journey. If I’m being honest, I think it’s a skill and a craft that only specific people can really, really perfect. But, I love being able to watch it, seeing what they do, and learning the backside. When you're just sitting in the booth, it's obviously lots of fun to just get up there, sing your lyrics and then sit back down, but it's so nice to be able to see exactly what the producers doing and how they mold it into such an incredible art. I’m so amused by that side of it.

FMM: Can you walk us through your songwriting process? How do you go from having an experience to then crafting it into a song?

TSENATE: I really like writing poetry in my notes app. Anytime I'm thinking about something, I probably have just pulled out my phone and just written it down because it always comes back to me when I'm in the studio. I write quite literally anything down that I think could be good in the song. Anything anyone says, anything anyone does, it's a bit crazy. If anyone went through my phone, they would be like, what is going on? But I kind of just piece everything together and then obviously it has to work melodically in terms of the rhythm and rhyming and stuff. I really like piecing different parts of my poetry together as well. In the past, I've also gotten my friends that write poetry to send me their poetry and I turn that into lyrics, which is also a really fun and beautiful process that I really like because it's a nice way to also connect with your friends.

FMM: So when your friends send you poetry, do you also write it from their perspective?

TSENATE: Yeah, a lot of the time I know about the context of what they're writing about, so it can help me be like, oh, this is how they must have felt. Then, I would then write it from my perspective.

FMM: That’s all my questions. Did you have any other comments you want to add about your latest release or things you want people to know when listening to your music?

TSENATE: I just really want everyone to feel connected to my lyrics and my music, and I'm super, super excited to show everyone what's to come. I've been working really, really hard on lots of new music, and I've been diving into genres that I haven't released before, so I'm super, super excited to gravitate to a new audience as well.