Tea Leaf Green Expand Horizons On New Album

“The approach was for us not to view the album in terms of what am I playing on this, or where am I here?” Cochrane said.It was more about where are we here and how can we serve the songs in the best way? What elements should we add to each song, not for our own selfish interests, but to better the whole.”

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“You have to come at it with a selfless attitude and accept that the focus isn’t on you,” said Rager. “A good song isn’t made by just one person. First and foremost, I at least understand that my job as a drummer is to lay the backbeat and from there do what I can to enhance the song.”

“It’s the most egoless record we’ve ever created,” said Clark.

Still, even with a selfless outlook, the members are well aware of the dangers that lie ahead of them.

“Change is risk.” Reed puts it best, “They’re synonyms. Artistically, to change you’re risking vulnerability, you’re risking uncertainty, you’re risking the contempt of other people. Evolution is a tremendous risk, and that’s why very few artists do it. But what makes it art is the fact that you’re risking something. If you play it safe that’s not art, that’s commerce. Real songwriting, once you’re an adult, is a response to the culture at large; it’s a response to the mediocre world that you find yourself forced to participate in.”

In a way that brings us back to the beginning. Every moment is risk, evolution, and change. Tea Leaf Green understands that and they’re twisting their own fate.  If Pablo Picasso hadn’t taken the risk to make great art, if he had hedged all his bets, fed the world kitsch, and settled into the role of just another painter, he would’ve already been forgotten. His works would be valueless. Because Pablo Picasso took the risk, Tea Leaf Green has the chance to do the same.

 

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