Photo Credit: Kevin Wenzel
Making peace with one’s self, analyzing loneliness, and a cascade of chanting. All of that and more await below in this back-and-forth exchange with Tuelo. She is a singer-songwriter who has gone from rural South Africa to New York City, but her plans don’t stop there. With her eyes set on making more moves than a U-Haul truck, there’s no stopping Tuelo. So get out of her way as she releases her sophomore album, Regarding My Heart, on September 27th. We talked about all of the above and then some, including her show at Joe’s Pub in New York City. Tickets can be found here, and the interview can be found below.
Kendra: You went from rural South Africa to New York City when you were only 17. I can imagine there were many new things to take in, but what about NYC’s music scene did you immediately recognize and embrace?
Tuelo: It was more the poetry scene. They were both nerdy and super cool. The poetry slam circuit which I frequented but never participated in was pleasing, cerebral, and emotional. It had rhythm as poetry often does, was creative, and each poem was like a book – a journey into a new world.
Kendra: Speaking of New York City, “Bitter Weeping” is said to be an ode to the city’s beauty and chaos. What time of year would you say the city’s beauty and chaos are most evenly balanced, and is that your favorite time of year in NYC?
Tuelo: I really don’t know…I suppose it’s the cusp of spring. People are happier and more hopeful at the promise of summer.
Kendra: Back to the song though, because you also note that it’s about making peace with oneself. I found that interesting because when I was listening, it felt not so much like a song meant for a solo venture, but one that was more communal. There was something about the way you sing it that made me think – this is one of those songs that I’d love to hear a packed venue sing along to. Which I believe circles back to it being very New York; a packed place that, on the outside, seems like a social mecca, but on the inside can be lonely. All of that to ask, did you make peace with yourself before this song came to mind, or was it the song that helped you find that peace?
Tuelo: You really understand New York’s juxtaposition of the social mecca that can be lonely. I have no perception of how a song is going to be consumed and heard, and I love that it feels communal because I come from a communal singing culture and perhaps I write songs that already sound like many people are singing with me.
There is a lot I have been through, a lot that I want for myself, that I inquire about myself and question about myself, and because of this, I am constantly trying to make peace with myself, long before “bitter weeping” came to me. Making peace allows me to have greater compassion, be kinder, be understanding, be slow to anger, and seek to make peace with others.
Kendra: We’re going to stick with the idea of being alone because you said your September release, Regarding My Heart, was written by the lonely, for the lonely. That’s one of the biggest commonalities I’ve heard in post-pandemic releases. It’s something I wish I could study in hindsight a century from now. Alas, I’m taking it in as it happens. The pandemic definitely pushed us into solitude more so than I think we would’ve in the past few years, but do you think social media eventually would have led us to sort of the same lonely trends in music if the pandemic hadn’t happened?
Tuelo: There is so much I want to say on this, an outstanding point being that more people, than we realize, are lonely and many feel misunderstood. Social media is conforming and forces assimilation which strips you of ease. Many people were lonely before the pandemic, and they just got an opportunity to face their issues in actual physical isolation. Loneliness is not just a physical isolation but an existential isolation that stems from pain, suffering, injustice, imposter syndrome, from rage, and much of it due to society not adapting in a healthy manner. You just have to live a life of making peace with yourself.
Kendra: Now let’s go back to 2018 when “Green Light” first came to be. What’s it like holding onto a song for several years? Do you go back to it annually, or do you just tuck it away and instinctively know when it’s time for it to meet the public?
Tuelo: It’s not that I am holding on to a song, it’s a matter of resources. There are times when I revisit a song but not with “Green Light.” There are so many songs that I have written that haven’t been orchestrated yet and would love to put out in the world so I can have peace – ha! I feel guilty that I don’t have the resources to make them all happen now, but one day I will, god willing.
Kendra: Regarding My Heart is composed of 14 tracks, half a dozen of which are labeled as chants. What inspired the chant versions?
Tuelo: Chanting is part of my culture. I can’t make a record without the essence of how I write music being included. If you overlap the chants just perfectly with each song you will realize they are the song. I wish I could explain this at length but I fear I will just complicate it further. It is something best understood through experience.
Kendra: So South Africa is where you started, New York City is where you moved, but you also call Dublin your “musical home.” Now, that place is on my bucket list and I’m not even sure why. I just had a friend study abroad there and the photos made me gasp. However, what about Dublin felt right for you?
Tuelo: I love Ireland in general. I’m sure I’ll eventually move on to Galway and call that my home, however, I know Dublin so well now. It’s mainly the people that drew me there, however, Dublin still has the tension of a city – not so rough, with the loveliest, warmest people in all of Europe minus the supremacists. Although it is not particularly diverse, I find people have never been assuming of me and it’s a safe city that is very, very musical. We also share somewhat of a similar apartheid history and colonial tyrant, haha!
Kendra: As far as the record goes, you’ll be playing a record release show on September 25th in New York City. What can people expect who come out that night?
Tuelo: Expect a journey! Expect special! And buy your tickets now before it’s too late.
Kendra: With Regarding My Heart out on September 27th, what else can we expect as we edge closer to the end of the year?
Tuelo: I’m working on a music project with a new collective of mine called Common Folk that focuses more in the dance music world, and we will also be releasing a Regarding My Heart deluxe record with the acapella chants and songs combined.
Kendra: Lastly, because we talked a lot about New York City, I’d love to know what 5 songs you’d put on your Vagina Sing-Alongs Big Apple Mixtape?
Tuelo:
Mariam Makeba – “Akana Nkomo”
Nina Simone – “Sinnerman”
Moloko – “Sing it Back”
Msaki – “Fetch You Life”
Birdie – “Quietly Yours”
Tuelo
Instagram: instagram.com/tuelotuelotuelo
Facebook: facebook.com/tuelomusic
Twitter: x.com/2_l_o
Apple Music: music.apple.com/us/artist/tuelo/1120219335
Vagina Sing-Alongs 
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