Musician reaches for the stars
Tay Dreamin sings for the crowd. Photos submitted
By Tom Victoria
Tay Dreamin soars through the wondrous vastness of space and takes his listeners with him.
The Los Angeles musician explained his style.
“From a sonic standpoint on the music side of things, I'm starting to make very cinematic electronic music,” he said. “I like to really incorporate soundscapes that are interesting to me and pull from all the things I value as a musician, which is a lot of genres, a lot of inspiration from artists. But the project I'm specifically working on right now is very space-oriented. That goes hand in hand with the visual side of things, which translates into the performance side of things, too.”
Tay, 26, said his style lends itself to innovation during live shows.
“I really try and put on a show and make the music and performance feel larger than life by doing things I don't normally do in the songs,” he said. “A lot of the times, live music sounds different or is amped up to some extent, which I always think is really cool. I play with a live band when I perform. We have very intense visuals and minimal talking, so it's an immersive experience into the music. I'm trying to really have a cohesive brand through the music, the visuals and translating into the performance side of things.”
Tay’s latest release was in September.
“That tune, it's called Oblivion,” he said. “A lot of times, people talk about how when you start to make a change, it's not necessarily in the right direction right off the bat. Sometimes you stumble a bit more before you fall. This is about that sentiment where I do start to make changes in my life and it feels like I actually made the wrong choices and I'm spiraling a bit, where you start to embody a different version of yourself that you're not familiar with. You're not really comfortable being you because you aren't necessarily that person yet. So it feels wrong even though some part of you knows it's the right direction, the transitional point between your past self where everything's comfortable, you know what to expect, which isn't a bad thing. But the person you're trying to become, the goals you're trying to achieve, it's an uncomfortable journey on the way there. A lot of times it's filled with obstacles and things you wouldn't have expected. It's exploring that feeling of starting to dip my toes into the uncomfortability of change and how it can feel wrong.”
Tay’s previous debut was in July.
“I started rolling out the project,” he said. “It's called Astralis, the album. The single was called For the Hell of It, and I put out a video that directly ties in with this cinematic landscape I was talking about. So very excited to be putting things into the world again.”
Tay explained what the song is about.
“At the time, I was feeling stuck just in terms of the job I had,” he said. “I felt like I was making progress towards my goals as an artist and dreams in general as a human being, but I wasn't seeing the kind of progress I wanted. Felt like I was stuck doing the same thing over and over. Hence, For the Hell of It, just going through the motions. It's about feeling a little lost and trying to find your way out of that and figure out what really matters, how you can start working towards those goals. I'm really happy with how the song itself turned out, and the video is a sci-fi embodiment of this sentiment.”
Tay described the album’s theme as a journey.
“Sonically, it's a big blend of genres because I love doing that,” he said. “It's a lot of electronic-inspired stuff with pop, rap and alternative elements across the board. It's my hodgepodge of inspirations and personal interests. But from a more meaning standpoint, it's an emotional journey of becoming this person who I'm still figuring out. But it's really a story about leaving behind my past and and moving physically, too. I left my home city and a lot of different things, relationships, jobs, things of that nature. So really starting a new life, starting a new chapter, all in pursuit of the thing I knew I wanted to do and how it's changed me over time through that process. The whole album's a big transition between the person I was and the person I'm becoming. It can be interpreted in a number of ways by people who listen. It's cool people get to make their own meanings when it comes to music because you might relate to something differently than the artist intended. And I leave that entirely up to the listener.”
Tay prefers creating an album to a stand-alone tune.
“I thought it would be fun to explore this in the visual context with the sci-fi world and create a story behind it that gives it a unique edge in terms of how people are rolling out albums today,” he said. “I like very cohesive things that tell a story. I've always liked albums versus single format, which is becoming more popular in traditional media because people have shorter attention spans and crave the immediate gratification of whatever they see online. But I also want to challenge myself creatively and see what came out of it and very excited so far. It's been a good challenge.”
Tay relocated from the City of Fountains.
“I'm from Kansas City, Missouri, and I moved to Los Angeles, California,” he said. “I wanted to take everything to the next level and figured what better way and go into the heart of entertainment in the U.S. and really taking a chance on myself. I've already noted changes and wrote songs from the move itself, but it's solidified my own trust and belief in myself as an artist like, okay, I can really do this. I might be a bit crazy. You have to be a bit crazy to do most things in the creative industry, but I think it again just solidified the belief I have in myself creatively.”
Tay pointed out L.A. is the hub of creativity.
“It's the place to be for a lot of industries,” he said. “Music's a big one, but you got the acting world, theater. It really is a very creative place. It attracts that type of person. Not to say there aren't creative people in Kansas City by any means. There's creative people everywhere, but something about a very large centralized population of them, the energy is different. There's an electricity in the air because people are all working towards things. It's inspiring.”
Tay explained his songwriting process.
“I try to keep it as nonlinear as possible, try not to come up with a structure because it defeats the purpose to some extent,” he said. “Organically, most of the time, I do the production and melody first and vocals are usually last. But sometimes, I will get the vocals down and then completely change the production and melodies to better fit with what I wrote. There really aren't ever many times where I have a vocal idea I'm just sitting on. It's because I grew up on piano, so I think about things in that context, about laying a foundation for a song first, and then from there, it inspires vocal melodies and lyrics. And that can influence the production in a different way.”
Tay’s music is inspired by real life.
“Definitely the stuff that happens in my own life,” he said. “Music's an outlet to some extent, a way to process stuff that happens. Not like I have a crazy traumatic life or anything, but there's definitely some hardships that music has helped me process to turn them into something more positive. I'm definitely inspired by a lot of different artists and worlds people have created. On the music side of things, there's an artist named EDEN I've listened to for a really long time and been inspired by his production style and vocal sound. like a lot of electronic artists like Deadmau5 and Flume.”
Fiction also inspires Tay.
“I'm always very inspired by imaginative worlds,” he said. “I really like the Dune series. The movies were great, are still great. I've been reading the books as well. I'm all the way on the sixth one of the original six. Interstellar is probably my favorite movie of all time. Just very into space, pushing that edge of creativity and seeing what's out there. Not like I'm always looking up at the stars or anything, but I'm definitely always thinking about what else is out there and in a creative context, what maybe I could bring into the world. But just as humans, as people, what else is in this universe? It gets my curiosity going.”
Anyone dating Tay wouldn’t have to fret about being named in a story a la Taylor Swift.
“Not in a direct context,” he said. “I'll definitely talk about things that are going on in my life, but I won't ever explicitly reference someone. They might listen to the song down the line and know that's probably about me. But I don't think it would be written in a way that other people would understand. That's not my particular style. I know it works great for Taylor Swift, but I like to keep the element of mystery in my music.”
Tay will eventually perform live again.
“I'm focused on getting the album out first,” he said. “I like to perform in a very specific way when I'm invited to and have creative control over the set and stage design and stuff like that. The bigger kick right now is that I want to plan a tour for at the end of the album, see how many legs we can hit, cities on the West Coast. But the last shows we played in Kansas City before I moved were probably some of my favorite. They were very energetic and it felt like that final release where I was like, yeah, this is me. This is what I want to be doing. And definitely some of my better performances as well. The last two, I put one of them together and the second one I was asked to perform by the venue.”
Tay doesn’t discourage folks from deriving their own meaning from his music.
“It's totally up to the listener,” he said. “I'm not going to tell them they're wrong for feeling something. It's a very innate human quality that I don't think you can necessarily convey just through music. I put my own feelings into them, and if that transpires into a different feeling for someone else, that's honestly amazing. That's what I could hope for, I want to be able to make people feel something, make them feel seen or they're not alone. But I can't really control what that exact feeling is or how they interpret the song. And I'm not going to tell them they're wrong. If it's someone that thinks the song is about them though, I might tell them they're wrong. But for the most part, keep it within their world. They can decide.”
Tay takes care of his voice.
“I do my vocal warm-ups on a pretty regular basis,” he said. “I haven't had to worry about performances the past few months. When I'm in that mode, I'll practice pretty frequently up until the week of, and then I'll lay off it quite a bit. The day of the show, I'll probably bring a little jar of honey with me to coat my throat. That's a trick a lot of vocalists use just to make sure nothing happens and I'm able to have my full range and everything. This is a basic one, but drinking lukewarm water. Too cold or too hot can sometimes be irritating for your vocal cords.”
Tay recalled the first musical act that impacted him as a youth.
“Probably something by Radiohead,” he said. “My dad really loved Radiohead, and I subsequently do as well. He played them all the time. I'm gonna blank on the exact song, but probably like Fake Plastic Trees. I've always had a very near and dear attachment to that one. I heard him playing their music so much. He was in a band when I was younger and would play around town all the time, and he definitely sang that song a lot. So could be biased in that sense, but they're the first ones.”
Tay focused on his singing in recent years.
“Just the last few years I was finally like, I could probably benefit from vocal lessons,” he said. “I started taking them a few years ago and learned how to manipulate my voice better and project and really hold a pitch and all those things you need as a singer. But I always loved music, singing along to Coldplay tunes and stuff like that, too. My dad was into the softer side of stuff, but he really liked the The Police and U2. Sting a lot as well, so things from that era. I was always kind of singing to some extent. I still wouldn't even consider myself an incredible vocalist by any means, but I can definitely sing now.”
Tay has played the piano since he was a kid.
“When I was 8, so I've played that for quite a while,” he said. “I was in and out of it for a bit. I went through a handful of teachers, and the one that I really ended up liking ended up moving out of the state back to her home country. I didn't take lessons for a while. From there, I continued to teach myself using songs I liked and then broke into more music theory stuff and just kept going.”
Tay isn’t enamored with the idea of becoming too famous.
“I don't want to be a crazy A-list celebrity,” he said. “I've been around people of that nature, and not to say anything bad about them, but it definitely starts to change you as an individual having that much attention on you at all times. There is no privacy anymore. I don't know if you can ever really get rid of that sometimes, depending on the level of stature you get to. Not saying I don't want to continue to grow my success, but along the veins of having a dedicated fan base, people that really connect with my music. I want to continue building that, being able to tour frequently. I love playing live, that's my favorite thing and having bigger rooms of fans would be awesome. But getting mobbed on the street doesn't sound like something I would fancy.”
Tay already knows what it’s like to be recognized in public.
“There's been a few instances where I was recognized in certain places,” he said. “It was in Kansas City, so it wasn't anything that crazy. I had a bit of a local buzz going on. But still, that gave me a little taste of being like, oh, if there was more than a few people at a time, it would be overwhelming. I’m not going to limit myself at all and want to explore all the possibilities in my creative potential, but it's not really my end goal to become the most famous musician alive or anything. I just want to make cool stuff that people connect with and that I can continue to build from and evolve as an artist and a person.”
Tay would like to have a lasting impact on people.
“If they want to remember me as the guy that changed their life at a live show, made them realize they weren't alone and feeling confused and lost in the world, that's amazing,” he said. “I want to be able to give people that experience.”
Tay enjoys being in the arts community.
“It's very accepting towards anyone and everyone, especially from a creative standpoint,” he said. “It encourages people to grow, to be surrounded by like-minded individuals that have their own creative passions and goals. You meet so many different pockets of people and you get tight with a certain group of people. They're all doing their thing and you guys are just moving up together, moving through the city, the world. When you find your people, it's awesome. Everyone's pursuing it in some shape or form, so they they understand the struggles. They understand the hardships, but also the the wins and the awesome upsides to achieving something you work so hard on. It's encouraging and inspiring and a very welcoming community overall. I'm thankful for the people around me, the people I met, the people I will meet. It's a cool place to be.”
Tay stressed the importance for people to pursue their creative urges.
“If you want to do something, you go do it,” he said. “How could people possibly understand or even support when they can't see the vision yet. It hasn't unfolded in them. You're the sole believer for a while till you believe so hard that you manifest things and then other people finally start to take notice and they're like, wait, he or she or they is actually doing it. Wow, now I believe.”
Tay isn’t worried about his appearance in public.
“A lot of that stuff left my conscience a long time ago,” he said. “I'm gonna be fully myself and the right people will naturally be attracted to me or a part of my life. And it'll be best that way because I'm trying to fit in with a specific group of people or act like someone I'm not. And that goes for self-expression. I have a lot of tattoos and stuff all over, and I only have ear piercings, and I'll probably keep it at that. There's definitely a time I used to think a lot more about that, but eventually I also hit the point where I'm like, everyone is just thinking about themselves. So who cares if I'm wearing a crazy outfit in public? Some people might look at me and be like, that guy's weird, and forget about me five seconds later. Life is too short to really worry too much about little nuanced things like that.”
Tay dispensed advice to aspiring musicians.
“Just do it,” he said. “It takes a lot of time and energy, and everyone's upbringing, access to resources is different, so obviously that might not be immediately feasible for some people. But if you really want something, you can make it happen. You just gotta try hard enough and really believe in it. If that's being an instrumentalist, you really want to get better at something, put the time in, learn the craft, learn the instrument. If you want to be a vocalist, same thing applies. Or an artist, figure out how you have a unique voice, how you want to present yourself.”
Tay said that strategy applies to any art form.
“Painter, sculptor, any creative discipline or really anything for that matter, you just gotta put the time in,” he said. “Know that it's not gonna happen right off the bat. It takes a bit of falling on your face and those are probably the moments that you learn the most in, from the failure. You can't shy away from that. That's just part of it. Keep going. If you never stop, then you can't lose. Everyone's on their own timeline. Some people might figure it out in a few years, and it might take some people decades, but I think it all happens the way it's supposed to. So just trust yourself and your process and surround yourself with good people. That's really crucial. And keep going and keep working.”
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Tay’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taydreamin/
Tay’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo-AnyYjLxbSFtIZrJJjnyQ