LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: TALETTA MAKENA WARDLE
Mars’ Hill: When did you get your start as an artist? Taletta: I started singing when I was twelve. I haven’t sung my whole life. You know how those people who are little kids, and they are singing when they are two years old? That wasn’t me. I had this karaoke machine, and I was singing and I was like, I think––I think I’m good! So then I ran to my brother and I was like: “Can you listen to this?” And he was like, “Yeah, you’re okay,” and then it just kind of went from there. I was always hesitant to pursue music because I feel like so many people do. It is just kind of daunting, and it felt silly. I think I just had some people really speak into my life and call it out as a gift. And so I think that affirmation was like, okay, I’m gonna do it. The name Taletta is actually from my great grandma. She was a wonderful lady, and she had MS (Multiple Sclerosis). She was in a hospital most of her life, and I always heard wonderful things about her and I would have loved to have met her. I saw her name, and I was like, I’ve never heard that before, so I thought it was really cool. I thought the legacy of her and having her name associated with me was really cool.
“I think that is the beauty of music for me. This album was really therapeutic, and it took me a long time to get out of that dark place. But I think when I did it just felt so good to look at this piece of work and say I was there, but I am not there anymore.” MH: Where do you gather your inspiration from? Taletta: I think what works best for me is writing from personal experience. And for some reason, sad experiences are easier for me to write from. I draw a lot of inspiration from bands that I listen to, like The Cure and the 90s soft rock underground scene like The Smashing Pumpkins [and] the Goo Goo Dolls. I also gain a lot of inspiration from modern artists like Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers. I also really loved the local band Peach Pit.
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I feel like there is a ton of inspiration from all over, especially when I find something new or a little bit different. I have been listening to this artist, Binky. His stuff is really different, but I think that is what inspires me to write in a new way. When I write, I go through [different] forms of writing. This album, Cruel Joke, was written at the start of the pandemic, and I had nothing to do, so it forced me to write every day. I wrote it all on an electric guitar, but before that, I had written on keys. It is just interesting how that changes. MH: What is the story behind your song “Mars Hill Shirt”? Taletta: So I was seeing someone and they had this Mars’ Hill shirt, and I thought it was super cool. I was like, that is a really cool shirt, especially like the design on the back and the figures and stuff. I found out after it was specific to each Mars’ Hill newspaper that was that year. Sarah (Wright) had told me, the one who designed the shirt. So, for my birthday, I was like, “I would like to have your other shirt.” But obviously things ended and I didn’t get the shirt. I think the shirt symbolizes something that you hope for, but it is not going to come to fruition, and I think that is something that a lot of people can pinpoint in their lives. I remember sitting on my birthday hoping that this person would just reach out at least and remember, and they didn’t. I think the music video came from that experience of disappointment on your birthday, or how you can be like in a room full of people and you are in the corner or you are like hoping that person comes. And then you are just so sad inside and so disappointed even though you have all these people around you that love you. MH: What was the process like making the music video for that song? Taletta: I have a friend and he has these friends who do videos, and they are very professional and they have all the equipment. They were like, “Taletta music video?” to him, and then he sent it to me and I was like, “Yes, 100 percent!” I am always looking for people to collaborate with, and I am not big––I do not have a lot of money. So finding people who are keen to actually just collaborate for the sake of art is really fun. It was a really good experience, and the guys who did it are called TMPL Studio. They are really cool guys––it was a fun group. MH: Do you have a favourite song that you have written? Taletta: That is a hard one, because I feel like the singles before I had heard them so much, but I still love them. You go through phases of an artist where you are like, okay, I have listened to this one a million times, I am ready to move on. But I really love “We’re Just Strangers.” That is probably my
personal favourite on the album, because I like the changing dynamics of the song and how it can go from more of a lighter feeling, to dark and heavy in the chorus, and then at the end it gets really big. So it is just like a fun song to play live.
“If I can help people to know they are not alone in their feelings, that is a cool experience for me.” I also really liked the song “Discarded.” I think, lyrically, that one is probably one of my best. It is very sad, but it is interesting looking back at how I legitimately felt those things that I was singing at that time, like feeling like a piece of garbage––that is pretty intense. But coming out of it and listening to that I can go back and be like, oh man, that was a dark place and a very sad feeling––but also I am on the outside of it. Still being able to access that emotion is a weird concept. I think that is the beauty of music for me. This album was really therapeutic, and it took me a long time to get out of that dark place. But I think when I did it just felt so good to look at this piece of work and say I was there, but I am not there anymore. Hearing other artists and that they experience heartbreak and rejection gives me the courage to be okay with myself. If this person who I think is great, and I admire them can go through that, it makes you feel less alone. If I can help people to know they are not alone in their feelings, that is a cool experience for me. MH: If you could open for any musician right now, who would it be? Taletta: I love Phoebe [Bridgers], so I just selfishly just want to like, hang out with her and meet her. But I think Bon Iver would be really cool to open for––his writing is insane. The 1975 would be cool too. Maybe Mac DeMarco. Honestly, I would take anyone at this point, because I feel like it is my dream to open for someone on tour. MH: Are there any projects or shows coming up that we should know about? Taletta: I have a show coming up on November 20 at The Railway. I am opening for another band. I also have vinyls coming out! Follow Taletta at: @talettaaaa on Instagram, Twitter, and FB Music available on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major streaming platforms.