The LA-based pop star shares her thoughts on quarantine-producing, The Beastie Boys, and her favorite compliment to date

Tae is a once-in-a-life-time talent with a once-in-a-lifetime sound.

22-year-old, LA-based artist Tae has only released a handful of singles, but that’s all you need to be hooked. The dream-pop rock star began her journey in music by writing for other artists; however, it wasn’t long before she said “alright, my turn”. She thoughtfully used her quarantine free-time to hone her craft, ultimately creating her first single “Alone Time”. Naturally, blogs, publications, and playlists started catching on, right in time to drop her rocket-of-a-track “Nostalgia” (320K+ streams on Spotify alone) at the end of 2020.

2021 has brought Tae good fortune as well, releasing “The Fool” a few weeks into the new year, and now “Moonlight” (prod. by Saint Mesa). The serotonin inducing, romcom-esque nature of the track is perfect for Springtime nights.

Since her first release, Tae has found support from major Spotify playlists such as Lorem, Fresh Finds, Butter, and Study Break and publications like Before The Data and The Luna Collective. Please… get on the train before it’s too late. See below for an exclusive Q&A with the woman herself.

A big thanks to Tae for giving us her time and energy: a personality as lighthearted and bright as her music.

Deviate: Tae, fantastic to meet you. We’ve been following your music for the past few months and are huge fans!
Tae: Hello!! thank you so much! that means so much to me.

Deviate: How’s your past “quarantine year” been? Difficult to work through or business as usual?
Tae: Kind of a mix for me. When quarantine first started my mental health really depleted, I wasn’t making any music and had zero motivation to do so. I had just learned how to play piano and a couple weeks into isolation, I woke up and decided I was going to make a song at the piano that day, no matter what. That’s when I wrote “Alone Time.” I really tried to put my feelings of physical and mental isolation into a song, so that one is super special to me. I then started building my music and really figured out a path I wanted to go with it. I ended up making 5 songs with producer/artist Saint Mesa in just 2 months. So there was a lot that was difficult about this last year but I am very thankful that I was able to still create something I’m proud of.

Deviate: Take me back to the beginning… Can you recall the moment that first made you fall in love with music?
Tae: My mom is a singer (she has such a beautiful voice) & my dad is a music lover. They had me listening to Beastie Boys and UB40 when I was a little 24/7. Brass Monkey by the Beastie Boys was my favorite song growing up. So I think with all of this, I fell in love with music early on. I also was obsessed with Fantasia on American Idol. I was so in awe of her voice and beauty, I looked at her and thought “Yep I wanna do that.”

Deviate: I know you’ve had a long history in songwriting and art. What have been some of your favorite projects to work on?
Tae: I really love the project my brother and I did, “Tayja”. My brother Elijah is a fantastic producer & artist (He goes by Elijah Wellz) He and I collaborated and made a ton of songs, even an EP. We were so young when we first started so to see our growth individually and together is really awesome.

Deviate: You started putting out your own tunes in the beginning of 2020. So far, I’d say you’ve received some pretty high praise on your first 4 singles. What specific comment has stuck with you on any of the reviews?
Tae: For sure, the feedback has been so awesome. It fills me with so much joy every article, post or story I see. All of them brighten my day 🙂 Hmm well one person said my voice sounds like a mix of sex, Lana Del Rey and Tame Impala so yeah, i’m very flattered to say the least.

Deviate: Let’s talk about “Moonlight”… what was the primary inspiration behind the song?
Tae: Saint Mesa showed me the first part of the song which he had already made, and that intro is so fun and grand, It sounded to me like the feeling you get when someone you like, likes you back- if that makes sense haha. So I just really wanted to accompany the track with a story that was just as fun.

Deviate: My favorite part of the track is the “lets fall in love in the mooooonlight moooonlight” loop near the end. I can picture it as the filler track for a rom-com montage scene perfectly.
Tae: Hahah that sounds incredible me. I could picture it to!

Deviate: Any plans for a “Moonlight” music video?
Tae: I already have it all planned out in my head of what I want it to look like and be exactly, now I just have to make it! haha

Deviate: If you could no longer be Tae and had to be an inanimate object, what are you choosing and why?
Tae: A tree in Hawaii. No specific reason I just think that would be a really nice experience

Tae is certainly a Deviate.