Once you dive in to the musical world of TabInStereo, it is difficult to dive out. You might as well stay under the water and accept it. Mixing hip hop and trip hop, Tab creates sonic soundscapes which are both addictive and inspiring. “Late night headphone music”, as he calls it himself, impresses with intricate grooves and wide, atmospheric vibes. I spoke to Tab shortly before the premiere of his new album, an instrumental hip hop experience, entitled “Daytime Thunderstorms”.
Bartek: What is your earliest memory related to music?
Tab: My earliest memories of music oddly enough revolve around church. Growing up my mother was a church organist and my aunt/godmother was head of the choir, I have to find some of the records from the 70’s, she was opera singer levels of good. I spent plenty of days upstairs in the choir loft. I also began with drum lessons pretty early on, starting at age 5. My drum teacher, Barry, taught me improvisation at a very young age and our lessons were pretty much jam sessions, with him playing jazz piano and myself on drums. This actually makes a lot of sense considering how we record our stuff now.
If you were to choose one song from your own catalogue, which one would it be and why?
This is a tough one and something I struggle with quite often actually. Every album has its own distinct sound and personality and some fans resonate with certain genres more than others and vice versa. Nowadays, I send people the ‘Vignettes’ playlist as an introduction to my music. I feel like that is a safe enough spot to get a feel for it. After that, it is up to them how far down the rabbit hole they want to go, LOL, it goes pretty deep. If I did have to pick a current favorite overall song it would either be “Sunseed” with Jade Gritty or “Junko” with Jade Gritty & Aurc.
Which event in your music career would you call a breakthrough moment, a pivotal moment after which there was no turning back anymore?
There were a few moments like this over the years, I’ve been doing this a long time now. The cool thing is a lot of these moments happened in completely different genres. Landing what started as an acoustic demo on a DJ Tiësto album was pretty insane “Compromise”. The first time I actually heard the finished track was when Tiësto played it at the Staples Center. That was a holy sh*t moment.
Another was landing a hook and production on a Ghostface & Methodman song, “Smoke Like We Do”. If a 15-year-old me knew that was even possible, he would lose his mind. On the R&B side, writing and singing with Slim from 112 in the legendary Quad Studios in NY was a wild night (“Head in the Clouds”).
Asking about influences might not be considered very original, but has there been an artist in the past without whom your musical direction would have been different?
There are definitely a bunch of artists like this and they span across a wide variety of genres. Hip-Hop wise I’ve been a Wu-Tang devotee for as long as I can remember. They heavily influenced my production style from now until forever. ‘OK Computer’ Radiohead was huge for me, ‘Supreme Clientele’ Ghostface Killah, ‘Humbug’ Arctic Monkeys. The Beatles goes without saying, later Beatles once they started experimenting in the studio, Paul McCartneys 70’s stuff, Paul Simon, Damien Jurado. The list can go on and on, it really depends on the day, haha.
In your music, you often switch between hip hop and trip hop, at least that’s my observation. What do you think is the personal connection between the two of them that makes you do that?
I think my music is just heady to begin with, even at the most accessible. So, I never saw much of a big jump between Hip-Hop & Trip-Hop for me. A lot of it is late night headphone music either way. Sometimes I prefer making instrumental music better, because it is completely up to the listener for interpretation, lyrics are often misconstrued, especially diving into some of the deeper topics I tend to. I never go in with a plan though, I just see what comes out. Trying to force anything results in stuff that never sees the light of day.
Being an independent artist, is there something that makes you regret the musical path you chose?
I am definitely at a very weird point in my music career. I don’t want to say that I don’t care, but I am way more laid back than coming up and doing it for a living in my 20’s. It was extremely difficult relying on music to pay the rent, and I wound up being forced to create and trying to please whoever was paying at the moment. At that point, might as well work a day job. So, I keep music as a sacred outlet these days. I can’t really go too long without creating still, but it is no longer this unhealthy relationship. I am proud of managing that transition and still creating some really cool shit, that’s when you know you are really in it for the long haul. I’ll be 70 with a hard drive full of stuff, God willing.
What are your release plans for 2024?
So, after not releasing a full-length album in 2023, 2024 should be pretty busy. Anitek and I are knee deep in not one but two albums right now! One full length hip-hop vocal album & one instrumental trip-hop album. I don’t want to fully announce the titles and details yet, but we’ve got a ton of stuff coming. I also plan on releasing “Daytime Thunderstorms” with AURC this year. I just have to figure out the final artwork. That is an instrumental album recorded mostly live in one weekend during a severe thunderstorm in New Jersey. Hopefully, there will be even more coming down the pipeline as well, stay tuned!
What advice would you give your younger self, if you were to start your musical journey here and now?
I think the most important thing is finding your sound. That’s a cool superpower that not everyone has, to know what you actually sound like. Easier said than done for sure but, once you get it, everything clicks. I wouldn’t waste as much time chasing a scene or a paycheck. Playing live is important but it can really burn you out after a while. I was always a studio guy. I would have accepted that and built off my strengths much sooner, if I was starting over today.
What helps you discover new ideas or inspirations for your music?
Life in general. Stepping away from music every once and a while and having some genuine new experiences. It’s necessary because if not, things become stale. Every once and a while a special album or movie or trip will come around and totally shift your musical gears into an entirely new direction. That’s when things get really exciting. I love when I am totally re-energized and can’t keep up with the new ideas. Flow state!
Watch the album visual:
Listen to “Daytime Thunderstorms” here: https://www.jamendo.com/album/561554/daytime-thunderstorms
Photos: TabInStereo
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