LAUREN GREEN & MARISSA MACISSA OF TAN COLOGNE
When there is a deep connection to country and the land speaks to you in ways that cannot be communicated through language alone, one of the most fundamental ways to express that primal relation and to articulate that innate feeling is through music. This is particularly true of New Mexico duo Tan Cologne.
Consisting of Lauren Green and Marissa Macias the pair are mystified by the land they inhabit and are intimately bound by it. Fascinated by its rich history, both cultural and geological, Green and Macias channel all its facets and coalesce its spirit into beautifully crafted music.
This is embodied by their latest record Earth Visions Of Water Spaces and as the name suggests, the substance that occupies seventy percent of the planet’s surface is fundamental to the record. It may be surprising considering the arid reputation of New Mexico, but time like water, is fluid and all is not as it appears.
The state of New Mexico is central to their sophomore record and as Green and Macias share, the region has shaped them as individuals, as artists, and the creativity they derive from it. “We’re continuously inspired by New Mexico because the land and region offers its own experience and stories. It communicates its own language and essence and has a complex history and landscape. With this combination of elements, we have been shaped as artists being and living within this environment. As individuals, we feel altered by living somewhat remotely and having less systematic distractions.”
Recorded at Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, the sonic signature of the album was imprinted upon by the elemental forces that shaped the record. The summer of 2021 in New Mexico consisted of weather extremes ranging from major monsoons to vicious storms and as they explain. “Most of the recording was done during moody and wild weather in days full of contrast, from lightning storms to dust devils to snow." All of which will forever be embedded in the album’s DNA as an enduring testament to the conditions that shaped the album.
The influence of nature features heavily throughout the record and in particular water. To elaborate as to how crucial to the album water is, Green and Macias describe in detail precisely how and why water is the central tenet of the record. “The entire album is about water, droplets of water, atmospheric exchanges of water, and the transformation of Earth by and through water. It is inspired by what may become and what has existed before our timeline. We were drawn to focus on water through finding shells within the desert landscape. We also read a story in the newspaper about a 300 million-year-old shark fossil found in the mountains in New Mexico 30 miles southwest of Albuquerque. It is a lot to consider in reflecting on where the Earth's path has been and where and what it may be. Water of course being the vital experience for existence.” And to extrapolate further, Green and Macias go on to say, “This body of work feels more Earth-centered. It is about the shared space with humanity and all life forms. We would like listeners to feel that they are submerged within or near the presence of water.”
Taking those intangible moments, sentiments, and emotional constructs and coalescing them into solid sonic states is at the heart of this record. Green and Macias articulate that interchange and transition between the two when they say that “We are guided visually by these ideas and sentiments, which come through in a sound form. To us, feels like a physical landscape.” This ethereal underpinning is crystalised by the sounds Green and Macias produce curtesy of playing each and every instrument that features throughout the album, making the transformative process of immaterial into solid existence complete.
Instead of feeling pressured by the duty of playing every instrument and managing the stifling effects it can have on creativity, the onus and responsivity of doing everything provided a level of intimacy and energy that takes the recorded piece to a whole new level as Green and Macias reaffirm. “Overall, it’s a wholistic experience that has become a part of the complete process and writing of Tan Cologne.”
And so, of the writing and lyrical content, the overarching narrative tying the album together becomes clear when considering the environmental framework of the record as Green and Macias explain. “The album overall is also inspired by earthly and atmospheric phenomenon.” And by digging a little deeper and dissecting each of the tracks on the record, the lyrical origins of each track for Green and Macias become apparent. “We have a song entitled "Orbs" about a woman named Dorothy Izatt. Dorothy has been visited by floating entities, which often look like light droplets. She captured them by 8mm film for years. We found her story to be a visual example of the existence of other worlds and beings of light. Our song "Topaz Wave" is also about a light bloom of phosphorescent algae creating neon waves in the ocean. We often write about different experiences of time overlapping and colliding, creating both beauty and imperfection. The album as a whole was created to tell stories of water on Earth, all songs being reflections of past, present, and future civilizations. "Floating Gardens" is a song about Xochimilco the ancient Aztec gardens of Mexico City, "Blue Swim" is a song about swimming to the last coast on Earth. "Shell Grotto" is about creating a sanctioned space of protective energy by constructing a wall of shells and was inspired by an undateable shell structure in Kent, England. It was found in 1835 by children who then used it as their secret hiding place. "Winds Below Water" is our song about the shark fossil found in the mountains. We serendipitously discovered after writing "Winds Below Water" that Rachel Carson had written a book similarly titled "Under the Sea Wind" about ocean life and the behavior of organisms on or in the sea. "Space in the palms" is about a day we spent on a secluded beach in Baja where wild horses ran free and played in the waves and found relief from the sun under naturally formed palm huts.”
Condensed so concisely, the backbone of the record becomes more pronounced and clearer to see. Especially so when considering their debut release Cave Vaults On The Moon In New Mexico. For Green and Macias there was a desire to build upon their earlier release rather than take a side step into new and uncharted territory with Earth Visions Of Water Spaces. “It felt like a step forward but also an anthological continuation. We feel like Cave Vaults On The Moon In New Mexico will be a constant touchstone, as that body of work shaped and presented who we are as Tan Cologne.” Yet often music is but one of many creative outlets artists enjoy. For some it can be the passions they enjoy outside of music that in turn contributes to how they approach their musical pursuits. That is true of Green and Macias and their non-musical interests. “There is most definitely a correlation to music and both of our tactile extensions. We constantly reference different textures, materials and sculpted experiences that we know from directly working with these elements. For instance, in “Strange God” we reference pouring plaster and impressions of clay and on the new album, there’s a song entitled “Shell Grotto” which is also a current endeavor of ours in creating a wall of shells.” That visual and tactile expression is echoed by the fact that Green and Macias produced the artwork for the album. And in doing so aptly produced a visual representation of the auditory work they wished to create.
As for Green and Macias it is not a case of the disciplines operating in two very different realms but rather in parallel. “They’re always made side by side but with more intuition than intention. It’s a whole sphere of dialogue that goes together.” This duality not only speaks of Green and Macias creative approach but also the intimacy they share in making music generally considering the limited influence and drive they receive from the music scene in New Mexico as they humbly state. “There is not much of a scene we’re connected to here in New Mexico, but we appreciate the folkloric and regional realms of music here. It’s different than our language in sound.” Although the one constant throughout is that their music for them is “An experience that allows us to communicate with source, spirit, land and each other.” And what more could you ever want from music other than what they have done with Earth Visions Of Water Spaces which is to share it with the world, a world that is outside of their own world in New Mexico.
