TECLA is a one-of-a-kind artist. She’s a first generation New Yorker, born of Haitian and Italian decent. As a self proclaimed “bruha” her intoxicating style, hypnotic tone, and tropical vibes have captured audiences around the world.
DAD met up with TECLA just before her show at Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn last weekend. Walking up to the festival, the 29-year-old artist was dressed in white on white with two grey buns, turquoise clogs, and luscious red lips. There was something mesmerizing about her performance that day. With the greying sky as her backdrop, TECLA’s electronic sound waves sent vibrations through the ever-growing and intensely captivated crowd. Simply put she was transfixing.
Get to know TECLA.
When did you start making music?
When I was like born [laughs]. I used to make up songs on the piano when I was a little kid and started taking piano lessons. I used to write songs, like little nursery rhymes. Then I started learning electronic music and producing and it kind of turned into this genre-bending category I created. I’ve been doing it all my life.
I remember when you started to take music seriously, bringing your keyboard over to my place to mess around with some beats. That was about five years ago. How has your music grown from your start to now?
I think it's mostly in confidence like performance style. Not being afraid to do the things that I naturally want to do musically as opposed to the things I think other people want to hear. When you let go of what other people think and just make it for yourself that’s when other people respond to it, because they end up loving that energy that you put into it, because it’s pure.
Also just not being afraid to be a solo artist and really go for it by myself has really changed.
What are some of your influences?
Everyone and everything in front of me. I like to think about women who pushed boundaries in style and music like Grace Jones, Josephine Baker, Nina Simone… people who are multifaceted and weren’t afraid to be sexual or extreme or had raw voices or played an instrument in some crazy way that’s not conventional because that’s what I do, that’s who I am. I am classically trained on the piano but I’ve let go of that virtuoso thing.
It’s about pushing boundaries, being raw and going for it. Hopefully I can be that for someone else.
So it’s Saturday, Day 1 of the Afropunk Festival. Is this is your first time at Afropunk? Have you performed for the festival before?
Yeah I have a long history with Afropunk. I’ve been hanging out with Afropunk since it was literally like dive bar basement, moshing barefoot on broken glass…years and years and years ago. I was a super Afropunk fan when they first started when it was just a documentary. And I would go to the shows and it was really punk and really raw. Then I was in a bunch of bands and my old band played. This is my first TECLA show as TECLA. So 10 years in… finally get my chance [laughs].
What’s to come for TECLA in 2014?
I have an album out called We Are The Lucky Ones. It’s been out for about a year now so I’m working on a new EP at the moment. It’s going to be really amazing. We’re going to drop in late fall.
I’m trying to do a video for every song, really go hard with the visual aspect of who I am because I feel like that’s a big part of it. And hopefully start touring a lot more in the fall / winter.
TECLA will be performing at The Knitting Factory on September 18.
