Good Enough: Interview with Kent Neo-soul musician Tia Gordon
Westerham artist Tia Gordon on staying real, the number 4 and going home
There’s something very real about Tia Gordon. Hailing from Westerham, she released her debut EP this year and has seen her streams catapult into the millions.
Tracks like On My Mind and Cold Showers are packed with feeling and continue to resonate with an ever-growing fanbase. But, while the stats are racking up, the DIY selfies sat on trains and kitchen floor at 2am vibes of her artwork reflect an authenticity that is harder to achieve than you might think. We got in touch, on the hottest day of the year, to find out a bit more.
Hey Tia, are you still in Westerham at the moment, or have you moved up to London?
No. So I still live here. I’ve lived here since I was nine, with my dad. I like that I can go to London and then be overstimulated and go home, back to this environment.
My friends live in London and I can go there and stay at their houses, but there’s a countryness in me, a quietness. When I come home, it’s ahhhh.
What’s the state of play right now… Are you signed to a label?
We’re completely independent. I’ve got a great manager and we’re just doing it that way. It just means that I have autonomy over anything that I do, which I really enjoy. But as music gets more serious, you do want those people behind you because it makes things a lot easier. Music is really expensive and at the moment it is self-funded. I go to the studio, but I still work full-time as an office manager and then fit in music wherever I can to make both of those worlds work.
These days, to do music, you really have to want to do it, right?
It’s such a hard process to do by yourself. Which is immensely sad as well, because there’s so much music that we’re missing out on from artists who are really amazing.
We love your tagline ‘I write songs in my bedroom, then hopefully I’m not the only one who likes them’.
When I started this whole music thing, I had absolutely no belief in myself or my abilities at all. I put these songs on SoundCloud that I’d been writing in my room, paired with me badly playing guitar, and when people found them, it was like the worst thing. I couldn’t believe it when people actually liked them. Even though I’m not writing songs in my room anymore, when a release date comes, I’m still that girl in her room. I still feel exactly the same as that SoundCloud girl, hoping that people like it. I don’t think that tagline will ever not stick. Because it’s how I feel.
All your imagery and artwork feels very real, very personal.
I just didn’t want to do the whole photo shoot day for every single song that is on my discography. The majority of them are just from my point-and-shoot that I’ve just taken… and then we’ve used them for artwork. It’s never been like ‘I’m going to take this photo for Summer Days’, I think my music is quite honest. So I feel like having really honest artwork fits.
The kitchen shot for your EP with.love.x, what’s the story behind it?
That’s in my grandma’s house. And I took real inspiration from my grandma. No one knows it’s my grandma’s house, but I know. And my lucky number’s in the artwork, too, which is number four. And it just feels really special to me.
Why is the number four lucky to you?
I see it everywhere. And in such random places. I post them on my Insta story and people think I’ve gone crazy because I don’t think anyone knows why I’m posting it. It brings me joy. Apparently, it also means that my angels are protecting me. So let’s hope and pray that’s what’s happening.
You currently have 85k monthly listeners, more than a million plays across your tracks, so something’s working.
I think I saw something change around Cold Showers. People love that song. I love that song. And when the EP came out, I think people took me a little bit more seriously. But also I really try not to watch it like that. I just try to keep doing my thing. But yeah, it feels like it’s changing.
How would you describe your style to someone?
I think I’m a soul girl. Like, neo-solely vibes. I wouldn’t say R&B. But I think I dabble in it. I just want to write really honest music. If I release a rock tune in 10 years… if it’s honest, to me, it’s honest. That’s the most important thing. My inspirations are Olivia Dean and Mahalia, people who write music that they’re just feeling in the moment. I try not to put myself in a box.
Your first track was Call Me in 2020. That got picked up on BBC Introducing, right?
How many years ago?! I actually got that song tattooed on me as it was my first song. Sonically, it’s so different to the music I’m releasing now. It was picked up a lot on BBC. And that just kind of put a little bit of fire in me to release other music. That’s where Abbie McCarthy kind of, you know, took me in. She played one of my songs from SoundCloud before Call Me, but, yeah, that’s when she found me.
What are your aims for the rest of the year?
I’m gigging a lot more than I’ve ever gigged before. Definitely a couple more releases for this year. And then we’ll quiet down and zone in on some bigger projects for next year.
What gives you the biggest buzz - releasing music or stepping out on stage?
Release days give me so much anxiety. You’ve been mixing and mastering that song so much that by the time that song comes out you start to kind of doubt if it’s even good or not. With performance, I think it’s where I’m able to shine. Not even so much as singing, just in terms of my personality and speaking to the crowd, and be really present in that moment. I’m really grateful to be in that moment. I think also coming out of Covid it’s like ‘Wow, we’re actually spending this time together!’. The thing I find most fun is performing, for sure.
