Be absorbed by the latest single from Teni Rane. ‘Small Steps’ is a song of resilience and self-belief, a quiet anthem for everyone who needs to value and love themselves a little more. Teni sings: “With all these small steps // Well, they take big courage // I’m learning to love myself in life.” It’s heartfelt, direct and disarming. Rane normally plays and records with the likes of GRAMMY-nominated Dave Eggar on cello, Phil Faconti’s electric guitar and Roger Gustafsson on bass. Beautifully arranged and produced in the studio, they add sweeping accompaniment and great depth to her music. However, this stripped back performance is just as compelling in a different way; it’s intimate and this is the heart of the song, focusing on the voice and lyrics.
Teni Rane’s debut album is due out on 8th August 2024. ‘Goldenrod’ promises to deliver great song-craft and thoughtful lyrics that find the universal in her own stories of the everyday. The songs reflect a period of uncertainty during which most of the songs were written and they were inspired by the transition between the seasons, summer falling away into autumn.
Rane says of the new material: “Penned at a time when a multitude of changes made life feel like every piece and part of me was up for re-negotiation, the collection of songs presented in ‘Goldenrod’ explores what it means to make progress through life without erasing the lessons and emotions of the past and present. Holding space for knowing and loving myself for who I am and where I am, while also leaving room for all the places and versions of myself that have existed in my life up to now and will exist in the future. With imagery inspired largely by the shoulder season, ‘as the summer fades into fall, the conversations, stories, and emotions explored on the tracks of ‘Goldenrod’ are relatable: change, loss, fear, identity, loss of identity, strength. The in-between moments in the seasons are my favorites. There is a small magic when the heat of summer is fighting giving way to gusty autumn evenings and bright crisp mornings. As much as I enjoy the tension of those moments in nature, I am less of a fan of that tension in my own life. Change – even chosen, planned for change – is incredibly difficult for me. My fears always centre on what else might change subsequently, and who or what I might lose. Explored through different landscapes and lenses, the tracks all come back to this: what does it mean to allow change to move through life without losing who we are?”
‘Goldenrod’ is definitely an album to look out for, one that may be a soundtrack to your late-summer.
