For Thanya Iyer, music is more than sound. It’s a map for navigating a restless world. Her new album, TIDE/TIED, feels like a meditation and a rallying cry all at once. The record is awash in gentle synths, layered vocals, and jazz-inflected rhythms, but underneath its serenity is a palpable sense of urgency — a call to slow down, reconnect, and imagine a better way forward.
“I feel like the songs were written at a time when I was fighting those feelings of urgency in the world,” she says. “The feeling of not being enough, the feeling of going non-stop, being burnt out, not being able to understand the pace that my body needed to breathe at. The whole process from writing and recording the album was a journey in learning about the unique pace that my body needs despite the world we live in. The songs are affirmations that I’ll eventually get to where I need to be.”
That reflection is clearest in the opening track, “I am here now,” a phrase that has become something of a mantra for Iyer. “Living with chronic pain made me gravitate to a state where I was constantly trying to forget my body and the pain it was feeling. When I studied music therapy and started learning more about the disability justice movement, it was such a healing part in my life where I realized how this world is built to cut off our connection from our body. Capitalism doesn’t want us to remember ourselves, our bodies and especially each other. There is a lot of pain in this world that makes us want to dissociate and numb out. There is so much grief and violence that we are feeling and seeing every day. ‘I am here now’ for me is about embracing your body and nurturing your presence in a world that is not built for things like this, and then using that presence to stay engaged in the fight towards our collective liberation, in taking care of our micro-communities, in our sense of hope and healing.”
If TIDE/TIED sounds communal, that’s because it is. Its sound world is the product of more than a decade of shared history between Iyer and her collaborators Pompey, Daniel Gélinas, and Emilie Kahn. “Pompey, Daniel, and Emilie are really special artists and they are all songwriters and creative visionaries who create stunning compositions and musical worlds,” Iyer says. “Me and Emilie wrote our first songs together when we were 17 years old. Pompey, Daniel, and myself have produced all of the music for this band together and toured this project for the past 12 years. I feel like everyone’s unique musical voice adds such lush colours and textures to the album. I believe when all our voices and musicality come together it creates something wild and fun and new and exciting. We know each other really well and we’ve been building this sound for a really long time. And the sound is always changing and growing just like us and the relationships we share with each other.”
That spirit of growth runs through the song with the evocative title, “What can we grow that we can’t see from here?” which was written during the pandemic. “It was a scary and stressful time for all of us that came with a lot of new shifts in perspective, movement building, and tough realizations around collective care and where we were at in terms of our communal healing,” Iyer explains. “This song is a combination of dealing with the uncertainty of the pandemic, how all these terrible things were happening and how hard it can be to think of what the future will look like — especially when what was and is happening in the world doesn’t protect people and we see that through so many systemic failures. ‘WCWGTWCSFH?’ came from these ideas that maybe if what’s happening isn’t working then we need to keep dreaming of new worlds and better ways so that everyone can experience basic safety and wellness. I think in terms of my own philosophy, it gives me hope that we will keep finding our way and I think hope is really important to have right now — hope helps me to stay engaged and not feel helpless.”
Hope, however, doesn’t come without discomfort, something Iyer leans into in her creative process. “I think we learn a lot about discomfort through the creative process. When we write songs, it’s so easy to feel the critic saying we’re doing something wrong or something is bad and for some reason it always wants to show up so early in the process. Sitting with the discomfort is so important and pushing through it makes this magic happen. It’s important to practice calling on this sometimes uncomfortable creative process just like we practice scales on an instrument. I think it’s really important to live with discomfort. I mean on a personal level I guess I live with it every day having chronic pain and not really knowing where it comes from. I also think sitting with discomfort is where I’ve learned the most, about myself, and especially about my entry point into social justice and what my role can be. Whether it’s at the protest, or writing grants for community projects, or learning and unlearning, building presence, staying engaged — I’m always learning more of what my role looks like.”
That willingness to remain open, to explore new pathways, extends to how she thinks about genre. “I really just write songs. I don’t ever think about genres or what style something is. I love so many different kinds of music. I think we don’t need to resist anything but do what comes naturally and authentically to us and for me that became this genre-blurring sound. So yes! Definitely the second one — the intuitive texture palette! I don’t think we should put ourselves in a box (even though if the world wants to). There are so many parts of our identity.”
Part of Iyer’s artistic philosophy is rejecting the urgency culture that capitalism imposes, something she and her band actively resisted while making TIDE/TIED. “The making of this album was a really slow process,” she says. “I think the slowness was key in resisting a world that fuels urgency. We recorded the album at PHI Centre’s studio up north (PHI NORD) through their residency program. I wanted to structure the day where there were big breaks where people could walk in nature, and swim, where we could eat good meals, where people could really rest — and this was the most magical place to feel this.”
This ethos carried into every part of the project: “All of the creativity of TIDE/TIED came from this communal effort — it is with the support of many hands — from the recording to the shows — that made it possible to have yummy vegan food, spacious schedules wherever possible, and also a flexibility that was important so artists didn’t feel like it was life or death if they couldn’t meet a deadline. This was actually supposed to be a 2024 album!”
Montreal itself is woven into the fabric of Iyer’s work, thanks in part to now-closed Resonance Café, a beloved hub for creative experimentation. “This place was a creative music hub and it really was a spot where you could push the boundaries of your creativity,” Iyer recalls. “Some of my first shows with this band was there — it’s where I’ve met all the best people. I’ve seen so many special shows there at all hours of the day, seen friends try new daring projects in all corners of the room, and it was a place where I felt free to be me and explore all the edges of my creativity. I like to think our community has continued to carry its bold spirit since its closing, we collaborate with each other, we invite each other into our creative worlds, we support each other at our shows — we help each other stay inspired and keep dreaming new ideas. We shape each other.”
Even the album’s cover art holds a piece of Iyer’s story. “This was actually Pompey’s idea! Pompey is my partner not only in art but also in life. I think because he sees me every day he knows what I go through on such a deep level in a way that sometimes I can’t even see. The little figure is me, with a smile on my face, a feeling of acceptance and peace, with open arms, waiting for the tide to fall and bring me the sweet release/relief from being on fire. I feel like living in this world sometimes feels like being on constant fire — the weight of living in such dissonance. But it also feels like that social justice metaphor of everyone throwing a pebble in the water and then all of a sudden it’s a tide and we are shifting what felt impossible and all of a sudden everything is different. There is a peaceful belief that the tide will come, bringing on the crash of transformation and healing within ourselves and our communities.”
That transformation is what makes Iyer’s live shows so immersive and emotionally charged. “I think actually when you see us live it makes everything make sense,” she says. “It was such a beautiful gift to have two sold-out shows put on in collaboration with PHI. My two friends Nico Osborne and Hajia Maa (Secondsight) co-produced the show — Nico leading the creative sound direction and Hajia leading the creative visual world. The band was joined by musical guests from our community who helped shaped the album on choir and strings who lifted the sound so deeply with their musical vision. The show was spatialized so that all the sounds immersed the listener from different ways around the room — I think that was helpful in having the audience hear all of the details of the album. We also worked with so many talented artists who really made it feel like a whole world when you walk into the room — from incredible styling to the room feeling like you’re immersed in a big wave and incredible 3D visuals and movement. And in the end — it’s my bandmates that made the magic happen — we listen deeply to each other and catch on to each other’s waves, we move along with the spirit of the room.”
As for what’s next, Iyer’s summer and fall are already in full swing. “We had such amazing shows at jazz and creative music festivals this summer and the TIDE/TIED tour continues! Jazz is such an incredible style of music that has always moved towards new musical innovation and discovery and I’m excited we get to be a part of these spaces. It feels right. We’re playing Guelph Jazz this fall and we also get to tour with our friends Tenci at the end of the month whose music I love so much. Then we’re off on two exciting tours supporting the incredible La Luz in Europe (first time in the EU!) and the Dears in Montreal and Ontario!”
In TIDE/TIED, Thanya Iyer has given us a record that asks us to slow down, tune into our bodies, and imagine a better future together. It’s an album that thrives in stillness but refuses to disengage from the world’s urgency — a rare balance that feels both comforting and quietly radical.
Tour Dates
***Supporting Hand Habits***
9/24 – Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa – POP Montreal
***Supporting La Luz***
07 Oct Aarhus, DK @ VoxHall
08 Oct Copenhagen, DK @ RUST
09 Oct Oslo, NO @ Belleville
10 Oct Johanneshov, SE @ Hus 7
13 Oct Leipzig, DE @ Moritzbastei
14 Oct Prague, CZ @ MeetFactory
15 Oct Munich, DE @ LIVE EVIL
16 Oct Fribourg, CH @ Fri-Son
17 Oct Bologna, IT @ Covo Club
18 Oct Turin, IT @ Spazio 211
***Supporting The Dears***
20 Nov – Montreal, QC – Le National
27 Nov – Ottawa, ON – National Arts Centre
28 Nov – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
29 Nov – Guelph, ON – Sonic Hall
30 Nov – St. Catherines, ON – Warehouse Concert Hall
1 Dec – Hamilton, ON – Bridgeworks
Live photo – Steve Gerrard
Share this :
