Bido Lito! Magazine | Issue 116 | August 2021

SPOTLIGHT
“I describe myself
as someone
who’s always
chasing chaos”
DEAD NATURE
A seeker of disorder within the ordinary, Tarek Musa is comfortable and sure of his own path.
Shannon Garner sits down with the factotum to discuss his latest solo project.
Resorting to a phone interview only a few hours
before our long-awaited face-to-face interview due
to self-isolation reasons, it’s evident that Tarek Musa is
extremely punctual in everything he approaches. Incredibly
understanding over the situation, and a few jokes later
about the bizarre world Covid has created, it’s clear that
this was going to be a full interview, despite the distance.
Following the split of Macclesfield quartet Spring King
in 2018, the dynamic former frontman and drummer
emerged seemingly unfazed. Between discussing his roller
coaster of a career and his new project DEAD NATURE,
the producer is nothing short of a ravenous thrill-seeker.
“I describe myself as someone who’s always chasing
chaos,” Musa begins. “I always get myself the most chaotic
projects and I’m always steering away from the classic
kind of songwriting and recording set-ups,” he continues.
“In terms of sound, I’m always trying to write really uptempo
energetic songs, but songs that you want to cry and
dance to at the same time. It’s kind of like sad dancefloor
indie hits.” The sad dancefloor indie vibe evidently shows
in his music: sad through the vulnerable, relatable lyrics yet
danceable through the feel-good tone of the tracks.
Listening to his work, it’s easy to assume Musa relies
on an army of musos when crafting his projects, but this
couldn’t be further from the truth. Musa plays every role –
from songwriting to press releases. He even lends his hand
to producing for other bands and hosting masterclasses to
help upcoming musicians work on their craft.
“I’m very, very fortunate that I can work with loads
of other artists. It’s kind of like an anchor for me,” Musa
says. “I always have my solo project and then, whenever
a band wants to work with me, I’ll work with them before
reverting back to my solo project for the weeks I’ve got off.
It’s a good balance. I’m always trying to keep my musical
hands in every single pie possible.”
During Spring King’s time, the band crafted two
albums and gathered a cult following in Britain’s indierock
heartlands but, during those years, everything was
a whirlwind. “When I was on tour with my last band, we
would do crazy journeys like Dublin to Paris in a day. That
would consist of two ferries in-between the gigs and it
would kind of send you a bit crazy,” he recalls. “I think
by the end of that project my mental health was not the
best because it was such an intense ride. I was constantly
exhausted. That’s why having this balance now where I
can be an artist and release my own music, but also work
with other people when I’m not feeling 100 per cent is
good for me.”
However, the roller coaster of a journey and pressure
did not start with his previous band. There are pressures
from the industry that Musa has felt since the beginning
of his career. “I studied at LIPA in Liverpool and finished in
2011,” he begins. “I studied Sound Technology which is
very physics and mathematics based, but there was one
module where we could write an EP, so I was like, ‘I’m going
to try and write some songs’. At this point, I’d never wrote
songs in my life and one of the songs that I wrote for that
project ended up going worldwide and became the Skins
soundtrack for the third generation,” he reminisces. “Every
major label was emailing me trying to figure out if I had a
band and it was just coursework. With that, I felt like there
was huge pressure from the industry to jump on-board and
kickstart my career, but it didn’t feel natural. I didn’t even
have the money really to do it or the means. A year or so
later is when I started Spring King and now, I’ve got Dead
Nature. I’m always doing music; it’s just always evolving.”
Pressing further on all the pressure received, Musa is
not one to leap at just any opportunity. “I’m one of those
people who kind of pushes back on things that are kind
of forced on me. I always try and create my own path,”
he admits. “Back in 2011, don’t get me wrong it was an
amazing opportunity, but in my head, I couldn’t make it
work. I didn’t have the experience to feel comfortable
jumping into the fast lane. I’m one of those people who
want to learn to walk before I run, and the Skins thing
happened so quickly that I wasn’t mentally prepared,” he
admits. “I really believe artists should go down the most
organic route possible and that’s exactly what I did with
Spring King. I think that way, it aligns with your mental
understanding of the process a lot better, and you won’t be
overwhelmed by any sudden hype.”
After spending the last two years focusing on his new
solo project, Musa reveals that his debut album, Watch
Me Break Apart, has actually been finished since the
beginning of the pandemic. “I actually finished the album
on 28th March 2020, and all the lyrics came about from
the way I feel about the world,” he says. “There’s a track
called Ladlands which is about losing control. I wrote it
from the angle of both politicians who are trying to keep
control of everything, yet still feel like they’re losing control
to the opposing sides,” he continues. “Then there’s Watch
Me Break Apart which is about someone completely
breaking apart from their old self and trying to rebuild
themselves into something new, better and hopefully more
in-line with who they are now. It’s an album of stories I’ve
heard from my friends or experienced myself where people
have needed to rebuild themselves or society having to
rebuild itself. It’s just this amalgamation of everything
falling apart.”
Nevertheless, while an immense amount of music
contains overt political sentiment, it’s a route Musa doesn’t
want to focus too much on with Dead Nature, choosing
only to sing about it when it connects with him and his
music. “I’m one of those people that never want to be a
political artist in the sense of, I don’t wear politics on my
sleeve,” he admits. “I only sing about it when it connects
with me and my music and I don’t ever try and say it
directly. I don’t want to shove anything down anyone’s
throat. It’s up to the listener to take what they want from it
and interpret it as they want. I do it in such a nuanced way
because we can’t be on a high horse about politics, and I
still get my opinions across. The line is constantly moving,
and I hope it continues that way.”
We’ve been speaking for over an hour now, time
disappearing into Musa’s political sidetracks and industry
anecdotes. Time enough to prise a memorable moment
from inside that busy head. “One of my favourite things was
playing Later… with Jools Holland with my old band,” he tells
me with an audible glint of nostalgia in his eyes as he recites
the tale. “I was the drummer and lead singer at the time
because our drummer had just left and it was easier to find
a bass player at such short notice compared to a drummer.
It was a weird set-up. I actually used to throw up when I
first started doing both at the same time because it was so
intense, and that show was one of the hardest shows I’ve
ever played in my life. I had never sung and played at the
same time until then,” Musa recalls. “Elton John was also
on the show and he was really, really into our performance.
After we played, he came up to me asking for a CD, so I ran
backstage, got a vinyl and gave it to him. Then he just got
off in his helicopter.” Can we expect something of a similar
ascent? “This is just the start of Dead Nature for sure. I feel
like it’s only going to grow from here.” !
Words: Shannon Garner / @shannonmayy_
Photography: Khalil Musa / @khalilmusa
Watch Me Break Apart is available now.
38