From New Jersey to Tennessee, singer-songwriter and genre-bending recording artist Tara Dente takes an "Intentional Fall" into the unknown with her newest, personal single.
Tara Dente has blessed listeners with enchanting and gripping sounds in venues, parks, and streets that span the Atlantic ocean. After leading a band in Nashville for over five years, Dente decided to take a leap of faith into a solo career, thanks to the vast knowledge and experience she gathered further to evolve her craft, sound, and creative abilities.
Her emotion-packed lyrics and broad vocal range never fail to impress us, and we're sure you can say the same about her fiercely emotional yet uplifting new single, "Intentional Fall." Written at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the song discusses that jump into the unknown and no longer relying on comfort and familiarity.
Recorded in Nashville's renowned Blackbird Studio, "Intentional Fall" softly opens with lush acoustic guitar melodies that linger into the soothing first verse. As Tara Dente's sweet and enchanting vocals pour down from above, she discusses sensations of wishing to find color in her life once again. While preparing to take a leap of faith with an "Intentional Fall," we shift into the stunning and chill-inducing hook.
Tara Dente's shimmering vocals convey relatable lyrics about stepping out of our comfort zone to grow, evolve, and add a splash of color to your days. As the song continues, Tara Dente blesses us with a cinematic and well-rounded instrumental that grows into this powerful alternative rock atmosphere, closing the experience on a note of growth, hope, and clarity.
When hope is dim and the future seems grim, give yourself that boost of motivation with Tara Dente's latest single, "Intentional Fall," now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Tara Dente. We deeply admire the courage and tenacity brought forth in your recent single, "Intentional Fall." What inspired you to create this hopeful and dynamic piece?
Thank you for having me and for your support of this single! This song was a necessary expression of what was inside me when it was written sometime in the late spring of 2020. I was living and working on an incredible farm and day program for adults with Autism in Red Bank, New Jersey, taking care of goats and chickens. I'm so thankful for the routine I had to keep me grounded and sane during the early moments of Covid. There were no shows, no normal community gatherings, and such, so I had a lot of time to be with myself and my thoughts (like many others). I'm so thankful for Julia Cameron's, The Artists' Way, which helped dig me out of my own subconscious and blocks and start to ask, "what do you want?" and, "how do I even do this artist thing, fully committed?". The lyrics of this song show the listener where I was at the time of my process. "Coming up a hatchling, and it's strange, 'cause once I flew in another life." ... talking about feeling like everything is in black and white now and remembering bursts of color from the past...watching my ego swirl down the shower drain, and feeling like a total beginner. Julia Cameron talks about creative and spiritual emergence as a "hatchling." Few of us have had the kind of upbringing that holds enough space for a child to express themselves and feel safe doing so fully. It can take a while to dig out that vulnerable, excited child and reconnect with one's "artist child." When I refer to that "other life" where I flew, I have glimpses of those truly free and unselfconscious times as a kid. I think it was all the time to reflect and hitting a lot of creative walls that led me to this proclamation of, "It's now or never.", "It's all in or nothing at all." because I've been doing it half-in for long enough now. And with that decision will come the inevitable falling on your face from time to time. So, it felt like I was committing to falling forward, not by mistake, but intentionally.
How would you describe the sound of "Intentional Fall" in terms of genres and styles? Would you consider yourself an artist that usually bends genres?
It's hard for me to pin down Intentional Fall's genre. I'd love to get feedback from folks and see where it lands with them. There are three distinct sections of the song, and it has a pretty steady climb in intensity all the way to the end. I think I'll take the wide path and call it "singer-songwriter." I do think that some of my earliest songs (many unrecorded) would fall into Alternative/Indie, and newer material feels more Americana by design. All three of those are still pretty broad, but I would say I'm returning to that Alt/Indie thread that used to run more through my songs naturally, influenced by bands like Modest Mouse, Frou Frou (Imogen Heap), and The Shins. I want to balance dark and light more gracefully in my sound and think what I do next will start to settle more into that sweet spot.
What did you want your audience to experience when hearing "Intentional Fall?" What did you want them to realize or take away for themselves?
I want listeners to feel my vulnerability, that I really was in a beginner's mindset when I wrote this. I may have had years behind me in songwriting and performance, but I hadn't ever fully taken the leap as an artist. If someone out there is feeling like they are about to, or want to, take a huge risk and "...rise up [to] find [their] direction magnetically" (Eddie Vedder), I want them to feel emboldened to do so by really accepting and embracing whatever stage they're in, in their emergence as an authentic being. It's never too late to step into the life you want to live.
What was the most rewarding part about creating and releasing "Intentional Fall"? What did you appreciate most about the experience?
I don't even remember writing the song because it happened really fast (and by that, I mean it took my whole life and 2020 to push it out), but I loved honing in on the live version of it with my band at the time, who added so much color to it. We were able to play it at Floyd Fest in the summer of 2021, and that was a huge high for me to feel that much energy behind it and collaborate with them. The next collaboration was in the studio, with my friend Liv Lombardi co-producing the track at Blackbird studio in Nashville. I had just moved to Nashville, and my band came down from NJ to record it there. I made some new friends who Liv worked with at Blackbird, and there was insight going into it from some very talented and thoughtful people. I loved that Liv wound up coaching me with her acting background to really visualize my lyrics and the story while I was singing it. It helped to convey the emotion. The song was ready to release, but we needed some visuals. During a 39-day road trip and tour with my partner, we perched up on a steep hill overlooking an L.A. highway, and I stood in front of a giant cactus tree in a white leotard and covered in face paint to capture some images at golden hour to accompany the song on streaming platforms and socials. I love that we were able to get some colors and landscape on the west coast for the visuals because I wanted some desert vibes or something like that, and we were able to grab that before releasing the song.
What's next for you?
After getting a lot of rest from nearly 40 days on the road and settling back into Nashville, I am excited to write and play again. I have been writing and focusing on that daily inner work to "fill the well" and keep myself attuned. I'm always inspired when I see musicians in Nashville doing their thing, and it pushes me to keep honing in on what makes me, me. I am collecting some songs to demo at home and see what sounds I can get from my own mind and intuitive, creative direction. I used to demo at home a lot and miss that process. I'm excited to see what comes out of that low-pressure environment and whether to release what is recorded or bring it to a trusted producer in a studio. So far, I've only worked with producers in other studios and am so grateful for that experience, and I know that there's a producer in me who needs to express herself. I'm always aiming at authenticity and to capture the vision that excited me in the first place. I think I'm getting closer to it every day. I'm planning to go on another tour this spring, similar to the last one, but this time with more connections and venues to tap into. West of Nashville, down through TX, across some SW states, up through CA, and into the Pacific Northwest again. I had an amazing time up there. There are rumors of a bluegrass festival happening in OR, which I may be a part of. (You can stay up to date on my shows by visiting taradente.com).