[Exclusive Interview] Tim Atlas on the ‘Together Lonely’, Tour, Creating Timeless Music & More
“I just want to make music that is timelesS”
Tim Atlas has a sweet voice and a sweet smile that is sure to make you drift off to some daydreams of islands and sunshine this winter. An avid plant-dad, photographer, and singer/songwriter, Atlas has been making dreamy, upbeat music for a while now. The artist was born in Oakland, California and is now based in Los Angeles. What sets his productions and records apart from others are the concoctions of R&B-infused indie pop that he creates. To many, he reminds them of artists such as Rex Orange County. With over 25 million streams, there’s no questioning that Atlas has created a loyal community of fans. I went to his concert at the El Rey Theatre, and was ecstatic to see the joy the crowd felt when he came on stage and were belting away the lyrics to his new EP. Last year, he released his EP, All Talk!, that was more atmospheric, complex and groovy, with his singles such as Compromised and Unwind. He then went on a US and Europe tour. This past November, Atlas releases his more recent project titled Together Lonely. Once again, the young artist takes us on an emotional rollercoaster of low-fi intonations and heavy rhythmic tunes.
During his time in school, he joined the marching band, jazz band, and drum line. At the same time, he was teaching himself guitar. After graduating with a degree in photography, he started working in recording studios as an engineer. His first ever solo project came out in 2013, Lost in the Waiting. Following this, in 2015, Atlas performed on hit TV series The Voice during its ninth season where he was chosen by Gwen Stefani to join her team, but was then swiped into Pharrell Williams' team. Long after the show, the artist continued to write and perform music. His earlier releases even drew the attention of Zane Lowe on Beats 1, KCRW, and Alt Radio. Atlas followed the release with a headlining tour across the US and UK including SXSW and The Great Escape festivals.
When I interviewed him, he was just returning from a fun vacation in Hawaii.
Here’s our interview:
Tim Atlas [A]: I'm still kind of like in vacation mode, but I'm gonna do my best to answer these questions.
Neelu Mohaghegh [M]: No worries! I appreciate it. Also, I just wanted to say that your show I had attended at the El Rey was really great. You did an awesome job.
[A]: Thank you, appreciate it.
His voice was really kind, and a bit bashful as he thanked me for the kind words.
[M]: Why don't you go off telling me like how you got started in music and stuff?
[A]: Sure. Um, well, I guess like in the very beginning, there was a band program, and I really wanted to play the saxophone because my dad had one. So, I brought it to the the school program, and they said it was broken, and it would cost way too much to fix, and they were like, ‘well, why don't you just get some drumsticks because all you have to do is get the drumsticks and we provide everything else’, and then I ended up playing drums for like, eight years and within that time I really wanted to write songs.
[M]: So, was your family musical at all or was it just you? And did you always have this sound in particular or did you have to figure out your sound?
[A]: No not really, but I guess there were instruments flying around my house because there was my grandpa's really old guitar … but I really wanted to learn, so I picked up the guitar. So I was like trying to learn “Beat It” on guitar and “Your Body is a Wonderland”. I had no idea who I wanted to be, or I just wanted to make sure it was music for sure and figure out like high school and stuff. I was playing drums in marching band and I also had this hip-hop, jazz side-project while I was also screaming in this post-hardcore band. Yeah, I was just confused for a really long time.
[M]: You probably did it all!
[A]: Haha, well I like to think the projects I’ve done are a combination of a lot of things. It has some of that R&B that my sister was blasting in her room while I was listening to a bunch of rock music, so it has a lot of different elements from different things.
[M]: So, when you're in like making your music, what kind of process do you go through? Is there ever like a formula?
[A]: For the songs that I've released, every process has been pretty different. Sometimes, I'll start with a drum loop and just start layering on top of it or while I'm traveling I'll just like pull up my Notes app and write a bunch of random lyrics, and sometimes, the melody and the chords just kind of write themselves, you know? At the same time. It just really depends. So, I don't think there's like, a specific way, or a correct way to write a song.
[M]: Awesome, great. Okay, so when you were writing this new project of yours, ‘Tangerine’ and everything else, which song, right now, is your favorite on that project would you say and which one kind of like relates to you the most?
[A] Aw man, I think my favorite song is changing like every day. At a certain point, “Tangerine” was my favorite song for a long time, and I think that's why we put it out as well, just because it came out so naturally and it had…I mean one of my goals was to incorporate elements from my last record, while adding more kind of like soulful, R&B chords and stuff like that to the mix. I think “Tangerine” did a really good job with that. So, I really gravitated towards that one. It’s probably the cutest song I've written.
He stops for a moment to chuckle, and then continues with his response.
[A]: But I guess I'm trying to think of me listening to this 10 years from now and what I would think “Wow, this is it. This is actually pretty damn good”, ya know?
[M] For sure, it’s tough to choose a song, because I’m sure you relate to all of them—you wrote them all!
[A]: I think right now it would be “Never Know”. That one I produced completely on my own. So, it was it was kind of an intimate process and it ends up being like a pretty intimate song. It's kind of a deep cut because it's the last song on the record, and I think it gets overlooked. I think I just feel like I could see myself playing that one.
[M]: This one’s more of a fun question, but what would be your ideal day? Like if you could just have the whole day to yourself? Nothing planned, how would you go about your day?
[A]: That's a good question, because we just came back from Hawaii. Oh my god. I actually learned something about myself—I have a hard time sitting and not doing anything. Like I have to like stay busy or if I want to vacation, I have to be doing activities. But I was sitting on the beach and I was like, “God, I need to do something”.
I agreed with him, because I am all too familiar with the boredom and stir craziness that comes with silence and stillness.
[M]: I’m totally the same way—I think part of my ideal day would be like getting out there and being productive, which I know is not always good, but it's about time. Right?
[A]: Right. Wow. We live in L.A.?
[M]: Ha! I know, don't we really?
We laughed together at our serious sarcasm, like an inside joke about the music industry as a whole.
[A]: Okay, let me think of just like a normal day. Okay, so I guess we'll start before the day. I would like to have like a full REM cycle of sleep. Yes, a good eight hours. I have a dog, so I will probably walk my dog and water my plants.
[M]: Okay, honestly, I'm starting to see there's a trend of plant dads happening.
[A]: Yeah, I just want to nurture something.
I jokingly respond…
[M]: The motherly instincts you couldn't get, now you have. Haha.
[A]: Yeah, exactly. I mean every day is so different, and that's why I like being a musician. If I had like a perfect day, I don't know. It just comes in different shapes and sizes. I would probably want to go like climbing. I like rock climbing. Then I would go to a music store and probably just mess around with a bunch of synthesizers, and then I would probably get a rice bowl. Because that's my shit, and then probably just go home and watch Netflix or do something kind of alone or not in a social setting because those things can be hard for me, and that's it.
I explained to Tim what this blog was all about, and proceeded to ask what is his detour?
[A]: So, just this last year, I started getting into bouldering. I've never been like a physical person in terms of being active or playing sports or running or anything like that. I've even tried lifting weights and I get so bored. So this year, the director of my last two music videos asked me if I wanted to go bouldering with him, which is just like indoor rock climbing with no ropes or anything. And if you fall, you just fall on this two-foot thick mattress. It's just really fun. It's just kind of been a way for me to stay active, and it's also kind of been therapeutic for me because, like I said earlier, I'm always thinking about work and kind of like what to do next. If I was lifting weights or something like that, then my head would still be in that space, but the cool thing about climbing is that it's kind of a mental exercise as well. So when you're on the wall, you're not really thinking about anything, but getting to the finish line.
[M]: That's nice. When you're used to doing music every single day, it's kind of nice to find that one thing outside of it all that kind of refreshes you.
[A]: This has been the dream for a long time, to do music full time, but what I've learned is that you still need to maintain some sort of balance in your life.
[M]: So, how has the tour been so far? It looks like you guys are having a lot of fun.
[A]: It's been really great. And a learning experience as well, for sure. I've been playing with the same bandmates for the last year or so, but this time around, we went up to the Pacific Northwest and decided not to have a drummer. It was definitely a learning curve because to perform without a drummer is tough. The drummer brings a lot of energy to the performance, but it's just like, “Okay, I need to find other ways to engage these people”. The tour was a lot of fun though and we were playing really big shows, like the El Rey was amazing. We closed this tour out in New York, and that was honestly like probably one of my favorite shows like I've ever played just because people were dancing and singing along to my songs. It was just like a really great way to close out the tour.
[M]: So do you come from a family that's like super musical or has it always been kind of your thing?
[A]: Um, yeah, so like, I guess I did come from a musical family. Well, my mom wasn't necessarily a musician, but she's Filipino. So she always had the karaoke microphone.It's cool because she's not a musician, but she loves music. And then my dad, he was the one that had instruments flying around, and he played guitar and sang at the church that I grew up going to. So yeah, and I was always kind of exposed to a bunch of different kinds of music.
[M]: What's a musical goal of yours, like a goal in your music career, and then what's a personal goal of yours that you've been working on?
[A]: So, I think, musically, I just want to make music that is timeless. And the thing is that timeless can be really subjective. It can be timeless to someone and temporary to another person, but I just feel like if I listen to these songs 10 years from now, and they, they still try to strike a chord with me then that I feel like I'll have accomplished that goal.
And in terms of like a personal goal, if I'm being honest, I just want to be like financially comfortable, doing what I love, you know? And that's like easier said than done. I just feel like it's hard, to first of all, it's hard to find what you love. And then it's hard to make money doing what you love. So, I feel like I'm kind of in the middle of those things. I just want to provide for me and my loved ones. I mean, that's like really fulfilling to me.
[M]: Definitely, and I think that everyone can relate to that. So, it's totally understandable. Okay, another kind of fun question I love asking is if you had a word to describe yourself, what word would that be?
[A]: “Confused” is probably the right word.
[M]: Haha, awesome. Is there any backstory for that?
[A]: I just feel like I’m still trying to figure it out. And like, I'll have an opinion about one thing one day and then have a different opinion the next day. I feel like I'm really socially challenged, and then I'll get done playing a show and will be like the most social person ever. So I’m kind of all over the place trying to understand who I am in the process.
[M]: Who would you want to tour with if you could tour with anyone?
[A]: I would love to open for Phoenix. They have always been one of my favorite bands.
[M]: If you had an album that you couldn't live without, and it was the only album you could keep on this earth, which album would that be for you?
[A]: It would probably be Continuum by John Mayer. Awesome. I feel like that's every other musician’s favorite record, but I just love it so much.
[M]: Yeah, no, definitely, but it's timeless as you were mentioning earlier. What is some advice you could give to other aspiring musicians since you've been kind of in the circuit and you've seen and done a lot, what would you say?
[A]: Well first, just practice A LOT. And don't feel pressure to put anything out into the world, but don't hold on to something for too long. And don't fight yourself. I think is best advice that I would give myself because I think I spent a long time trying to be someone that I'm not, trying to make music that was cool at the time, but as soon as I kind of let go of those of those things, I just wanted to make good shit that I myself enjoyed. A lot of the music that I make now is like some of my favorite stuff, just letting go of a lot of those inhibitions of trying to be someone that you're not has kind of paved a really cool path for me. So, I would say to keep going in that direction.
[M]: Detour, as it stands currently, is a blog, but we're working on creating a coffee shop release shop for artists to release music through, like a pop up shop. So my question to you is, what would be your favorite go-to beverage?
[A]: My drink of choice would be, on a hot day, a cold brew and on a cold day a flat white.
[M]: Final question, is there like a mantra or any saying that you kind of speak to yourself a lot to kind of motivate you when you're going through the music? Is there anything that you always have to remind yourself of?
[A]: Well going back to what I said earlier, just like stop fighting yourself. You're your own worst enemy. Stay true to what you have.
Be sure to check out the new project below: