1.) We’re happy to be speaking today with celebrated multi-instrumentalist, producer, and lyricist Little Tealeif; greetings and salutations! Before we meander down the proverbial Q&A pathway, how has the last few months of 2022 been treating you?

The last few months have been FUN. The excitement of putting my Music out has been building up since the first few meetings with my label, Not Saints. And there hasn’t been a rush to do anything so it’s all been thought out and steady. This whole year has been focused and part of building the foundations of something really cool.

2.) Congratulations and kudos on the release of your brand-spankin’ new EP Charcoal! Can you walk us through the genesis of Charcoal and how it came into being?

Well, I sorted out a few things in my life – started focusing on living a better and more productive life. I moved back home to the UK after living in France for a while. This led me into making music again, and these songs fit together the best – I wanted the right snapshot of where I’m at. Some were written a few years ago, some were finished just in time to master it and I think the balance between them work well to portray a life that was somewhat topsy-turvy before. The artwork came from a collage created by a good friend Jaime Richards, as did the Pedestal People single cover. She’s made a lot of Stuff that I love and I’m honoured that she let me use them for the covers.

3.) Who was your producer on Charcoal and what did that collaboration look like in the studio?

ME! I write and produce everything, that’s how I work. I have everything I need at home, so I can work whenever I want to. For the very final mix and master I went to my good friend and audio whizz James Simpson’s studio Squarehead Studios and spent a few days working and catching up, shooting the breeze.

4.) How is Charcoal different than anything else on the 2022 music landscape?

I guess because it’s pretty eclectic – I mean, I don’t know how to fit it into any particular genre so I made up my own one ‘Glumpop’. But I don’t know – I like guitar stuff, I love rap and hip-hop, house stuff, electro stuff, dance stuff, indie… and Little Tealeif is the result of all that.

5.) Can you introduce us to some of the other talented musicians who lent their musical alchemy to Charcoal?

Ha, not really… It’s all me. I wrote, played, sang, arranged and recorded everything. Apart from the lady humming at the very start of Pedestal People and one sample that’s used throughout the song Capital Letter which is of a group of Peruvian woman chanting. James Simpsons polish did make things become a real final product though. I love James.

6.) What do you hope listeners walk away with after giving Charcoal a few dozen spins on their respective turntables?

A sense of it being time well spent..! I think these tracks have substance – the kind of stuff that you can listen to again and find new things, or catch a different line that links to another line. I like moody vibes but with some danceability so I try to weave them together somewhat. And I get bored easily, so I try to write songs that I find interesting, and then if other people do too then that’s dandy.

7.) Charcoal is being released via the Not Saints record label. What makes Not Saints the perfect home for you and your music?

I’m in recovery from addiction so I needed to get some help and learn how to live a clean and sober life. Early on in my new way of living I contacted Not Saints who work with musicians in recovery across the UK and they explained what they do, I showed them my music and we connected. Over the year we’ve got pretty tight, on both a working and a personal relationship level. Every single person working at Not Saints is great, and the label are doing great things for people in recovery, be it sober shows ensuring safe spaces or providing the right support during the pressure of a release, for example.

8.) Who inspires you musically?

I think my music can be broken down into 3 main areas: words, guitar and electro. Lyrically I like James Mercer (The Shins), Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) and Eminem – I like manipulating words and playing with them, whilst as the same time saying something that isn’t just nonsense. Guitar-wise, John Frusciante is my fav fav fav. I grew up “shredding” on guitar because I thought that equaled the “best” but that’s straight up not true. John Frusciante taught me that emotion is the best – some of his solos are 2 or 3 notes, but played with passion. It’s hard to explain but it’s true – less is more. The electro part comes from my love of things like Hot Chip, early Metronomy and Maribou State – pretty much any electropop that has the right amount of weirdness to it.

9.) On the heels of the release of Charcoal, can fans look forward to an LP release from you in 2023?

One day maybe, the plan is maybe another video for one of the tracks on Charcoal, then a new single and then another EP. So after that would be an ideal time for a debut LP, but we’ll see what happens. I’m just happy making music again so any format to release it is cool with me.

10.) What does your touring dance card look like in the upcoming weeks and months?

EMPTY haha. I’m having a month or so off to have a proper Christmas with my family. Wholesome stuff. Next year I’ll be looking to book some shows and hopefully a good build up to some festivals in the summer.

11.) We are absolutely over the moon for the music video for your lead single Pedestal People which just dropped! Did you have creative say in the video?

Thank you! Yes I did, but overall it was the labels idea, they prepared everything and I loved the idea so I was happy for them to do their thing. They had the idea, storyboarded it, booked the location, lighting, filming, editing, everything. And every step of the way was almost overwhelming because it went so well. Everyone at Not Saints is creative and we’ve synced up pretty well so we move as a unit.

12.) Any final thoughts on Charcoal that you would like to share with readers?

‘Charcoal’ is a chapter, or a document, of my life leading up to today – things I’ve lived and learnt. As that continues, the next chapters will evolve and grow on the foundations I’m setting now so if you like it then I think we have a rosy future ahead of us.