Introducing Tete Essien, a singer/songwriter based out of Bromley, England.

As the second artist to spare some time and chat with us about our 2020 Quarantine Questionnaire, we had the chance to learn more about Essien and how he has been handling being an up-and-coming artist while struck in the midst of a global pandemic.

From the inspiration behind the two new songs he released this summer to finding new ways to kill time he’d rather spend gigging, you can learn all about the singer in our full interview below, and be sure to check out his music now- linked at the bottom.

Second Society Report: How are you holding up during this insane year that is 2020? Hopefully your friends and families are staying safe and healthy!

Tete Essien: It’s always funny to me when I look back at all the plans I had for this year and the summer in particular, not sure I achieved any of those things! I suppose it’s made me take stock of things, and be appreciative that the people close to me are doing alright still. Things have obviously gone so west for so many people, I’m just grateful that my people still be floating. 

SSR: Did you have any big releases or tours that were put on hold because of the pandemic? How has that affected the project?

TE: The biggest disruption we experienced was having to alter the schedule of a couple releases. If things had gone to plan I might’ve had more out by now but all in all that’s a minor inconvenience. I know people who’d had to postpone and cancel tours all together. Fortunately for me, we never got that far in the planning, so God bless my slow manoeuvring.

I suppose not being able to build momentum as you’d like hasn’t been ideal, especially as this is a new project. Not being able to even rehearse for the majority of that time was pretty demotivating. It has made me hungry to make up for all of the lost time though, I’ve missed out on a lot of pre-gig tequila because of this.  

SSR: How have you been spending your newfound “downtime” while the world has been essentially shut down? 

TE: I’ve mainly stuck to doing the things I’ve always liked doing – reading, watching films, a bit of cooking when I can. I like things I can do that get me out of my own head for a little while, exercising is good for that. I’ve probably worked out slightly more since going into lockdown than I did beforehand. I’m a man of simple pleasures really, there’s always something to fill your time with, luckily I’m good at finding them.  

SSR: Have you picked up any new hobbies while quarantining that you’d like to share?

TE: I’m only just started putting together music playlists, never really saw the point before, but I’ve really gotten into it lately. I’ll find reasons to make up new ones. Also, I’ve started learning a few Finnish phrases, got a couple under my belt now. Why? Because why not?

SSR: Have you worked on any new releases during this time? Any that are already out or that we can get a sneak peak of?

TE: I managed to release two singles since lockdown started and you can expect another in the coming months. They were recorded a little while ago so they were all ready to go before things became restricted. I’m always writing though, I don’t want to fall behind and that hasn’t changed. It’s like building a portfolio of tracks, one that I’m never satisfied with the size of. More is more as they say. 

SSR: What was the inspiration for the two tracks you currently have out? Have you written any songs specifically about the state of the world right now?

TE: The two that I’ve already got out are called “Runaway” and “Aviator.” They were both written a while ago though, so no mentions of mass panic or a global pandemic. I think that when it comes to tackling any subject, for me at least, I’ve gotta be moved to do so, and often the things I write about kind of sneak up on me. There’s always been an element of ‘the world according to me’ in the things I do, maybe more so on a minor scale more time, but it’s always reflected the world around me. Not to be prophetic, but there’s maybe a couple of lyrics that have felt more pertinent in recent months. The world has a way of showing you what it already was, in a lot of ways. So even if we’ve been blindsided by certain things, it feels more like the implicit becoming explicit if you know what I mean. 

SSR: How has it been being an artist in a time when you cannot tour? How have you been working to promote your music and expand your reach?

TE: Doing interviews like this one, hitting up local radio stations to see if they’ll put me on. You’ve got to use every remaining avenue available to you when your lanes narrow in. I’ve missed gigging a lot, I’ve not done it in so long, but then I can also prep for how I want them to go when I’m able to again. You want to keep engaging with your audience in what little ways that you can. Playing little Zoom acoustic gigs to people here and there has been fun for me, and I’d like to think they had a little fun too.

SSR: Do you have any words of advice for fans that are feeling particularly bummed out about the live music world coming to a halt?

TE: I just imagine how good it will be to see live music unencumbered again, whenever that’ll be. I’ll certainly be more appreciative of the opportunity and I suspect I won’t be the only one. I’ve used this as a time to get into new and more music. My list of artists to see has trebled since going under. Once the bubble bursts I’d be surprised if casual gig-goers didn’t latch onto more than they’d done before.

SSR: When the world returns to a safer spot and we are able to (hopefully) attend live shows again – say in 2021 – what do you hope to achieve?

TE: I just want to get to gigging regularly again, and then to get good at that ‘n’ all. It’ll be like learning how to run again after a long lay-off and I look forward to it. Like I said before, I know how I want a show of mine to sound and feel and I’ll be in pursuit of that. I feel like I’ve got a couple of things to prove and that puts me at my most determined. 

SSR: Is there anything you wish your fans would know about you or about the current state of the music world?

TE: Just that I want to get my music out to anyone and everyone who’ll be receptive. I’ve no proof of it but I reckon there’s peeps out there who it’ll resonate with, and I hope it reaches them. I don’t know how the musical landscape will look after things settle again but I do think there’ll be a backlog of people trying to launch their music as far as they can. As a fan of music, I’m just as excited to see what musicians continue to come up with. 

You can check out Essien’s music now via Spotify and be sure to connect with him via social media (linked below) to stay up to date on all things new music.

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