Fashioning A Dreamy Soundscape Out of Collaboration and Contemplation, spill tab is Catching the Industry’s Attention
☆ By Cathleen Kerrigan ☆
Photos provided by spill tab
“I drink a lot of oatmilk.” It’s statement that doesn’t come as a surprise considering spill tab’s four-track debut EP Oatmilk, a unique take on lo-fi bedroom pop twisted into something imaginative and fun. “The day that I was submitting it … I had to put in the name of the EP and I totally fucking forgot that you name an EP. It was just like, ‘Yeah I drink a lot of oatmilk’ … I can’t eat dairy anyway — I went vegan for like 10 days!”
Her breakout single “Calvaire” is an R&B-influenced track which plays around with vocal layering, heavy distortion and rhythmic interest. ‘Santé’ (which even has a herbal spliff mix named after it from Lucky Mud Co.) is a moody, dark track with a deep bass synth driving the action throughout. Enticing and stylish, it features an electric beat and choppy breaks. “Name” and “Cotton Candy” are reminiscent of summer — playful and catchy — and while each track has a dreamy tinge of nostalgia, they are still more modern than retro.
All four songs are distinct, yet still have the same vein running throughout: spill tab’s signature silky vocals and a level of polish brought from the excellent production by principal collaborator David Marinelli.
Based in LA but having lived in New York, Paris and Bangkok, spill tab says her global upbringing has given her an appreciation of the sounds that are popular in different countries. “Not only is the music different, but it's different because people understand what sounds beautiful differently,” she said. “These kinds of delicate, different standards of what sounds nice — from there [you] build upon what becomes popular.”
Photo by Axel Kabundji
Being a bilingual pop artist, spill tab is very particular about her use of language. “I wanted to incorporate it somehow,” she explained. “I think there's always a chance that it's kind of corny, you know, like it’s gimmicky, and I just don't want it to come off like that. So I just tried really hard to make sure that it was still heartfelt and well-thought-out and it's dope… I've gotten a couple of people DMing me — people who don't speak French — saying, ‘I don't know what you're saying, but this song goes!’”
With a background working in the industry, interning for record labels and even a stint as merch manager on tour with Gus Dapperton, spill tab has gained a lot from working in other areas of the industry and finds power in understanding her environment and her own place as an artist. “I guess it's sort of given me appreciation and context for what I do,” she elaborated. “I am a bit of a control freak … I find it hard to put myself in situations if I don't understand the context as much as I can. Being an artist is one of those things that is really scary, because you're sort of leaning against other people's jobs to succeed. It really does take a village; the support is the thing that builds you from the base. It just gives me an appreciation for how fucking hard everyone's job is, man!”
“There's a lot of really good music out there, so there's always the chance that you release something that you think is fire but it's just not going to make it to people's ears. Someone told me early on [that] you have to celebrate the small victories … I remember when we got the first two thousand plays on Spotify — on our first song — I was so fucking excited!”
Each of the four tracks on Oatmilk has its own music video, inviting you into the hazy, beautiful world of spill tab. The visual aspect of her art is in equal parts charming and cool. Each video has a strong creative identity, from polished and slick to goofy and humorous.
Her awareness of the work behind the scenes once again shows in her attitude towards visual collaborator Jade Sadler. “We've been best friends since we were literally a couple months old; we've been homies our entire lives,” she said. “We are so similar as people that I just kind of trust her vision. She has such a strong and talented thing going on about her, so she's kind of been in charge of a lot of the visuals and has helped out with EP artwork and stuff like that. So yeah, I like the idea that I can give people a little bit of a platform to kind of express themselves. The whole entire thing has been 100 percent collaborative. I think from the ground up it's been only collaborative, truly. I’m really proud of that.”
For future musical projects, spill tab looks to expand her sonic palette: “I've always kind of wanted to incorporate live instruments. It'd be cool to see if I can incorporate more organic orchestral sounds.” And for the industry in general, she looks to labels putting more control in the hands of the artists themselves. “It'd be cool to see deals structured a little bit more in artist favors,” she explained. “I just signed to a label, and I'm so happy with the people there and the structure of the deal. When you feel like you are genuinely responsible for how your future pans out, when you're signed to a label and it's a partnership — you're gonna want to work, I think, much harder.”
Photo by Axel Kabundji
This last year has given her the chance to pause and focus on her music in a way she never expected to have time for. “I feel like everyone's always on, you know, go go go all the time. And it's sort of been a chance to … take life for what it is right now. It's honestly been probably the craziest year of my life.” It gave her the space to create Oatmilk,which otherwise may not have existed at all. “The whole release was not pre-planned at all. It was just sort of a way to beautifully package together the year that was 2020.”
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