Sub-Brain

Present yourself to the readers

I am Tulani, a singer, songwriter & harpist, and I just released my debut album “Unscripted.”

What’s the story for UNSCRIPTED ?

This album is a microcosm of life. It’s a story with no script. “Unscripted” is about falling in love, heartbreak, falling back in love again, and not being in love at all. At times, the album delves into escapism: dancing, partying, just having a good time. Then the album goes from that to missing someone, needing healing, someone getting on your nerves, someone having your back, and someone talking about you behind your back. There is no script for life, and this album is a reflection of that. It’s my story, it’s stories I’ve heard, and hopefully there’s a story on the album that everyone can relate to.

Your texts and your compositions?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?

The inspiration comes from real life experiences. It’s therapeutic to go through something and then write about it in the moment. A lot of times, those songs come naturally and organically. For instance, when Geno (who produced and co-wrote the album with me) started playing these beautiful chord progressions on the keyboard, I felt it in my heart, I started feeling sad and I started missing someone. The chords struck something in me and together we started writing “Miss You.” The same thing happened with “Healing.” I started writing the lyrics to “Healing” after hearing Geno play chords on the keyboard that really moved me. On “Love Again” I started playing chord progressions on the harp and a few days later Geno wrote the hook to “Love Again,” off of those chord progressions.
Also, compositions can come from hearing a phrase and creating a story around it. For instance my little nephew was going around saying “You got some nerve,” and Geno and I said to each other let’s write a song using that phrase as the hook, and that’s how we wrote “Got Some Nerve.”

Why did you choose this style of music ?

I connect with this style of music. I’m an R&B girl at heart, and I chose this style because it’s a gumbo of different genres of music that I love. It’s Funk, Pop & Soul and then we wanted to marry those genres with splashes of jazz like the horns on “Here & Now” or disco like “Bumper.”

What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?

I love R&B/Soul, Classical, Funk, Pop, Jazz, Gospel, etc. There are so many artists who inspire me! My influences are: James Brown, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Sammie Davis Jr, Beethoven, Tina Turner to name a few.

What’s your top 5 albums of all time ?

1. Off The Wall - Michael Jackson
2. Purple Rain - Prince
3. Thriller - Michael Jackson
4. Songs in the Key of Life -Stevie Wonder
5. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill- Lauryn Hill

In the shower or in the bath, do you sing ? If yes, your songs or those of others ?

Absolutely! Lol! The shower has the best acoustics! I sing my songs and other people’s songs.

What's your best live memory ? And why ?

My best live memory was when I was performing my song “Love Again,” before I released it, and the audience in Atlanta, who was literally hearing the song for the first time, started singing the chorus with me halfway through the song. That touched my soul. For them to be hearing that song for the first time and connect with it, and then sing along with me just blew me away!

In studio, what was the ambiance for the album UNSCRIPTED ?...etc.…

The album was written and recorded in my living room. No special ambiance lol just dimming the lights.

How does it work for the design of the CD ? and why this title ?

Funny thing is I had a totally different vision in mind for the album cover, but when we shot the album cover, the concept I had wasn’t coming out the way we wanted. The shot we went with for the cover was a photo taken during the shoot that was unplanned. It was just in the moment but it captured the essence of the album. It took me awhile to get on board with it, but I couldn’t deny it fit the album. The design of the album cover, like the title and concept of the album, was completely unscripted. Unscripted, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is “not following a planned script.” I already spoke on how the title of the album ties into the story/lyrical component of the album, but it also ties into the musical aspect of the album. From a musical standpoint, I’m classically trained on harp, but I really wanted to include the harp on the album in a non-traditional way. I wanted to do something different with the harp - make it funky and soulful. For instance when we recorded harp on “Miss You,” I wanted to rock out on the harp, so we plugged the harp to an amp, I closed my eyes, and said to myself, play this harp like it’s a guitar.

How was the shooting of the clip LET’S DANCE ? and why this choice ?

It was a blast shooting “Let’s Dance!” I chose “Let’s Dance” because it’s all about people from different backgrounds, and different walks of life, leaving their worries behind and just having a good time. There’s a mix of professional dancers, and everyday people in the video who just want to have a good time! I love how everyone in the video interprets the song through dance in their own way, their own individual style. I love the different forms of dance in the video. Everyone was so wonderful to work with. Whether it’s ballet, breakdancing, or a two-step, life can get stressful and sometimes you just want to forget about the stress, feel the rhythm and just dance!

Would you like to work with an artist ? If so who ?

There are so many artists I would love to work with. I’d love to work with Bruno Mars, Adele, Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, and so many more.

What would you have chosen as a job outside of music ?

I would have wanted to become a lawyer.

What’s your biggest regret ?

At the moment, I guess I don’t have any major regrets. I’ve made my share of mistakes and bad choices but I feel like through all of it, I learned a powerful lesson that I really needed to learn in order to evolve.

What are your projects ?

We are putting together dates for the tour, working on putting out more music videos and recording more music for my next album.

What do you expect from the future ?

I plan on releasing more albums, and touring. My goal is to impact the world through my music!

What's your motto ?

“Take a leap of faith and grow your wings on your way down”- Les Brown

Website to remember

http://www.tulanionline.com/

What would you like to say to the readers ?

This album is my journey. We all have a journey. Sometimes that journey can be filled with mountains and sometimes with valleys, but no matter what we go through, the good and the bad makes us stronger!

What question, I did not ask you and would you like me to ask you :-) ?

I would just like to include my social media handles so I can stay connected to your readers. My social media links are:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamtulani
Twitter: www.twitter.com/iamtulani
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamtulani/
Also, my album “Unscripted” is on iTunes, Spotify and everywhere that sells music online.