TANAYA HARPER BRINGS BACK THE DREAMY 90’S NOSTALGIA WITH NEW SINGLE ‘BAD FAITH’

Photo credit: Brandon Ward

Independent Perth artist, Tanaya Harper, is bringing around a new sound with her single ‘Bad Faith’.

Harper first stepped out into the solo scene in 2017, since which she has performed with some of Australia’s recognisable names such as Jen Cloher, Body Type, Rolling Blackouts, Coastal Fever, Stella Donnelly and Alex The Astronaut. Following this string of strong live performances and really making a name for herself and her amazing stage presence, she decided to debut her new live band in February 2019. The band consists of members Sara McPherson (bass), Luke Del Fante (drums) and Beau Torrance (guitar, backing vocals). 

The musician has been quite busy this year, especially since starting off 2021 with a fundraising event to assist Perth bushfire victims. Working in collaboration with local classical musicians and composers, Harper organised a backyard concert and shortly after released Tender Is The Night, VOL 1 which resulted in a successful fundraising campaign. 

Now ready to release some new material for our keen ears, Tanaya Harper released ‘Bad Faith’ on June 17 after the positive reception of ‘Emma’, another single that she released earlier this year. Both songs are said to be showcased from the musician’s upcoming third EP, which is due to be released later on this year. 

‘Bad Faith’ is a bit different to its predecessor’s “punchy rock tropes” and instead uses it as a chance to show Harper’s version of woozy bedroom rock. The track showcases the sweet vocals over hazy guitars and a wandering bassline. The song was recorded at Blackbird Sound Studio with Dave Parkin, which the musician describes as a really fun experience; “When recording the ‘taking the piss’ sections earlier in the song I was trying out harmonies but none of them worked. So we decided on this octave whisper harmony that fit so perfectly. Also, the belting bit in the final chorus of Hey’s and Oh’s was all done in one breath which I was pretty proud of!” Once the song was ready to go, it was then sent off to Willian Bowden at King Willy Sound for mastering.

That classic 90’s to noughties indie rock aesthetic is really strong in this one as well - it makes me nostalgic for those teenage coming of age films from back in the day! This stylistic contrast to single ‘Emma’ really shows off the singer’s musicality and the complexity of her songwriting. Harper comments on the process, “Bad Faith was a pretty dark song to write. This might be totally untrue, but I remember once hearing that women tend to emotionally leave a relationship before they actually leave. This was my moment of ‘checking out’, I guess. The situation is complicated, I’ll just say that, so in the end, despite years of working at a relationship, it seemed nothing had changed and we’d just gone around in circles trying to capture those moments of bliss. So I truly felt like they were just taking the piss and that I deserved better.”

Following the positive reception of her second EP ‘Slow Motion Breakup’ in 2020, Tanaya Harper and the band are keen to get back out into the live performance scene and bring new material to new fans and old in the not too distant future. Stay tuned for upcoming events, but in the meantime make sure to give ‘Bad Faith’ a listen below!

Crystal Moonsamy