What’s the story behind your latest song/album?
I wrote “Running” while training for the Berlin Marathon last year. Berlin was my fifth marathon in a row and I had a feeling it would be my last for a while. I loved running and was getting faster, but my body was showing signs that it needed a break and needed to slow down. This song is about my struggles with restrictive eating, overexercising, and hypothalamic amenorrhea. It has a driving, forward motion and upbeat energy but the lyrics are full of pain and fear, which really mimics the way these issues have shown up in my life. I kept moving forward, kept pushing myself, kept showing up with a smile on my face, when inside my body was not okay, and I had a lot of internal work to do. “Running” is about that “thing,” and we all have one: the struggle that makes us human. It’s about the times we run away from it and the times we run toward it to confront it. It’s about all the questions we ask ourselves about what we did to become this way or what other people did or didn’t do to contribute to it. It will probably always be a part of us and it will make us cry and question our existence but it also has the power to make us greater than we ever imagined. By the way… I did recover from hypothalamic amenorrhea through an amazing organization called The HA Society, so if you or anyone you know is struggling with a missed period, I would really recommend checking them out.
How do you handle creative blocks or self-doubt?
If a song isn’t flowing, it’s probably not going to happen, so I tell myself not to push it. My best songs happen really quickly; it feels like they pour out of me. So if I’m struggling, I walk away. And maybe I’ll use that chord progression or part of the melody or lyrics in another song or maybe this will become one of many partially finished songs that no one ever hears… but that’s the beauty of being a songwriter. I believe I have a pretty good grasp of knowing when a song is good enough to be shared with the world and when it should stay in my notebook or in my voice notes. When I believe in a song, I really believe in it. If I’m doubting it too much, that probably means it’s not the one. So I guess, self-doubt is used as a tool to weed out my best work.
If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I could have a different answer to this question each day but today, I’m going to say a legendary pop producer like Max Martin or Benny Blanco because they are just geniuses and I would love to spend even five minutes learning and collaborating with them.
What’s a piece of advice you wish you had received earlier in your career?
Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of encouragement for musicians to embrace their uniqueness, and I’ve really been taking this to heart. As a musician, you are always being asked to compare yourself to famous, successful musicians and I always struggled to find a true comparison. I thought this meant my music wasn’t good enough because it wasn’t the same as anyone else I listened to. Now, I know that is a good thing! That is what makes an artist. Now, I am really leaning into this and being true to myself and my music.
What’s next for you—any exciting projects or goals on the horizon?
ALWAYS! I have a couple songs I am working on that I am really excited about. We’ll see if I release them as singles or as part of a larger EP but regardless, stay tuned for new music. And for now, I’m posting daily covers and snippets of originals on Tiktok (@tatumtreffeisen).
Tatum Treffeisen Contacts:
https://www.instagram.com/tatumtreffeisen