From impulsivity to the spark of being a teenager: Tolentino’s poetry in ‘Electric Silence’

What are the craziest things you’ve ever done in pursuit of happiness? This is one of the questions behind Electric Silencedebut album by Tolentino. A mixture of experiences lived by the singer in his youth and too real feelings, which needed to be put on paper, the album was released in December last year.

Having grown up on the outskirts of São Paulo, in Itaim Paulista, Tolentino recently expanded its wings and moved to London, England. And, in an interview with Rolling Stone Brazilrevealed that Electric Silence it’s a mix of all the experiences he’s had so far — and it’s also about “confusing love with praying to be objectified”.

“Electric Silence it’s happiness, and all the impulsive things I do to get there. It’s about feeling my pupils dilated for the first time, about questioning how real and innocent I can be with the world. This album is a great tribute to never losing the fire, the spark of being a teenager. From remembering that to not letting the world take away our shine in our eyes.”

Through lyrics that expose the desire for sexuality and the insecurities of a young man who is critical of his own body, who never believes he is good enough, Tolentino wove the record with great care, in order to create a universe full of pop. “I tend to write things that are very introspective (and sad, maybe?), but my goal was to produce a record that could be company for people”, she revealed.

Thinking of creating “easy sounds, that stick in the head and that fit in different playlists”, the singer sought inspiration from big names in music. “Besides the Madonna It is cazuzaI was very inspired by Rosalía, Charlie XCX It is Bjorkartists who truly built the legacy of devotion to making music,” he commented.

Speaking of inspirations, it was in Electric Silence what Tolentino managed to get a long-dreamed partnership off the ground. In the track “Here”, the Brazilian exchanges verses with the American verite, of whom he has been a fan since he was 15 years old. “I would come back from class listening to her on the bus. In 2020 we started exchanging messages, I sent her a folder with ideas and she really liked ‘Here‘. After a few weeks, I got the verses from her, in English, and I was terrified,” she joked. “It was a very magical moment, I’ve been dreaming of the day when we’ll sing live together”.

in total, Electric Silence has eight tracks and a cover that, according to Tolentino, translates the sound of the album to perfection. “I wanted the cover to record the moment lightning strikes, because that’s more or less how I feel recording this moment of my life on this record.”

fan of Almodóvar It is Andy Warhol, Tolentino he’s that kind of artist who thinks about every detail of the record for months and makes sure that everything comes out his way — and in the best possible way. “You only mature to be an adult once, I believe. And everything on this album was chosen with a lot of intention, from the cover to the lyrics of the songs”, he points out, categorically.

“I want to be that artist that someone listens to to feel connected and safe, you know? I just need it to be special and real,” he finally states. “I write a lot about feeling things, even if everyone says those feelings are exaggerated. I want everyone to remember that we are human and what makes our life worthwhile is feeling things without fear.”

Track by Track – Electric Silence

“ELECTRIC”

That’s when I realized that I was doing a project and that it had a story to tell. I wanted the track to sound pop, but punk at the same time — almost raw, but bubblegum at the same time. It has my favorite line to date of what I’ve written, which is “everything I think about power and innocence are my favorite forms of porn”.

It seems like the world is telling me all the time that I need to outsmart and take advantage of every situation, get power at all times. But I don’t know if I believe in power, I don’t want to play that game. That innocence, of believing in people and in dreams is something I never want to lose.

“BRAIDED”

I really went crazy in the pandemic. I wrote love songs for people I didn’t even kiss. This one I wrote, produced and recorded 100% in my room, with my friends via Zoom.

“AQUI” (Feat. VÉRITÉ)

This is a curiosity, but… I do the vocal production of all my songs. I don’t let anyone else select which takes go in or which pitch is right. And do it with the vocals of verite it was unreal. Her voice didn’t need any editing. I learned a lot working with her.

“WALL”

This was 100% produced and written by me, alone. I spent a lot of nights getting all the layers of vocals right and I recorded some guitars as well. I don’t even know how to play guitar properly… music production magic.

“JACQUEMUS”

Writing this was a turning point. It’s definitely the most layered lyrics I’ve ever done. And it’s the most poppy, reference-filled thing on the record. Coming into contact with people from other places and cultures, at first, made me feel that I was worth less. I grew up on the outskirts of São Paulo, in Itaim Paulista. And write “Jacquemus” made me realize that this is very cool. Is my friend SPINDLE! got me there with the production, which is almost a funk melody from the 1990s. I wrote this with Number Teddie and it was really f*cking working with someone who is in the game like him. The middle verses of the song have an almost K-pop flow, which is something he brought in and made everything even more complex.

“PURPLE”

This one is about a time in my youth where I would rather be objectified and just used than deal with loneliness. And my way of expressing that was by bringing a sad and cute ukulele, but with really naughty lyrics on top of it.

“SCORPIO” (Feat. FUSO!)

Me and my friend SPINDLE! we were very messed up. He told me that he wanted to write one with the phrase “I’m going to kill you from my heart” and he sent me the production idea. We wrote it all in one afternoon, getting our composer friends together. The track ends in a techno sound, almost a narrative of how my friends and I recover from a broken heart: we feel everything and talk a lot about things, but then it goes to a heavy techno and feels the pupils open again, ready to another.

“HYPOMANIA”

In the last two years I discovered important things about myself… one of them is that I have impulsive behaviors and mood swings, which I realized with medical follow-up. “hypomania” is about believing what you’re feeling, even if they say it’s too much or wrong. Rejection always comes with the feeling that “if I were better, prettier…”. No one can break our heart as much as ourselves. And for us to be real and assume all of this is courageous.