TeZATalks Unleashes “Chaos EP:” The Definitive Review

“I see flowers grow in the cracks of concrete, but before this — there was the chaos.” With that pointed message, TeZATalks’ new Chaos EP is unleashed. As a leitmotif it’s strong and destabilizing, and as a statement of intent it’s spot on.

The exceptionally-produced Chaos EP, a songwriting collaboration between Pacific Northwest vocalist TeZA and producer CANDLIGHT (Steven Trueba), is a short blast of pure intensity. It’s beautifully written and performed, a collection of tracks that careen out of the speakers, hit-and-run flashbangs that barely reach 3 minutes each. It doesn’t care, Chaos is here to fuck shit up and plant a single flower in the wreckage.

The first thing that stands out about the Chaos EP is the level of production quality. CANDLIGHT demonstrates his depth as a producer, creating a complex, rich soundscape that’s muddy and distorted in just the right measures. Steven says that’s all part of his process, “I’m always looking for sounds with the most character. I aspire for things to be clean but I always try to find something fresh.”

This character is most evident on Intro and Interlude, where the production and sound design are given some free reign to explode on their own from the immense gravity of TeZA’s vocal performances. My listening notes for Interlude were quite simple: “fucking sick.” The design of sounds is routinely reminiscent of an Atticus Ross/BT collaboration, the sonic landscapes are diverse and complicated, and provide a perfect bedding for TeZA’s vocal screams and chops.

Let’s talk about the vocals. TeZA is a singularly talented artist. Her flow is a rhythmic element unto itself, and her rich, silky tonal quality is an engaging contrast to the crunchy production value of the EP. She’s as much at home on the understated Pick Me Up (the melodic standout of the EP) as she is on the 6/8 swing of Find Me. Whether she’s speaking, singing, or screaming through a thick wash of pedal fuzz, her voice draws moths to the flame and eats them alive.

TeZA also channeled her own chaos into the EP. “The last three and half years are heard in the ‘Intro’ of the Chaos EP. It really was a whirlwind of emotions, anxiety, loss, love, and then it just all flatlined to a place where I could either let it ruin me or make me.”

The Chaos EP is short and the songs are short (at an average song length of 3 minutes), which may leave some listeners wondering, “where’s the rest of it?” In my listens I had to remind myself more than once, “this is an EP, not a full-length album.” Tracks like Love and STFD are well-produced, engaging listens with flawless vocal runs, but they end abruptly. I can’t shake the feeling there’s more inside the Chaos EP than came out through my speakers.

The Chaos EP also has a rich backstory (check out our in-depth interview soon!) and enlists some other Pacific Northwest heavyweights, Anomaly Music Collective artists CLIFFORD, Qreepz, Chase Transeth, and LEViT∆TE. This spirit of collaboration runs through the album, and the Chaos EP’s behind-the-scenes video claims that gratitude and connectedness are the reason the music exists at all.

Ultimately the Chaos EP is a success simply judged on the sheer quality of its production and performances. You would be hard-pressed to locate electronic musicians in the Pacific Northwest putting out this caliber of production. The rich, table-smashing songs and sounds are sometimes their own worst enemy for their brevity, but coming out of this hot, sexy, knuckle-chewing musical tumble and wanting more is so much the point.

Please ma’am, we want another. Like Chaos EP, but longer. Give us a full-length TeZATalks LP, the flowers are growing now that the storm is over, and we want to know what’s next.

‘Chaos EP’ Standout Tracks

Track 2: Find Me
Track 4: Interlude
Track 5: Pick Me Up

Final Notes

TeZATalk’s Chaos EP represents the absolute state of the art in Northwest electronic music. The songwriting is fiery and beautiful, the production is diverse and soundtrack-ready, the vocal performances are sheer magic, and it’s all over way too soon — each track and the EP as a whole. The Chaos EP should be a touchstone that every vocalist and producer strives to reach.