Exclusive Interview with Tullera

Artist Spotlight: Tullera

Bringing with him a vast portfolio of film, tv, and game compositions, Tullera is embarking on his newest venture: his debut EP, “Still Becoming.”

In this exclusive Q&A, Tullera opens up about the stories behind the music, lessons learned along the way, and what keeps their passion alive.

MusicsWeek: How did you get started in music?

Tullera:I’ve always been drawn to sound — As a kid, I’d play with our little Casio keyboard, bang pots and pans, and record silly songs to tape. I remember getting my first electric guitar, and that experience changed my life. That Stratocaster was my best friend for a while. I found like-minded, alternative types at school — we formed bands, played shows. I then got into electronic music production.  A lot of it was learning by doing.

MusicsWeek: What inspired you to become a musician?

Tullera: As a child, I usually didn’t share what was going on. I often had difficulties, but I internalised most of them. I didn’t feel like my challenges were valid or worth sharing.
 

I started to put emotions and feelings into something because I had a hard time putting it into words. Over time, that turned into a kind of necessity - a need to create.
 

MusicsWeek: Can you tell us a bit about your background and upbringing?

Tullera: I think I had a fairly common, quiet suburban experience. My family was always supportive, though I’m neurodivergent, and for a long time, I didn’t have the words for that, and neither did the people close to me. I spent great efforts to build up my masking ‘ability’ to try and fit in. Eventually, the masking and attempts to live a ‘normal’ life became too exhausting to maintain, and I burned out in a big way. For a number of years, I spent considerable time in and out of mental health facilities. I was diagnosed with depression and other mental health issues, but it turned out those were surface symptoms — signals rather than the root. After I managed to get that into a sustainable level, I was able to start digging deeper. I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. I worked on that, then I found layers that needed healing, complex PTSD in the psychological model. 
 

MusicsWeek: What's your favorite memory related to music?

Tullera: Most of the memories that first come to mind seem to be about the texture of sound. Discovering the audio bliss of a resonant, distorted Roland 303 at a rave, hearing an epic fuzz pedal at a Smashing Pumpkins concert.  I didn’t realise at the time I was probably drawn to certain textures that felt interesting, satisfying, regulating, or emotionally grounding as a form of audio stimming. In hindsight, it’s probably not a big surprise that I ended up being involved in sound design. Texture in sound has always been a huge interest of mine and something I am excited to explore more.

MusicsWeek: What's your biggest passion outside of music?

Tullera: As Ram Dass said, ‘To know it was all a dream but work as hard as I could, to relieve suffering, and feel the fullness of the human heart’
 

I am constantly working to feel the fullness of the human heart. It might sound cheesy, but it’s something I really believe in. We are tiny pieces of the universe, experiencing life as humans for a short while. One day we pass, we return, we bring the learnings of our experience back to the universe. While I am here, I want to get everything out of the human experience, to fully feel love, joy, bliss, sadness, and fear. To feel it all and love it all. What an amazing experience it is to be alive.
 

Tullera: Viggo Mortensen said, “One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren't enough hours in the day, but if we do each thing calmly and carefully, we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.”
 

MusicsWeek: What's your favorite song to play live?

Tullera: I have recently been playing live under another banner, playing healing and meditative music. My favourites are always the minimal, very intimate pieces. Those quiet moments in a set, where it feels like you’re just among friends, are the most special to me. I’m looking forward to taking this project live a little later in the year.

MusicsWeek: What's your creative process like when writing songs?

Tullera: I like to start with a very simple idea that helps me feel the emotion or feeling of something. If that emotion or feeling is something I want to explore more, then I do that. I sit on an idea, and play around with adding parts to help me feel whatever it is I am trying to feel. It’s a way of connecting with parts of myself that are difficult to do verbally.  Eventually, I have a full song in at least a basic form, and I then might become a bit more analytical to work out what needs to come next for it to be in a shape I can share with others.

MusicsWeek: Do you have a favorite album or artist that influences your work?

Tullera: Jon Hopkins and East Forest to me are just so incredibly brilliant, they just do something which taps deep into the experience of knowing we are soul, but we are also human. That mixture of really having the human experience and the spiritual is so amazing; they tap into that so well. I would love to get anywhere remotely close to that one day.

MusicsWeek: What's the most challenging part of being a musician?

Tullera: I think so many creatives become that way out of need, the need to create. There are so many amazing people out there putting challenging experiences into art. I love that, but of course, what comes with that, of course, is that many creatives are quite sensitive. So, putting yourself out there and allowing that vulnerability at times can be challenging. Even when we know we want to share, that act of being seen can still feel vulnerable. The inner protector within can come up and question us.