TimPermanent • Resident Interview

TimPermanent is about to release his latest collection of music. I first heard his music at the beginning of the year when he released Marker, a wonderful EP. My appreciation only grew when he released an acoustic cover of Robyn's song, Dancing On My Own. He is about to release another EP, Resident. I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy, and it is outstanding.

I first covered Tim through the release of Marker. You can find that here. Tim has been an out and proud performer since he was part of the socially-conscious anti-folk duo Testosterone Kills. As a solo performer, he weds electronica with infectious Pop and heartfelt lyrics.



Resident is a five-song collection. From the first bars of Dance Floor Lost, I was hooked. The electronic beat grabbed me, and TimPermanent's voice shook me down. Mindset was up next, and it is a beautifully textured ballad, with a stunning layered chorus. Give It To Me made me take immediate notice with the Middle Eastern flavor, and with the layered rhythms in the chorus becomes damn near inspirational. On Busy, Tim pokes and prods at the electronic age in which we live, and how we spend out time. That leaves In The Dark, which positively soars on the wings of the honesty in the lyrics. There is such a connection when he sings "I'll be fine maybe most of the time," you feel the heartache that only love can cause. You can purchase Resident on Amazon now here, and on iTunes starting Tuesday, November 8th, here.

Just before it is available on iTunes, I was lucky enough to be able to take up a bit of TimPermanent's time to offer his thoughts about the new release, his inspirations, and some big-voiced divas.

Do you feel the music on Resident is your most personal yet? Which song most reflects you or your experience? I definitely feel like Resident has songs that are rather personal, maybe more so than the songs of Marker. The song Mindset is probably the most personal to me where I feel like it is my plea to the Universe for all of my wants.

This is the second release in a year - are you feeling more inspired than ever before? I am continually inspired... I feel perhaps more motivated to release new songs than ever before.



Do you write all your own music? Do you write on the piano or guitar? I do write and produce all my own music. I did have the pleasure of working with Chuck Wild on the song Give it to Me. Chuck is an amazing and very successful musician. We collaborated – it was awesome! To write, I use the computer/midi-keyboard mostly and sometimes the guitar.

Resident seems to have much more experimentation with rhythm than earlier music. What inspired that? Hmm. I don’t know. A song usually takes on a life all on its own. I cannot say where it comes from, I wish I knew. Perhaps from the ether, and then added a smiley-face.



Vocally, I can't think of anyone like you stylistically. So who inspires you vocally? I love big singer-singers like Beyoncé, Christina, Faith Hill, Aretha... I have a big voice so I use it like one of them. There aren’t a lot of male singers who sing big. Sometimes I hear songs that are sung more breathy and low-key and I think “I wish I could sound like that” but that’s just not who I am.

If you could pick a national artist to sing a cover of one of your songs, who would it be, and which song? I would love it if Faith Hill sang In the Dark. I wrote it with her in mind.

Any song you'd like to cover, beside the brilliant version you did of Robyn's Dancing On My Own? Ooo covers are hard for me. I have been thinking to do Someone Like You by Adele but it seems so obvious….



What song was playing the last time you were on a Dance floor lost? When Doves Cry by Prince.

Is it easier to write about love or heartache? I think suffering definitely lends itself to song writing- I have felt very inspired by pain in the past but I try to spin the pain and make a more hopeful song – something to reach toward rather than something to wallow in .

Any shows coming up for your fans outside of Los Angeles? We are working on a schedule…. Sign up for my ReverbNation mailing list here and stay tuned!!



For more about TimPermanent, visit his official website here. You can find Marker on iTunes here, and on Amazon here. You can find his cover of Robyn's Dancing On My Own on iTunes here, and on Amazon here. Pick one, or pick them all, I'd say you can't go wrong.

New Video - TimPermanent - Asymmetrical

Just a couple of weeks ago, I talked about a great new artist I found, TimPermanent, and his new release, Marker. I really like it still, so you can only imagine how excited I was to find a new video released today, Asymmetrical. The video, with the beginning all clean and animated, very much in keeping with the electronic feel of the song, sounding very 80s, very Yazoo, very Vince Clarke, very early Depeche Mode. Soon we see the artist himself, TimPermanent, giving some screen time, at the mercy of the clock and it's hands, as they sweep the picture throughout the video, giving us varying textures, colors, and layers, at times there are multiple Tim's...



After the review I ran, I did receive a rather nice message from TimPermanent, which I really appreciated. He seemed surprised I would have known so much about his music, well, I'd like to think that not only do I know about it, many of the readers here do as well. And we have a hankering to learn more, so be sure to watch the video.




For more about TimPermanent, check out his official website here. You can find him on FaceBook here. If you are looking to check out his music on iTunes, find it here, and at CD Baby here, and on Amazon.Com, try here. And as long as I am hearing about it, you can always check back on this blog.

TimPermanent Available Online

On Sunday evening, I ran a review of the debut from TimPermanent, Marker. Well, it has now been officially released, and you can find the music on iTunes here, or find it on Amazon.Com here. I hear there is a video in the works, and hope to be able to bring that to you as soon as it is released.

New Music TimPermanent

Recently, I was introduced to a new artist I found to be intriguing on description, and great fun in reality. The artist is TimPermanent - yep, that is "one word", that is the way he likes it. He is about to release a debut EP, Marker. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy, and can't tell you how fortunate that is. The five-song collection is excellent.



But before I get to Marker, I should perhaps introduce you to TimPermanent. He was half of the queer-centric duo Testosterone Kills, making music while based out of New York City. He and Pablo were part of an Anti-Folk scene in the city, merging punk, a bit of techno, a touch of rebellion, and the sensibilities of the folk scene to create their own special sound. Their music was included in compilation discs alongside favorites Pansy Division, Phranc, and Ani Defranco. That was then, this is now, and TimPermanent has gone solo. He is still bucking the labels of the music business, making avant-pop that marries pop, electronica, with a lyrical style very much his own.

On first listen, TimPermanent had me totally in the palm of his hand. On the second, he had me twisted around his little finger. By the third, I was offering to have his baby. Yes, you could say I liked it, but that would be an understatement. There is joy, fun, love and laughter to be found on this disc, and it is here for all to have. IT has the feeling of being the future, while maintaining a reverential nod to the history of some pretty great LGBT music-makers of the past. Take the first cut on the EP as an example. Extraordinary is a joyful explosion, demanding the listener pay attention, and smile.




The second cut, More Than Want, remains in the pop vein, with a bit more layer and texture, Tim using his voice to express the complicated life in this day and age, a voyage of self-discovery. Black And White is up next, and yet again there is a shift, a bit more techno-based, yet maintaining a pop vocal owing more to Erasure or Pet Shop Boys than to the Auto-Tune songs we hear way too much today. The fourth song, Alkaline, takes the approach of an electro-ballad, touching, soulful, and real. I really love this song. The final cut on the EP is Asymmetrical. It is an interesting exercise, perhaps the most inspired in the collection. As I sit here typing, I am finding myself at a loss, other than to say it is incredible to me, and you need to listen.




Marker is scheduled to hit iTunes on January 11, 2011, (yes, on one one-one, one-one) and I will be racing to get my official copy. For more about TimPermanent, check out his official website here. You can find him on FaceBook here. And you can find him in my iTunes & iPod, and hopefully in yours as well.