Tarragon

 Tarragon has released his second album ‘Home At Cofa’s’ and kindly chatted to us all about it:

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

I actually have quite a few. I remember the first time I started singing properly back in secondary school. My music teacher, Mr Davie, stumbled into the rehearsal space after overhearing me sing and told me that I had something special. He encouraged me to keep going with it.

This was around the time I started writing my own music. I remember coming home from school every day and spending hours practising. Back then, my dad wasn’t entirely convinced that I had a great singing voice. He’d say things like, “You warble too much, it’s annoying.” That sounds a bit harsh now, but it wasn’t said in a discouraging way. It was never a case of, “You shouldn’t be doing this, son.”

What I do remember is Mr Davie sending my dad an email telling him how well I was doing in music classes. He said that I had a voice and a talent worth investing in and developing. It was a lovely feeling to have that support, and I think it made my dad think twice.

From that point on, he really started to believe in me, and I was incredibly fortunate to have his support. He drove me to and from gigs all over the place and was always there to encourage me. We even ended up writing the final song together for Tarragon’s second full-length album, Home At Cofa’s.

 

 When did you begin songwriting?

I started very young, around the age of Ten I’d say. I really struggled to communicate generally when I was younger, I still do in many ways and songwriting was the tool that made me lay out all of my thoughts and express myself a lot easier.

 

You have your new album ‘Home At Cofa’s’ out now. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

With as much care, thought and precision possible. I really wanted to go all the way with this next piece of work, that’s not to say I didn’t with my previous offering but with this record I definitely went in to the process with a lot more understanding of so many different things. It took me a long time to get the music right as there were many versions of the songs but I’m glad I was patient and I’m proud of what became the final result.

 

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

A lot of the record was recorded and produced by myself at my studio and bedroom but I had many of my favourite artists and collaborators in the world be a part of the project. They recorded their parts remotely so quite a bit of the recording process was recorded across the globe, too.

 

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

I think when I finally cracked the production of the song and album title, ‘Home At Cofa’s’. As soon as I sampled my voice through the teenage engineering OP1 I knew I had something really special. I really tried to manipulate as many new and exciting sounds on this record overall and that song in particular was a memorable one.

 

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

I used a lot of analog gear and recording techniques like running digital sounds back through all kinds of tape but the teenage engineering OP1 is worth talking about mostly. It’s such a creative and easy piece of gear to take on the go and it’s super user friendly to sample anything and everything at any given time.

 

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

That’s a tricky one, as every song moves through different emotions lyrically. I wouldn’t say any of them capture me at my angriest, as anger isn’t really an emotion I tend to write from. However, I do ask a lot of questions throughout the record, and I suppose some listeners could interpret that uncertainty or frustration as a form of anger.

A recurring theme across the album is love, desire, belief and belonging, along with the uncertainty that comes with them. Many of the songs wrestle with questions of what’s right, what’s wrong, and whether those feelings are ever as clear as we’d like them to be. In that sense, the record is probably at its most reflective when it’s exploring those grey areas.

 

Who were the musicians who were on the album with you?

There are far too many to mention but I had members from Supertramp, The 1975, The War On Drugs, Bon Iver, Tame Impala and Bleachers all contribute to the record as well as a few of my closest and dearest friends from Coventry.

 

 

Does the album’s title have a specific meaning/significance?

I named the record after my hometown, Coventry. There’s a tree called Cofa’s Tree, which is said to be where the city got its name. That connection felt appropriate, as this record was very much written here and shaped by the place I call home.

 

Was it a difficult album to write?

There were many songs I wrote for this album when I was younger but they needed time to really grow and develop. I re recorded a few of the songs and re worked some on the lyrics but I wouldn’t say it was a necessarily difficult process as I had a lot of inspiration and a fair amount to say. If anything the music was the trickiest thing to figure out as I knew I wanted the sonic palate to be broad and expansive.

 

Who designed the album artwork?

A bloke called Kevin Duneman. I got introduced to him via Pieta Brown (Greg Brown’s daughter) Lovely guy and a great artist!

 

One of the tracks is the single ‘Blueprint’ ft. Tame Impala’s Julien Barbagallo. What was the story/inspiration behind the track and how did the collaboration arise?

That song was one of the songs I wrote when I was a wee little lad. Probably one of the firsts, actually. I did originally record it properly, you know, in one of those big posh studios with all the gear in the world, but for some reason I just never really felt like I got the best out of it. Some songs just need time to grow, and looking back now, I think I needed to record that one myself anyway, so I’m pleased I brought it back to life and made it final. The collaboration with Julien happened very organically. I love his style of playing, and he was definitely the right man to ask to be a part of this track!

 

The track is accompanied by an official music visualiser. What was the thought process behind it and who directed it?

There’s not a huge amount to it, really. I wanted something to represent the album’s artwork, and as it’s a painting, there’s a lot of incredible textures, contrasts and colours going on already, and I wanted to take snippets from the painting of each single that was released from the album. If you look closely at the visualisers, you can really see the dialogue of how beautifully crafted the painting really is.

 

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Coventry. Fragile, multi-faceted, Competitive, Triumphant and misunderstood.

 

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2026?

Not at the moment as I’m working super hard on making sure it’s at a standard where I want it to be before I go out and play live shows however, they’ll be an album launch this year for sure! I also want to be able to play the record solo and with the live band so having those two things locked in place will be even more exciting!

 

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

Probably the audience engagement and the satisfaction of playing as well as I/we could.

 

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

No, not really. The gear always changes live for me. I also try very hard to not worry too much about live gear to be honest, especially at this stage of Tarragon’s career. It’s important to keep things as simple as possible and play the best shows I/we can without relying too much on “the gear” per say.

 

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Great question. I read not too long ago a counter theory about 911 called Methodical Illusion by the author, Rebekah Roth. I found it an absolutely fascinating read, so I think I’d write a score from that book.

 

 How do you look after your voice?

Keeping healthy and staying hydrated.

 

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

At the moment I’m listening to a lot of Cameron Winter. There’s something really authentic and charismatic about him. I was quite late to the party knowing about him and his band, Geese.

 

What makes Tarragon happy and what makes you unhappy?

Making music makes me happy and social media makes me unhappy.

 

Feature Image Photo Credit: Adele Mary Reed

Tarragon’s second album ‘Home At Cofa’s’ is out now. 

Listen: https://ffm.to/ee7qb6d