Tia Gostelow is in her early twenties feelings. The artist has released the new, aw, alternative rock-influenced single Early Twenties alongside the announcement of her upcoming album Head Noise, out August 18 - and a national headline tour later this year. It’s all happening. We spoke to the artist about the new single and what’s to come:

We love ‘Early Twenties’! Tell us about the creation of it. Where did you write it? What do you hope people feel listening to it?‍

Thank you! I wrote Early Twenties when I was in LA last year. I’m pretty sure it was my first session in LA with Daniel James and Rami Jrade. I think it’s a very relatable song whether you’re currently in the middle of your early 20s or not. We all know the struggles of growing up and trying to find yourself, pay your bills on time, be a good person, have good relationships and on and on and on. I feel like when you’re a teenager, you think that you’ll have all of these milestones completed by a certain age, and then that age comes around, and it’s not where you want to be at that point in time. It’s meant to be a song that hopefully gives people a bit of comfort and lets them know it’s okay not to have your shit together yet. 

Give us the Tia lowdown. When did you start making music? What inspired you to express yourself in this way?‍

I’ve been singing forever and playing guitar since I was about 8 years old. I started writing my own songs when I was probably around 14/15. When I was little, Mum and Dad always had the Country Music Channel on, and I’d always be watching MTV, so I think I’ve always loved music. It wasn’t until I saw Taylor Swift when I was 8 that I realised that I really wanted to be like her. Mum and Dad bought me a little guitar, and I started teaching myself how to play, and I haven’t stopped since.‍

How do you think growing up in Australia has shaped you as an artist?‍

I definitely think it’s made me resilient. Now that I’m older, I’ve found a really beautiful group of friends and have found my place in the music industry, but when I was younger, I found it hard to find many friends that were supportive of my pursuit of a music career. Tall Poppy Syndrome is a real thing in Australia, and I think growing up in a small regional town, it felt a little harder to make my dreams a reality, but I’m so glad I stuck to it. I’ve been playing in pubs since I was 12 years old and have always been surrounded by more experienced musicians, so I was playing with bands from a really early age. I think that was the beauty of being from a regional place, the music community was small, but I was able to find my people that I would play with, and it made me better as a musician. ‍

What is your process like? Are you always writing from direct experiences? Who do you love collaborating with?‍

My last 2 albums have definitely been about direct experiences, but I pushed myself to expand my writing skills on my new album. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of my personal experiences on these new songs but a lot of them were inspired by books, conversations with friends and shared experiences. I write with a lot of different people, but someone I think I work really well with is my friend Matt McGuffie. Matt used to play in my band, and he’s like a brother to me, so every time we get in a room together, it’s so natural. We know how each other works, and we know what’s going on in each other's personal lives, so it always makes for great songs. It’s honestly just like we’re catching up. ‍

Speaking of collaborations, who would be the ultimate features for you?‍

Such a haaaard question! I have to pick a few. Stevie Nicks, Phoebe Bridgers and Kacey Musgraves.‍

Can you pinpoint any major influences for you - in the form of other artists or perhaps books, films etc?‍

Phoebe Bridgers has been a big influence on me lyrically over the past year. I also read a book called Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz, which inspired me to write a song on the new album about feeling unsafe as a woman and what we subconsciously do to protect ourselves, like holding a key in our hand when walking to our car at night. I’ve been trying to find inspiration in more things other than just what I’m going through personally. It’s really special to be able to write about topics or situations from perspectives other than your own.

‍Tell us about the visual world of Tia Gostelow. Is fashion important to you? How do you dream up how you will visually express your sound?‍

I love working on the visual side of things. I have Pinterest boards for EVERYTHING. Music videos, photoshoots, single artwork, graphic design, tour outfits, hair and makeup. You name it, I’ve got a Pinterest board for it. It really helps me to visualise how I want everything to look and helps me when I feel stuck on inspiration. Fashion is something I’ve been trying to delve into more, I think that being able to dress up and feel good about myself really affects how I feel on stage or on shoots. I think it’s just another creative expression that I’m having so much fun experimenting with. ‍

You have just announced your third studio album, Head Noise. Is there anything you can tell us yet? What can we expect? What was the emotional headspace you were in while you were writing this project?‍

The majority of the album was written when I was in America last year. I honestly didn’t really know what I wanted it to be when I was over there, I just had the mindset of trying anything and experimenting and seeing what would come out of it. I tried not to put too much pressure on myself. When I came back to Australia, I kept on writing to see what else would come. I ended up writing 2 songs called Why Did You Leave, and I’m Getting Bored of This, and that’s when the theme of the album kind of presented itself. I think subconsciously, I was writing about the things I’ve been struggling with. I struggle to fall asleep at night because of my anxiety, and I start overthinking absolutely everything. I went back through the whole album and kept on listening to it until I figured out what I wanted to call the album, and I thought that Head Noise was the perfect way to summarise what I was feeling. ‍

What is something you’re passionate about, aside from music? Something you’d like to use your platform for? ‍

I know I sound like an old lady, but I’ve really found a love for reading and cooking. I’m such an introvert and homebody, so whenever I’m home they’re my favourite things to do. Whenever I can talk to anyone about books and making homemade pasta, I will. My nickname from my mum when I was little was ‘Gran’, so I think I’m really fitting into it now.‍

What’s next?‍

I’m doing a nice support tour with SYML in June, and I have my new album coming out, which is really exciting. I’m just gearing up to release that and head into the tour cycle!

Listen to Early Twenties HERE.

@tiagostelow