TSHA -Sacred EP

November 30, 2018 - Whitelabel/Self Released

‘Sacred’ is my first introduction to UK-based producer TSHA, and it’s a great first impression. This track opens with mechanical static and a staccato monotone that references mechanical orientation devices, the notes of Morse code, or of radars scanning the ocean for signs of human life. These are one-dimensional communications at face-value, but they convey messages back and forth that are larger than their parts, dimensions far beyond the action. Which is a fitting allegory for what happens compositionally in the song as a whole. ‘Sacred’ is grown from scratch out of layers and layers of syncopation. TSHA sets a syncopated melody on an upbeat, then builds another syncopated melody on the upbeat of that upbeat, then builds yet another syncopated melody on the upbeat of that upbeat. It’s forever climbing up and up upon itself, like the Tower of Babel reaching toward heaven. The result is layers of rich and complex percussive textures that our minds continuously reconcile together as a song. 

What’s attractive about syncopation is that it specifically leaves beats out, allowing the human brain fill in the blanks (something it’s fundamentally designed to do). That empty space where something is missing is where what we call magic exists, and TSHA is maximizing this space even in a track that is elementally and compositionally minimal. Listening is like looking at a Mark Rothko painting or staring into fire—the more you look, the more tension you see in the endless depth because you are creating the logic of the view. 

This is certainly not a new concept in art and music. Artists have been chasing that in-between space for centuries, and syncopation in music has become synonymous with the drive to dance, the drive to quench a thirst for resolution. But TSHA is fresh on the electronic music scene, bringing her own take on an old musical trope that, honestly, will never get old. I tried to parse through her sound to determine her musical styles and influence, but talking about her music in references to genres seems to flatten her out. Like many minimal producers, ‘Sacred’ is full of the synths of yesteryear and built for dancing (or gentle head-nodding at the very least). It has a sentimental melody, a soft soul and an inspiring vocal sample. But the mastery of syncopation—I will say it again—is what sets this song apart and what caught my attention. It is forever looking up with a strange and beautiful optimism. ☔