What does a lullaby for a life's dream sound like? How does it feel to rush parallel to the course of the world and still lose touch in your isolation? What would it be like not living up to your expectations and throwing them away?
Nala Tessloff asks herself these questions in her songs and finds only one answer in her brokenness: there is also beauty and truth in giving up, in failure. This is evident in her voice, which is given enough space to unfold in her productions.
Nala Tessloff casually describes her compositions as a "doomsday soundtrack" and thus hits a notch that could not be more topical given the prevailing conditions. When heavy motions again take over, she sits down at the keys of her Bechstein grand piano - on which Leonard Bernstein is said to have played - and channels the flow of thoughts into poetry that glows in its shades of gray.
Completing the sonic spectrum are meticulously read sounds, such as the 1940s "Rolling Bomber" drum set, which gets its characteristic sound from metal primarily used for weapon production. The alternate wood components used create a warm depth that is unique in its form.
Consequently, Nala Tessloff’s examination of violence and its effects extends to the materiality of the instruments used. A conceptual approach that goes hand in hand with her practice as a performance artist and is also evident in the production of the first music video that plays in one of her installations. In their totality, Nala's productions are like a protective chamber freed from all constraints, where the listener can retreat to momentarily escape the world's brutality.
They give space to discover a (true) strength in one's weakness. They are finely curated sounds in which one may feel protected and let oneself go. Or as Nala herself describes it: "The songs don't want anything. They are rather something I just had to get rid of. I hope to touch people and give comfort, maybe just by knowing that they aren’t alone with a feeling."
In this sense, Nala's songs speak a universal language that is accessible and embracing. And in the end, there is the important realization that we all share the same emotions and are connected through them.