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Name: Théodora Delilez aka Theodora

Nationality: French
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Theodora's personal interpretation of the classic Tanita Tikaram single "Twist in my Sobriety" is out via Theodora Project.

If you enjoyed this interview with Theodora and would like to find out more about her music, visit her on Instagram.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

The impulse can start from a strong emotion, something I saw or felt - in a movie, in a dream, in a conversation, when I feel heartbroken, when I fall in love. It’s always a combination.

Some days I can’t get anything out of it, some days I can and I start to write a song. Then I live or see or feel other things and the end of the process always takes on new meanings.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

It depends! Sometimes I know I want to create something I could dance to. So I try to keep that in mind when I produce the music. At other times I only have a few words, or a melody and some chords that I play endlessly before I know what they are going to become. And then I start building up the instrumental.

Chance plays a big role at that point, I try different things - beats, bass arragements, effects - and suddenly it works for me and I feel it’s the right direction.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I generally don’t create early versions. I tend to do memos on my phone when I suddenly have the idea of a melody, or a chord sequence. And then I just keep singing them or playing them to myself for a long time before I decide to start the production at my studio.

I think what helps me to prepare the process is everything I listen to or learn in terms of production on a daily basis. Everyday seems to bring something new! I just try to memorize it. And when I really get started it’s like all I have learned recently helps me to find the best way to record and arrange the songs I’m working on.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I feel I spend my life trying to get prepared for that! (laughs)

Reading as much as I can, getting inspiration anywhere I can. Exercising a little and drinking coffee helps too!

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?
 
The first line, or the first note generally comes easiwe than the rest. It’s harder for me to keep going, to finish a song after the first wave of inspiration is gone.

Even though I often don’t know where I’m going I need to convince myself it’s gonna be good and meaningful at some point.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

When I find a chord progression that seems good to me I automatically start humming a melody, and a few words often emerge. They may sound good but are not necesserily appropriate! And they can also lead to proper lyrics, as they came so instinctly.

I also note down things in a notebook everytime I feel the need, and that gives me ideas for lyrics.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

As long as they bring emotions, or strong images, and as long as they fit with the song, I feel they can be anything, lyrical or laconic.

For instance I love songwriters like Angel Olsen or Leonard Cohen as much as I love John Maus or techno songs with only one or two words chanted.

I think that’s my challenge most of the time - to evaluate the best way for me to tell a story.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

It can take some time! I’m quite slow when it comes to my own music. Only at some point I'll find the right flow, with the right words.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

I think it’s what I like about it! Very often I get surprised by where a song goes.

For instance, let’s imagine I have a melody, and sad lyrics, and I want to make a sad song. I quickly realize if everything is sad - music, words, atmosphere -  it’s just going to be redundant. It suddenly appears that the song, to get its full meaning, needs a strong beat, bass arpeggios - the opposite of the piano voice I first imagined!

So I try to arrange the song with a 90s techno beat. It suddenly becomes melancholic and bouncy at the same time.

Okay, maybe it’s a bit too much, and really not what I imagined, but I always try to push an idea in order to be surprised by what happens!

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I guess when I’m in the middle of a creative state I feel everything differently. The notion of time becomes different. It’s not far from meditating. It has to do with spirituality in a way.

But also with something daily, to me it has to be part of the everyday reality. I feel happy when the sacred and the mundane go together.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

I generally finish a work when I bring the separate tracks to Etienne Caylou’s studio. Etienne is the mixer I’ve been working with for years. Together we listen to the tracks and decide if they need additional production. Then most of the time I record the final vocals with him, and he starts mixing.

So the process has an end, and it helps me a lot to know that! This being said, it sometimes takes me five years to bring him the separate tracks!

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I can relate to this! It’s such a moment of excitement, the release of a song or an album. Followed by the strange feeling that it will no longer be your own thing, ever. It might change things, or not. Imagination can’t really go any further for me, but I feel restless everytime I drop something new.

I guess like most creators I spend much more time struggling with what I’m trying to express than releasing stuff. I admire people like Courtney Barnett who seem to be always on the move, creating, dropping music, touring …

On my own small scale I also try to keep myself busy and am already thinking of the next step when I release new songs.