It’s always hard to name because coming up I was influenced by so many and so much. Cinema has played a huge part in my sonic and visual expression. The plots, the acting, the cinematography, the color grading…it’s all led me to romanticizing the stories within my life by creating art and music that could seemingly be the soundtrack to a film. Also artists like Sade, Nina Simone, Florence and the Machine, Purity Ring, Clint Mansell, Beyoncé , Stevie Wonder. The list is in forever rotation and goes on and on.

The genesis of Mama Saturn was a moment of me trying to find a beautiful way to explain moving my hips. When I wrote the song I had no idea that my supporters would start calling me that, but it felt good and made sense so it stuck. Now it’s one of the names I want to build my empire around.

I love how infinite space is. There’s so much that we’ll never know about it in this lifetime. That amount of depth inspires me and gives me endless inspiration.

I do! I just don’t know much about them. I’m an Aries. I’m a leader, I’m headstrong and I’m very very passionate.

Standing up for myself means not shrinking myself or apologizing for taking up space. It means not shying away from speaking my mind out of fear of being condemned or manipulated. I work on creating a safe space within myself for myself everyday but I believe being fed up with being a victim got me here.

Embracing all of who you are. It’s the hardest concept because we’re not taught that, especially coming up in a world mostly centered around the white male gaze. Embracing all of who we are and naming the things WE love and melt into is what counts.

At this point, conquering my mind is my biggest challenge. It can be so loud, so wrong, however awareness is key and with that I feel like I’m getting better and better at quieting my mind and being present.

Absolutely. There are times I don’t even know what it is I’m trying to convey until it comes out in a song and I’m like, yes that’s it!! I genuinely feel when I write, that it’s God pouring through me, like I’m just the vessel, and with that it makes so much sense that some of my biggest questions are answered through creating.

Because inherently all we are is love. I believe what complicates that simple sentiment is the ego and that complexity makes love seem like something that has to be sought out, pined after, won even though it’s already ours, which drives us insane. Fortunately and unfortunately some of the best art comes from that feeling of wanting something you can’t or shouldn’t have. I feel like we all have so many true loves, including ourselves.

I feel it, let it absorb me for a bit, work to the roots of the sadness and angst, work towards healing it and learning from it by expressing it, putting it in my art and then I celebrate it.

Being a woman, being a black woman means expected strength, understanding and constant forgiveness from me, for everyone but myself. The world teaches me that everyone else comes first and now I take on the task of unlearning all of that. That’s what’s in the music, me reclaiming myself and painting what that looks like.

Meditating…God. Standing up for myself and in turn others, asking for what I want, therapy, self love, playing, creating and being around the people I love that love me back. Those are all things that make me feel good and empowered.

‘82 Moons’ is an immortalized moment of my submission to unconditional love.

Tanerélle is a cosmic goddess of love and light. She is a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover, a story teller and her future is full of more play, art and lots of love.