“I compose electronically from home,” Love says. “Mainly using software. I don’t use loops or anything like that. I basically write everything from scratch on my own. I started as a singer and about five years ago I began electronic composition. Before that I played keys and sang, in and out of bands, but it wasn’t until I started doing electronic composition that I feel like I’ve really found my own sound.”
The title of the EP evokes a number of different meanings and connotations, and the release has a loose concept to it. “It’s got a few double meanings,” says Love. “If you see the artwork, it’s kind of like a card deck, so that’s where the shuffle idea comes in. Tantra is like the idea of the meta in the micro, so it’s a bit of a metaphysical reference. But the idea of a shuffle, I originally saw it as the idea of shuffling along, trying to live in this more enlightened way, but shuffling along day to day and doing my best. That’s what the songs are about, different expressions of that. It’s all a bit abstract.”
Love is soon to embark on a four-date tour across the nation in support of the EP, which includes a show at the Grace Darling Hotel in Melbourne. She’s especially looking forward to hawking her wares back on home turf. “I’m going back to my home town Fremantle for a Perth show,” she says. “Then coming back to Melbourne, plus Brisbane and Sydney. I’m very excited.”
Throughout the tour, Love will be backed up by an excellent selection of support acts. “I’ve managed to get some really cool artists to join me on the tour, which I’m very excited about,” she says. “The Melbourne show I’ve got Simona Castricum, Astral Skulls and a new outfit called InfraGhosts. They’re all just really amazing electronic artists. It’s fun when I organise shows and I’m there and I just think, ‘I would go to this show even if I wasn’t playing myself’.”
Love’s live show is a unique blend of quirky behaviour and smooth electronic stylings. “I’ve been told that I have an engaging stage presence,” she says. “Great beats, lots of textural synths, a little bit of awkward conversation, and maybe some random robot dancing.”
Like so many of us, Love was saddened by the death of David Bowie, who’s been a major influence on her songwriting. “I was shocked. I had no idea [he was sick]. It just came out of the blue considering everything he’d done in the last year, like that exhibition, the new album… I think he ended on a classy note, as he did with everything. But yeah, it was just a shock. I love David Bowie, he was amazing. And especially being a synth-pop artist, he’s a huge influence as he’s often fused electronic music with his stuff. He’s such a great songwriter and pop icon.”
After launching Tantric Shuffle around the country, Love will knuckle down on her next release. “I’ll be looking to start writing again. I’ve been doing so much promotional work I feel like I haven’t had any time to write. So I’ll get some new material and look towards a new release.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
