Calgary-based singer-songwriter, Terez, is celebrating the release of her debut EP, “Sad Girl Summer.”
Terez loved music since she can remember and growing up would always use her brother’s guitar to write songs.
“I used to sneak into his room, and I would write songs on his guitar, which was a big no-no because it was a little too nice for a 10-year-old to be playing with,” Terez said.
“I went nuts writing songs all the time. I was just a young, creative kid, but eventually, I had all these songs, and I didn’t know what to do with them,” she said.
As Terez began to play shows and compete in competitions, she started to network, and when she was 16 years old, she began to song write for other artists.
“From there it’s been a bit of a blur to get to where I am now, a ton of sessions, a ton of events, and all the things the music industry has to offer,” Terez said.
For her debut EP, “Sad Girl Summer” Terez co-produced six of the seven tracks.
“We made this EP during the pandemic, it wasn’t the typical way to make an EP, there were a lot of virtual songwriting sessions. The pandemic was an excellent way to bring musicians together without them all needing to be in the same place,” Terez said.
“Once all the songs were written, then I started on the production side of things, going back and forth, sharing ideas, and I recorded a lot of the vocals at home,” she said.
Adding, “It was a bit of a journey just ensuring everyone was safe and healthy and no one was being put at risk.”
When creating “Sad Girl Summer” Terez ran into many challenges such as timing, and budget.
“There was a lot of challenges, a lot of things I wasn’t ready for, not enough time, or enough budget, so as I went, I learned a lot. This project was my baby,” Terez said.
Although making the EP throughout the pandemic was challenging, Terez was able to continue song writing sessions online.
“The song writing sessions were much more social than the average song writing session because it was such an outlet not only for me but for the other songwriters. It was an excellent way to continue connecting with people during so much time at home,” Terez said.
Due to isolation, Terez was able to take the time to learn music production, and she absolutely fell in love with the process.
“It made me feel very independent as a creator, which was such a confidence boost, and I’m so proud of the final project. It was such an excellent distraction and learning how to produce during this time, it was such a significant learning curve, I could really throw myself into it, and learn so much about it,” Terez said.
“I likely wouldn’t have had the time to prioritize learning how to produce prior to the pandemic, because it’s such a learning curve, but having that time was a blessing in a way, I know so many people have been really challenged by this time, but for me, it really helped me get through it,” she said.
Going forward, Terez will be involved in music production for all of her future projects and is hopeful that she can complete the process by herself.
“I feel that I’m really driven now to get that final bit of education to be fully independent as a producer,” Terez said.
Terez began music production after being accepted in the SOCAN Equity X Production Mentorship Program, which is designed to close the gender gap within music production.
“As I’ve gone through this journey, I’ve become very passionate about empowering women and non-binary people to pursue production. Two to three per cent of music producers in North American are female, and I want to use my platform to encourage people to pursue what they want to pursue,” she said.
For Terez, she is hopeful that all listeners take away something different from “Sad Girl Summer.”
“Excellent art is when you can come back to it and look at it a different way, and get something you didn’t get from it before,” Terez said.
One of the things that stands out to Terez about the project, is the contrast that can be heard in the songs.
“The project as a whole has a bubbly, fun exterior but deep down it has depth and some darkness to it,” Terez said.
Although Terez is excited to get back out and start playing live shows, she is being conscious of restrictions and wants to get back on stage when she can be sure that everyone will be safe and enjoy the performance by singing and dancing.
“I’d love to see people’s faces if they are singing along, but for live shows, there’s nothing much planned at this point,” Terez said.
She added, “I’m getting ready to really step into the next project. I’ve already started writing for that and have some songs I’m really excited about.”
