Whats up? My name is Tana, and I’m an artist, songwriter and creative from London, UK. My new song “Fake Friends” just came out, and I’m here to give you a little insight into my world and the song’s journey.
I wrote “Fake Friends” during the summer of 2021, and as you can probably tell from the title, “Fake Friends” is about fake people. I wrote the song in my room as I usually do, and got it produced by my go-to producer Imad Salhi.
With regards to the artwork, I had the photo taken by my friend Mia Franzosi, and then got it designed by a regular collaborator of mine called Overdaux. Initially, I didn’t really know where to take the artwork, so I let my graphic designer experiment and take full creative control. Turns out it was exactly what I wanted without knowing what I wanted.
When creating the song, I wanted to bring together all of the different sounds I’m influenced by. I’d say “Fake Friends” has a bit of everything, from R&B and trap, to rock and pop. I listen to a lot of different music, so bringing these worlds together was important to me as I try to incorporate all of these elements and stylistic features to make my sound ultimately unique and ultimately me.
When choosing the concept, I wanted to write about something else other than love because I wanted to explore my writing skills and challenge myself to explore more themes instead of the ones I already know and feel comfortable with. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing love songs, but it’s such as common topic that everyone writes about, and this time, I wanted a change.
The song is personal and it’s written from my own experience, and at this particular moment in my life, I was really trying to discover who my real friends are because I started seeing patterns and particular characteristics in people that I didn’t really like, and it kind of made me question do these people really have my best interest at heart?
I think it’s really important to know your tribe, because these are the kind of people that you want to grow with and build with, not people that constantly put you down, or are always negative or always want something in return, because that’s super draining and super unhealthy.
Going back to what I was saying earlier about finding your tribe, I think “Fake Friends” gives my listeners an opportunity to really stop and think about where we get set off or stuck, and think about working on those parts of ourselves to put us in a better place.
When I wrote the song, I wanted to make it relatable through the use of funny puns and cool adjectives. Some of my favourite lyrics are: “Standing in a room of strangers, I’m walking on ice, but no-one wants to break it they’re too scared to be nice” and “Stuck in conversations, faking a smile. With pretty girls that talk about their daddies penthouse. Save me from this agony, give me some amphetamine, I’m so bored can’t you see”.
Overall, I think “Fake Friends” is a great song and it’s super catchy and fun and I’m really proud of it because lyrically speaking, I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve written yet.
I typically try to write about my musical and personal journey as well as topics that I really care about such as gay culture, equality, and other life experiences. I’m queer and biracial, and I want to use my platform to be real and be a voice for others. My music is unapologetic, revolutionary and liberating, and I place diversity at heart.
Listen to “Fake Friends” below and stream it elsewhere here.
