With her folk-rock group Girlyman on ice for the moment, out singer-songwriter Tylan (formerly known as Tylan “Ty” Greenstein) is keeping herself busy releasing her debut solo album, “One True Thing,” this summer.
With a number of struggles in her professional and personal life in the last few years, Tylan said she had a lot of emotion to draw upon for new music.
“It’s been a very raw time that has been filled with a lot of turmoil and change,” she said. “It shows up on the album in a more exposed way. It’s pretty out there but I don’t think I’ve ever been a different kind of writer. I think this is just the kind of writer that I am and that could change. But for this album, it’s just as personal as my Girlyman material.”
She added that “One True Thing” has a different feel from what Girlyman fans might be used to.
“In Girlyman, the songwriting was collaborative, so really what you’re getting is my contribution to Girlyman but much more realized,” she said about her solo album. “I would say my album is in more singer-songwriter territory and less poppy that Girlyman’s records. But I don’t think it’s too much different from what you’ve heard from songs I’ve written by myself on Girlyman’s records. I just got to really focus on realizing those songs apart from the context of three-part harmonies.”
Tylan said she wasn’t planning on doing a solo album but when Girlyman ground to a halt, it presented her with an opportunity to put her creative impulses to good use.
“It’s something I thought about for a long time,” she said about her solo album. “Because there are three songwriters in the band, each of us we’re only able to put a few songs on each album. So we all just had a lot of songs that never made it onto albums. For me, the past few years I’ve just been writing a lot. So I have this desire to not let those songs sit on the cutting-room floor and to give them life. I was interested in what they would sound like away from this collaboration with that same group of people. That was going on before we decided to take this hiatus. I think it came at a good time for all of us.”
Earlier this year, Tylan went on a series of short tours to promote the new album. She said those trips were free from the stresses she became used to as part of Girlyman.
“I’ve been performing with my sweetheart, Ingrid Elizabeth,” Tylan said. “She’s part of the band Coyote Grace and we’ve been having a blast on the road. The shows have been really incredible. It’s a very different experience from being with Girlyman and being with a large group of people in a large van.”
Tylan added that touring as a solo act might be her main gig for the foreseeable future.
“There are no plans for Girlyman to reunite in the near future,” she said. “That seems to be everybody’s wish. I’ll be doing more solo tours and I’m open to being part of other musical projects. It’s a very wide open time.”
“One True Thing” will be released June 18. For more information on Tylan, visit www.tylanmusic.com.