Influenced by the DIY attitude and sense of freedom and self-expression of punk rock, TERR – real name Daniela Caldellas – became incredibly connected to music, using her journey as a way to experiment with sounds and ideas. Growing up in Brazil’s Belo Horizonte, Caldellas now resides in Barcelona and started her music career in a group called Digitaria. Launching her solo project TERR in 2016, the name was inspired by the only human character in the 1970’s film ‘Fantastic Planet’ and released her debut EP on Scuba’s Hotflush Recordings. Now running her own label Clash Lion where she’s released her latest EP ‘Dust’, TERR also lists Correspondant and Permanent Vacation as label affiliates. Currently developing an immersive live show to add a new dimension to her productions, we caught up with TERR to discuss the new ‘Dust’ EP, the freedom of working as a solo artist and how Brazil and Barcelona have influenced her productions.
Let’s start from the very beginning, how did you get into music? How would you describe your musical journey?
When I was a teen I discovered punk rock, and something changed in my life. I have always been connected to music but with punk I discovered I could do it myself if I wanted to. I learned how to play guitar and piano and later I discovered electronic music, that expanded further this sense of freedom and self-expression. My music journey is a journey through experimentations with sounds and ideas, always trying to merge different ideas and concepts to create something new.
Growing up with punk as a main influence in your life, how do you feel the genre has impacted your electronic sound?
Punk rock is about doing your stuff – it doesn’t matter if you are a huge musician or just a kid with some energy to spare, you can simply express your feelings through music. I think that the electronic revolution in the 90s were like a “part 2” in the history of punk, because it allowed everyone, again, to create new music, and this time we didn’t even need to know the three chords. And there’s nothing punker than the philosophy of electronic music – creating your stuff, inventing new sounds and ignoring the old paradigms.
What would you say ignites your creativity outside of music?
Everything that’s around me, to be honest, will affect my mood and my way to see the world. Politics, people, movies, books. Life is an endless cycle of inputs and outputs. A lot of my music, lately, has been influenced by literature, like ‘Neuromancer’, and politics, like ‘Have you Ever’.
Your new EP ‘Dust’ features two versions from yourself, the original mix and raw electro mix. Why did you decide to release two edits of the track?
The main track was ready for some time, and I was having some fun in the studio, programming drum machines, trying to make some breaks. I wanted to put some vocals over the results and started singing ‘Dust’ over it, and the result was so good I decided to work seriously on the idea, and I loved the final result. I also love the original version, so I decided to keep both. People into breakbeat can listen to one and people into 4×4 dystopia can listen to the other one. And there are of course the other remixes, so everyone can choose their favourite version of Dust.
Your productions are very industrial and quite futuristic, when you look at the places you’ve lived – Brazil and Barcelona – how do you feel these cities have influenced your sound? Or do you think your surroundings only play a very little part in your influences?
People tend to think about Brazil and remember Rio de Janeiro and the beaches, but I was born and raised in Belo Horizonte, a city far from the sea, far from the forests, far from everything. It’s a very arid city, both emotionally and in it’s climate. But beyond that, I think it’s very easy to make futuristic music, simply because we already live in the future. People are connected all day long, and not connected at all at the same time. The population is growing and growing, people feel lonely and alienated at the same time we can consume all kinds of gadgets and products. Except for flying cars and robot maids, we don’t need to wait anymore for the future, it’s here already.
You’ve also enlisted three remixers, what made them right for the project?
Curses is a good friend, a very talented guy and I made a remix for him last year, so he was my first thought when I decided to get some remixes. I love his style and I always knew he would come with something strong. Cardopusher is an artist I always admired, his music is so creative and full of energy, I thought it would go really well with the industrial tones of ‘Dust’. And Daniel Watts was my partner in our duo Digitaria for many years, and also a owner of Clash Lion, so it was also a natural choice for me. In the end, it’s hard to pick my favourite mix.
Going back to the original mix, was there something that inspired the track? Was it a sound, something you saw or perhaps something that happened to you?
It all started when I was playing some electric bass over a drum machine sequence. I was just jamming and seeing where he music would take me, and in the end, I started to have some vocal ideas, then I started to develop the lyrics, it took a lot of time until I was happy with it. The lyrics are very personal and were inspired by things that happened in my life, but at the same time they are about something more general, cultural and political.
You were previously in a duo called ‘Digitaria’ and have mentioned that since working solo you’ve been able to take more risks. Why do you feel you were only able to take those risks as a solo artist?
Well, when you work alone you can do whatever you want, without having to negotiate with someone else. If I want to sample a whale singing to use a hi-hat, nobody will say this is not a good idea. So, in this way, it’s a bit risky, because there’s nobody else in the room to say something is right or wrong, and in the end, I just can trust my own instincts.
Are there any vital lessons you learned whilst being in the duo that have helped your solo work?
I learned a lot of things in the Digitaria years, for sure. How to program and write a track, how to DJ, how to develop a life act, how to talk to people, how to deal with labels, etc. I was very young when I became part of Digitaria, so everything was a sort of lesson for all those years. I am very grateful for that.
What would you say your main aim is as an artist and as a person?
I just want to keep making music, working with new people and having new challenges. I want to take my music as far as possible, always with a lot of creativity and love.
If you weren’t producing or DJing as a career, what do you think your back up plan would have been?
I really love producing and DJing but I also have lots of other interests. I studied Linguistics and Literature years ago. I really enjoyed the academic life routine and that environment, so I probably would be going deep into the world of the sociolinguistics, one of the areas that I liked most.
Your five favourite tracks of the moment?
Der Dritte Raum – Hale Bopp (Maceo Plex Edit)
Arpadys – Space Monkey
Fiberoot – Recodrillo (Shall Ocin Remix)
Chris & Cosey – Exotika
Thom Yorke – Suspirium
‘Dust’ by TERR is out now on Clash Lion buy here