Tylo is a guitarist, singer, and recent music school graduate whose upcoming 3-song EP, 6 is coming out in a few days, on October 1, 2022. Specifically, she’s a recent Cornish graduate initially hailing from small-town Ozark, Arkansas but now living full time in Seattle, Washington. On October 1, Tylo’s new EP, 6 is coming out just about a year after her first solo album, The Descent. Tylo creates music with an exciting intersection of genres, including elements of doom, folk, goth, blues, and even shoegaze influences. Behind the musical themes is a clear lyrical and philosophical interest in folklore, religion, and mythology.
With Tylo’s first song on the EP, “Hekate” these mythological themes can immediately be recognized through the title alone. I asked Tylo what Hekate meant, especially as it relates to her, and she said, “Hekate is a Greek Goddess, she is involved with, or I guess the goddess of witchcraft and the keeper of the doorways in between words. So she keeps the underworld separate from, like I guess, the ‘upper world’ and guards those gates in between worlds.” Tylo continued, “And she’s got super powerful symbology too with dogs and animals, like the three-headed dog [Cerberus]. And snakes and other really cool shit. So I just think she’s a cool and powerful symbol of witchcraft.”
Clearly interested in witchcraft, I followed up with how witchcraft affects Tylo and how it intersects with her own life. “I guess in the same kind of realm of power, I think it’s like a really powerful connection for women, but also just anyone, [like a bridge between] nature and ourselves. It’s a really good way to be in tune with what we used to be in tune with. I guess like everything that we used to be, you know like the moon and the stars and the sun, and like the energy of the Earth and all of that.” Tylo continued, “I really like to implement [themes of witchcraft] in my music just because that is something that I think has been lost in past years. Like we’re super connected to technology now but not so much to each other and nature. And so I really like using that kind of imagery in my music.”
For an EP of only 3 songs, Tylo’s 6 showcases a resounding and precise fractal of this natural, old world that she’s interested in exploring. Following “Hekate” are the songs, “Lifeblood” and “Son of Mine” which have similar themes, highlighting the power of women, mythology, and even some ironic Biblical imagery. When I asked Tylo about the role traditional Biblical imagery played in her music and its origin, she said, “You know, I was Christian my whole life and I feel like everything I know revolved around that for so long. Like I think the Bible is a really cool book, just to learn about, not to follow. But you know, I think it’s really interesting, similar to Greek mythology. There’s a lot of cool stuff in there to pull from and it’s pretty brutal too.”
While almost every element of the EP was orchestrated by Tylo, including singing, guitar, mixing, and mastering, Billy Payne played the drums for this project, and Beckett Martin did the bass tracks. Tylo is planning two shows for her EP release in October, one on October 14th at the Cryptatropa Bar in Olympia and one on October 21st at the Skylark Cafe in West Seattle. If you can’t make it, be sure to check out 6 on Spotify or Apple Music on October 1!