T. G. Shand on writing ‘Sizing The Waltz’ and finding inspiration in the music she loves

Ōtautahi shoegaze artist T. G. Shand is set to release ‘Sizing The Waltz’ tomorrow. It's her first single of the year and a preview of more music planned for 2027. We got the scoop on the song’s beginnings, working with guitarist Hope Robertson and the influences that continue to shape her sound.

‘Sizing The Waltz’ is your first new single this year. Where did the song start, and what was happening creatively when you wrote it?

I'd had the intro guitar chords for about 6 months and had been humming along to that, and was initially hearing it with some Beach Boys style harmonies. When I started recording and writing the rest of it, it came together super quickly over a day or so. It ended up with a bit more grit in there than I'd initially heard. 

You’ve described the track as bringing together 90s shoegaze, dream-pop and modern hip-hop. Those influences have been part of your sound for a while. How have you been experimenting with them on this release?

These descriptions are more something I use as a label to help people know what the music is going to sound like to decide if it's their bag and worth their time to take a listen. It's not something I think about when I'm writing. I just (try) to write the music I'd like to hear. My fav artists this year have been Logic1000 and Big Piig, so that slightly higher bpm probably tied into it! 

You’ve handled much of the writing and production on your previous releases yourself. This time you’ve brought Hope Robertson in on guitar. How did that collaboration come about, and what did she bring to the track that you might not have found on your own?

Hope is one of those born talented folks, she came out of the womb cool and with impeccable taste. We vaguely knew each other from Dunedin in the late 2000s, but met again when she moved up to Ōtautahi a few years ago. At the time Lucinda (Death and The Maiden) was playing bass in T. G. Shand, and we were doing a 'friends come along' rehearsal ahead of playing our first show (Nest Fest), and she came along to watch that. I think it was later that year that Hope started playing bass in T. G. Shand, and then we moved to the duo version to play live a year after that. So it's been a few years of playing together! She's an incredible guitarist, like when she plays guitar for T. G. live, sometimes I'm like goddamn I wish I wrote that. SO beautiful - and such a pro that the melodies sound voluminous and spacious and also hooky at the same time. For the guitar parts she did on Sizing The Waltz, we recorded it at a practice at home, she's said before that she writes when the guitar is in her hands, so I chucked some headphones on her (the chord was too short so she was having to lean over lol), and she just... did it lol. Quite amazing. 

Your 2023 EP Cinnamon picked up the Student Radio Network's Best EP award and topped the NZ Alternative Charts. Has the response to that record changed the way you approach making music, or do you still follow the same instincts?

No change - but honestly stuff like this really encourages you to just keep you going and keep making music. I hope the NZ music community understands how much of a difference it makes to musicians. It always feels so embarrassing putting music out there, so it's stuff like this that helps you keep going. 

You spent time in Melbourne playing with shoegaze band Miniatures before bringing T. G. Shand to life in Ōtautahi. How much of that earlier experience still comes through in your music?

A lot! Che (Miniatures) introduced me to the wider world of shoegaze and it's still some of my favourite music. I never played guitar, but I think part of why I learned guitar instead of returning to synthy music when I moved back to NZ was because of his guitar playing. Also the standards of musicianship and songwriting he has is pretty next level. 

‘Sizing The Waltz’ is the first taste of more music coming in 2027. Are you already thinking about how these new songs fit together, and can we expect more of this direction from T. G. Shand? 

I think there's at least an EP in the works, will see how much music I can write over summer!