Introducing Tentendo and his effortlessly cool, R&B-infused new single One Stop Shop

Melbourne's status as a watering hole for some of Australia's most exciting names in electronica, hip-hop and indie is notorious within the Australian music industry, with the city's extensive music scene constantly pumping out high-tier acts who shine above the rest. Examples are endless, but a new one we'd like to point out is Tentendo - a Melbourne-based producer and bassist who just delivered one of the most intriguing debuts of 2017. Previously known as the bassist for Australian R&B outfit Billy Davis, a recent wrist injury forced the bassist to pick up a new production method, heading over to the world of computerised synthesis for his new alias. One Stop Shop is the first peep we've heard from Tentendo thus far, but it's a pearler, combining a soaring vocal line slightly reminiscent of names like Tinashe with a sensual groove, with Tentendo's influences in D'Angelo, Dilla and Flying Lotus shining through the single's stripped back and soulful instrumental. In order to get to know the emerging name and his addictive sound, we sent Tentendo a couple of quick questions to find out what his deal is, and about his new single One Stop Shop.

Tell us about yourself?

I’m a 24-year-old music producer from Melbourne; I studied music performance at university for a few years playing bass. I made the shift to producing more seriously after I got a wrist injury and couldn’t really play my instrument at all. I had training in music obviously but I taught myself pretty much everything I know about producing, Youtube has probably been my biggest teacher haha. I produce and play bass with Billy Davis as well as a few other artists. 

What’s the vibe music-wise?

I find myself enjoying a lot of different music and don’t want to be able to limit myself. But for the last while, my music has been predominately influenced by Hip-Hop, Soul and RnB sounds. Anything with a fat groove usually grabs my attention.

What are your production and writing processes like?

It differs from track to track- I love when I can sit with someone and create something on the spot together and I equally like sketching out an instrumental on my own - then sending it to a vocalist to write to. Pretty much everything is done in my bedroom with a fairly minimal setup.

Can you tell us about your new track, One Stop Shop?

One Stop Shop is a collaboration with one of my close friends. I sent her a rough instrumental of the song and we got together, fleshed it out a bit more and continued touching it up over the course of a few weeks sending it back and forth. We also had a dope lunch by the Warrandyte River. A good meal is key to a good collaboration. 

What’s the rest of your year have in store?

I’ve got a bunch of music I’ve produced that will be getting released over the coming months - Billy Davis, Blasko and Jordan Dennis being the main ones. We’ve started building a collective of like-minded artists in Melbourne, called Bad Opera. We had our first show at Howler in early June and sold it out. It was really special to have so many people there to share our sound with. Other than that I’ll be piecing together an instrumental release for myself and there are several other projects that are in the works.

Where can we find more of your music?

SOUNDCLOUD

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