Tegan And Sara

Thu 22nd Apr, 2010 in Features

A few months following the release of their sixth studio album Sainthood, Tegan Quinn – one half of indie-rock siblings Tegan And Sara – seizes the chance to reflect. “Even though we’ve done this six times now, its still scary the day the record gets sent out,” she admits. “You still worry, and its about two months of wondering what people are going to think and how the media is going to respond to the new record. But I find our audience to be really loyal and super open-minded,”

It would be their audience, both old and new, from the faithful to the explicitly fanatical that quickly aided Sainthood in achieving both critical and commercial acclaim in Australia as well as abroad. You can ask just about anyone who’s seen them: Tegan And Sara force queues that form hours prior, lines often extending into suspect alleyways.

It’s a level of support is undoubtedly founded upon the affinity fans feel with their music, latching onto their favourite of the sisters’ many phrases and ideas, as well as steadfast themes and explorations of love, devotion and relationships strewn across their work. It’s a phenomenon Tegan embraces. “I walk that fine line of putting my own personal emotions and feelings into songs, writing from my own experience, whilst also trying to keep it general enough that the average person listening to it can connect,” she explains of her writing. “Obviously my life is very different from your life, but I want you to be able to hear it and feel a connection to it, and to me, therefore. So I definitely think that’s something that we consciously go for.”

I indulge for a moment in recalling time spent with a friend on Fitzroy’s Brunswick Street, carefully perusing the booklet and the written sentiments of 2004’s So Jealous in anticipation of a new tattoo. It’s a level of fanaticism above the norm, but one that Tegan herself is familiar with. “It’s pretty common actually. And you know what, up until the day that I got Bruce Springsteen lyrics on my body, I thought it was really weird,” she muses. “Then I did that and thought maybe it’s not that weird,”

The issue of the ‘ultimate’ fan seems to be one of great intrigue to the pair, Tegan considering the varied natures and experiences of their audience. “I think sometimes people – and when I say people, I think the media, and us too – we sometimes confuse people being fanatical about our music and the band with being fanatical about us. There is a fine line,” she reasons.

“I think when people come up and they’ve tattooed a lyric or phrase or a particular image on them, I have to remind myself of my own experience. There is that kind of very intense, obsessive attachment to what we do, and that does cross the line for a lot of people. I think for a lot of people it becomes about us, but Sara and I are always there to remind them that we’re just average, everyday people that we’re not nearly as cool as you think we are and that it should be about the music. Because it really is about the music.”

And their music, even now, continues to evolve. Something that may come as a surprise to many is the newly formed collaboration of, well, Tegan And Sara. Sainthood marks the sisters’ first co-songwriting venture. “Casual listeners just assumed we write all the songs together. I think they’d be really shocked to hear what we come up with when we actually write together,” she laughs.

However, as interesting and as refreshing as the teamwork can be, working together has its fair share of difficulties too. Tegan can identify why the collaboration has only now emerged. “I think ultimately its got less to do with not wanting to write with each other and more just wanting to write alone. It’s such a vulnerable, sensitive state to be in,” she notes. “It takes a lot of patience to write a song, and I think when you have an audience you all of a sudden become impatient. I don’t know if that always brings a good result.”

It was the merits of lone songwriting that laid the groundwork for the Tegan And Sara we know and love. “Sara and I wrote on our own at first. We secretly had both explored on the guitar and piano, writing, and then decided to collaborate on something with a combined effort to finish the song,” she remembers. “It was right around that time that our parents were secretly listening outside the door. ‘What are you doing in there?’ ‘We’re songwriting, leave us alone!’”

“We started recording the songs that we wrote together, but mostly we wrote separately. We would bring a structure or an incomplete song to the other one and write a guitar part or sing some vocal parts or contribute something. Even back then we worked separately.”

“I think [now] we’ll definitely do more songwriting together,” Tegan announces proudly. “I think our most successful attempt at it was for Paperback Head for our record. But there were a few other songs that we wrote that are great that we hope to release at some point. It would be cool for people to hear them.”

Fast forward to the present, and Tegan And Sara are set to embark on their latest nationwide tour, with sold-out dates and more since announced. Its business as usual, but Tegan is remains eager to return to Australia. “I think [the tour] will be good. I was joking about how it’s kind of like the greatest hits setlist. We’re playing the new record but every other song played – and we’re playing twenty-three to twenty-five songs a night – is old stuff. So it’s like all the hits from all the different records. It’s quite enjoyable.”