Hello, my name is Tyaan, I am from New Zealand, and this is my debut album "Splendor".

The word Splendor came from a book that I read, written and illustrated by an incredible artist called Leigh McCloskey. He used the word Splendor to describe the force that created the thing that dreamed up every living thing's experience of reality. McCloskey often says in his interviews that in his art, he is using the tools of creation to ask questions about the nature of creation. For me, this means that allowing yourself to surrender to your creative instincts, can help you understand this same creative force that created you and your experience. I like this idea, and it made me spend more time indulging in imaginations, dreams, and free association, teaching me a lot about how my mind works. I like to think that my entire existence is the expression of a fleeting emotion in the midst of a big dream of some ancient mystical being. If I am made of the same creative force that made that being, I see no reason I should not be able to create something new in my mind that is as complex as meaningful as my self. Splendor is a very pretty word that I am using to describe this big ol’ splurge of creation unfolding all over the place.

I urge people to be as creative as possible when listening to this music. This is not music for background listening. Immerse yourself, allow yourself to create landscapes and stories in your head, driven by the emotions and memories that the music triggers. Make them as complex and detailed as possible, and don't stop to think for too long. The experience you have inside the story you create is no less real or important than the stuff you just spent your day doing. There is as much an art in listening to music as there is in the creation.

Each of these songs for me has a story or emotional idea associated with it. Some of these stories were created while experiencing the song after it was written, and some songs were created with a concept already in mind. I genuinely feel like these songs are a reasonably good representation of how it felt to be Tyaan around this time, and I'm glad I can share that with people.

The musicians featured on this album are all home grown in the beautiful land of Aotearoa, New Zealand. They are some of my favourite Kiwi musicians, and I’m super thankful for the effort and passion they put into playing my music.

The pianist, Leonardo Coghini has been a close friend of mine since early high school. We grew up together and have been playing together for 10 years or so, and our entire concept and understanding of music grew together. I am very happy to have him on this album. I can always rely on him to bring an intensity and musical sensitivity that is unparalleled in anyone else that I know.
On bass is another long-time friend of mine Ollie Bomann. Ollie and I went to high school together in NZ, and he now lives in the US, studying jazz at NYU. Ollie recorded all the bass parts for this in a few hours, with only one day to learn everything, after a solid two-week bender visiting New Zealand in his school summer holidays. He is an absolute champion, honestly.
Two drummers are featured on this album. On Mount Pleasant and Attack Monkey is Hikurangi Schaverian-Kaa, a Wellington based jazz drummer that I have been playing with since early high school. I chose Hikurangi because his playing always gives me a feeling of fun childish creative freedom, which was exactly what I wanted for this project. Splendor, Rotund and Alive feature Sam Notman, also from Wellington. Sam has the power to create stanky beats that will make your unborn son weep. He's a beast, I love it.
Featured on the song Attack Monkey is guitarist Ashton Sellars, another great Wellington jazz musician who is currently living in Europe. Ashton is becoming well known for incredible musicality and technical proficiency in the worlds of hip-hop and jazz. I love his style and aesthetic and am super happy to have him featured in this album.

Mixed and Mastered by Mike Marciano at Systems Two, Brooklyn, NY

Recorded by Tyaan with help from Shaan Singh. Drums recorded by Lee Prebble at Surgery Studios, Wellington, NZ

Beautiful artwork by Elvira Edmonds