Tantric just released their brand new album "Mercury Retrograde" via Pavement Entertainment and to celebrate we asked frontman Hugo Ferreira to tell us about the track "Letting Go". Here is the story:
Letting Go, although billed as the "new single" from the Mercury Retrograde album by Tantric, is actually a song that never saw the light of day from the Tantric III album that never came out when Maverick Records (who had released the 1st two Tantric albums, Madonna's Vanity Label through Time Warner) unraveled and many bands were tossed out.
The song was originally released on the band's "Myspace" page in frustration with knowing the album was essentially tracked and finished but had no label to release it. Jesse Vest (bass) had left to be with family, and co-writer Todd Whitener (guitarist/vocals) had announced his departure from Tantric the same day the songs were released to Myspace and my band was now fully dismantled.
Taking us to how it saw it's release in 2018; I reached out to Todd after most of Mercury Retrograde was ready to go into the studio for final recordings. It was time the song saw the light of day and after years of no communication, he felt the same. My new band (Sebastian LaBar on guitar, Jaron Gulino on bass and Troy
Patrick Farrell on drums) had tracked the new version of Letting Go and although it was new guys tracking the song from the demos released 10 years ago, it still sounded like classic Tantric.
My producer Chuck Alkazian (Pearl Sound Studios) and I thought we'd send the track to Todd just so he could hear what we did with it and we not only got his blessing, he agreed to track acoustic guitars and add his signature vocal to the bridge portion of the song. Many people who are fans of Tantric are now just finding out Todd is on this song, the first single and it really ties the classic Tantric to the new Tantric. It's a legit "handoff" if you will.
About the song; Simply put, everyone might get something from this as they should, but essentially for me, it's about moving forward when someone has wronged you or something has done you bad. Letting Go is about not giving the power to that negative element, person or feeling and accepting it in a way for what it isn't vs. what it is.
We all have a fear of "letting go" of things, but you should try it some time, you might just find peace in it.
LETTING GO:
THERE WAS A TIME NOT LONG AGO
THAT I WAS TRULY BLIND THE WATER'S DEEP
AND YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU'VE LEFT BEHIND
WASTED BREATH FALLEN WORDS
UPON FORSAKENED HEARTS
I SEE YOU THERE
SO IF I LOOK IN YOUR EYES
AND THEN I SEE ALL THE LIES YOU'VE TOLD
THERE'S CONSEQUENCE FOR EVIDENCE CONTROL
YOU FOOLED ME WITH YOUR DISGUISE
AND ALL THE THOUSANDS OF TIMES YOU'VE SHOWN
A PART OF YOU IN FEAR OF LETTING GO
I STILL DWELL UPON THE PAST
THESE WOUNDS ARE HARD TO HEAL
JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU THINGS WILL LAST
ANOTHER SIDE'S REVEALED
TRY TO LEARN WITHIN YOURSELF
LOOK TO BRIGHTER DAYS
WASTED BREATH FALLEN WORDS
THAT YOU SAY
SO IF I LOOK IN YOUR EYES
AND THEN I SEE ALL THE LIES YOU'VE TOLD
THERE'S CONSEQUENCE FOR EVIDENCE CONTROL
YOU FOOLED ME WITH YOUR DISGUISE
AND ALL THE THOUSANDS OF TIMES YOU'VE SHOWN
A PART OF YOU IN FEAR OF LETTING GO
I AM MY OWN INSTABILITY
I AM TO HOLD A PART OF YOU IN ME
SO IF I LOOK IN YOUR EYES
AND THEN I SEE ALL THE LIES YOU'VE TOLD
THERE'S CONSEQUENCE FOR EVIDENCE CONTROL
YOU FOOLED ME WITH YOUR DISGUISE
AND ALL THE THOUSANDS OF TIMES YOU'VE SHOWN
A PART OF YOU IN FEAR OF LETTING GO
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
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