Tanya Aquino Music

Dear friends, I present to you the closing chapter for the Tangled era; My Own Shoes, a collection of the singles I've released since 2021, when I first began making music for myself and by myself as Tangled.  An end in a way - but also a beginning (see the end of this post to find out why!). 

You can find My Own Shoes on streaming services … here is a link to Spotify but it's on all the usual suspects as well as Bandcamp.  

I didn't set out to write and record an album.  This is the product of an organic process of writing songs, recording them and then - for want of anything better to do with them - publishing them.  If I had thought about it I would never have imaged that I'd do it without anyone's assistance.  But that is what I did.  I wrote, performed, mixed, mastered and released 11 songs* - enough content for an album.  Every little piece of what had to be done to turn an idea into a finished product and get these songs out into the world was done by me, alone.  I taught myself as I went.  I did the album art, I made the videos.  I learned how to programme drums and write bass lines.  I did it all with my hands (and no AI :)).  I'm pretty proud of that.   

Why have I done this?

It's a little bit of a line-drawing exercise and marks a change of musical direction and approach for me, to go along with my change of performer name.  Wrapping up what was done as Tangled into a package - to make way for what comes next.  Two things really.   I have after a long time learned how to trust again in collaboration (thanks in no small part to those listed below) after a previously not so great experience.  Plus I want to stretch my wings.  Doing everything alone, while very satisfying, is inherently limiting.  I cannot, alone, produce the guitar solo I hear in my head - or that tom groove I KNOW has to go with song so that it can be the best version of itself.  So alone, I make the version that I can make - which sometimes isn't what I actually wanted.  

So - the next thing I am going to do is make an album that is exactly what I want, not just what I can.  Or at least, an EP.  I will be working with the supremely talented Mr Nathan Gaunt to do that.

Although I've said I did it alone, I didn't do it without support.  Some of you may not have even realised how much your support meant.  So, even though I've not won an Oscar, here is my list of thank you's.

Duncan.  For believing in me and telling me you did.  Before you said anything to me, I honestly didn't think anyone else would be the least bit interested in what I was making.  To have someone I respect as a person, a player and a connoisseur of music in general say that they liked my tunes and provide the encouragement you did, meant so much.  I think my foray into original music would probably have ended without you.  Thanks matey, I owe you big time.

Ivan.  Having you travel from a place of not being keen on original music - and definitely not mine!  to saying to me that you genuinely appreciated and liked what I'd made - that made a difference.  Now you know words matter … and I know that the parts between and around the words are just as important to a song.  Win, win for both of us in our musical growth.  Thank you.

Bod.  Always honest and kind, my musical litmus tester.  Thank you for being there, my friend.  You are such a talented person.  One day we will get on a stage together again, I promise.

Patrick G.  Having someone I met through music and an accomplished musician in your own right - appreciate my stuff (i.e not just because you were a friend or family member and had to be kind!) was a new thing for me.  You have always been so kind and supportive - and full of really insightful suggestions about mixes and arrangements when I was very green and learning the ropes.  Thanks buddy.  So glad our paths crossed all that long time ago. 

The crew. I have been beyond lucky to be surrounded by a bunch of people who are just always there for me - and it, whatever I do, all the time.  You lot are a gift.  To my posse (Edgar and Denise), my Ceduna family (all of you lot, you know who you are), to Shon and my Aquino family - thank you.

I hope you enjoy these little stories I made and let loose into the world.  And please stay tuned for what's next, I'll keep you posted.  I'm really excited to see what comes of it.

___

*Apart from Beautiful Sweet, of course which is a collaboration with the awesome and talented Meg Travers.

Musically, I'm like a child in a sweet shop.  Or a guitarist at Billy Hydes.  I want to try EVERYTHING.  Concurrently, preferably.  Cover bands, tributes, solo, duo or trio.  Lead or BV's.  Write and produce originals, play guitar, make orchestral versions of pop songs … you name it I'll give it a try.

This has it's pros and cons.  

Big pro is that it's heaps of fun and I've met a ton of really cool people doing it.  Have been part of a huge variety of different shows as a result and learned sooooo much.  I'm so incredibly grateful for the experiences I've had, proud of (most) of the things I've been part of and humbled by the appreciation people have expressed for what I do.

Con is - people get confused and sometimes disappointed.  Sometimes you're doing stuff that doesn't fit the picture they have of you.  Or the picture of what a ‘real musician’ does.  You're not cool.  You're “selling out” (I'm quoting a real thing someone said to me, once).  You're less credible.  You scramble your ‘brand’.  You get the idea.

For this reason, I've had this series of very separate musical “personalities”.  I separated all the different kinds of music stuff I do.  “Tangled” was supposed to be the place where I was a serious independent songwriter/performer/producer.  Tangled didn't wear ridiculous wigs and sparkly boots.  Noooo, she was strumming a beautiful acoustic guitar in some verdant setting, looking soulful and telling serious stories about life and learning.  Pfft.  Right on.  That was just as much a construct as any of the other personalities - and probably the least honest. 

In 2025 all the carefully curated and constructed boundaries between my various musical personalities started collapsing and blending together.  Not only that - but the careful line I'd put between my ‘musical personalities’ and the actual me (Tanya Aquino - mother of two, drinker of wine, lover of fairy lights, plants and cats) began to blur.   On the words of my song Queen, “How did you find me out?”  

So I decided fuck it all and I'm just going to let it go (see what I did there, one last Tangled reference .. :)) and I went with it.  And I write this in mid-2026, here we are, back here it started.  With me, Tanya.   

So that's why I stopped being Tangled.  It began to feel inauthentic, curated.  So now there's one persona, one place - from the most heartfelt and serious songs I might write … to the most ridiculous wig-wearing antic I feel like getting up to.  All mixed together, all the colours - no curation and no constructs.  No “brand”.

Let's see how it goes.  Maybe it'll make brown.  But then again, we might get lucky and it could be a rainbow.

My Dad loved Leonard Cohen.  

He played his music often and so I, in turn, grew to love Leonard Cohen. But it was my Uncle Peter who introduced me to Jennifer Warnes' album Famous Blue Raincoat, which is her interpretations of Cohen's music.  I would have been about 15 I think.  I fell in love with it.  I must have listened to it a million times. 

The album will be 40 years old in November.  How wild is that?  

Anyway, tonight I got home and put the album on - and then randomly felt like singing.  For no reason at all I sat down and bashed out a couple of covers.  

One take wonders, so forgive any blues and blips but here they are!

Fun fact, like an idiot it was only recently I joined the dots between the Jennifer Warnes who sang “I had the time of my life” and the Jennifer Warnes who sang this album.  No idea why I didn't clock they were the same beautiful voice.  Now have a whole new appreciation for that song.  

And why, I hear you ask,  am I waving a pencil around?  NFI - I wasn't even aware I'd picked it up.  

Chat later kiddies!

I've just been to do my tax.  The person helping me (Sam) asked, “is this (music) a business or a hobby?”

And that's quite the question, isn't it.

Sam observed that if marketing is involved, it's a business.  She was probably talking about tax rules but it resonated with me in a completely different way.

Music has always been a hobby, something I do for fun, because I love it, because it makes me happy.  Some people play footy, others decorate cakes - I write songs and sing them.  

However, here we are - with a website and music-specific social media pages where I make posts about what I do and try to encourage other people to come to the things I'm doing.  

In other words - marketing.  

Sam (and the tax office) were right.  You don't tend to market a hobby.  You might tell people about it because you're proud of it or want to show it off.  But marketing is what you do when you are trying to get someone to “buy” something.  Or be interested in something.  To like something, maybe?  

This shifts the dynamic entirely.   It's not enough to just be quietly pleased that I made up a nice song that I like and enjoy singing - to internally self validate.  Now you need external validation …  you need other people (ideally not just your mum and your cats) to also like your song and like listening to you sing it.

And this is where imposter syndrome kicks in.  I see my friends and others I know who are far, far more talented and skilled than I am - and I wonder what on earth I'm thinking.   And that, frankly is just uncomfortable.

It would be nice to just be able to consider this issue, land on a way to feel about it and move on.  But this one is like standing on one of those things you get to improve your balance.  Constantly wobbling about, leaning one way then another depending on the day.  Sometimes within a day!

I don't think I'm alone.  Let me know if you also feel like that too xx

A little while ago I started a gratitude jar.  

I had become ill and I thought I wouldn't be able to sing again.  Which made me realise I had taken so much - music and life in general - for granted.  And that I needed to make a practice of being grateful.  

So every now and then I write something on a bit of paper and stick it in the jar.  And every now and then when I'm feeling a bit blue or even just having an entitled diva moment - I look at them to remind myself how lucky I actually am.  And how I should stop bitching and moaning about stupid things.

So today I was having a moment - and I pulled some of the ones out just now that relate to music.  And it's inspired me to write this series of thank yous. 

Thank you to the freaking amazing people from the audience that I've met and gotten to know over the last few years.   Who show up time and time again to watch shows.  Thank you to the people I've never met before who say such incredibly kind things to me.  Or show their appreciation via social media.  That includes friends of friends who have come along in support.  You are actual heroes.  You guys spend your time and your money on us.  Even when times are hard.  And I appreciate that so very much.

Thank you to the sharers and supporters.  The people who take pictures and videos, who post about shows, blog about shows, share the love for things they've seen so others can experience them.  I've said it before but it's so hard to get the footage of shows we need in this world where nothing is real if it doesn't exist on social media.  You guys are lifesavers.  And from a consumer of music standpoint, I love it when I see bits of shows I've not seen and can celebrate the talent we have here in WA vicariously.  You taking the time to do that, is so very much appreciated.

Thank you to the people who organise shows we play in.  That's booking agents, as well as the driven, inspired (read: crazy) people in bands who put nights together and invite other bands to play with them.  Anyone who has ever put on a show knows how much work goes into organising it - and it exponential;y increases with the size of the show - no economy of scale there.  These folk bust a gut - we waltz in, show pony around, bask in the glory of doing our thing and waltz off again.  They work their arses off, sometimes don't get paid and often, don't even get thanked.  Well, fucking thank you.

Thank you to the soundies, the lighting techs and all the other crew who make a show happen.  You make us look and sound better than we really are, just quietly there in the background.  Sometimes you tell us about it (hehehhe) sometimes you don't.  You arrive early, leave late and put up with all of our diva shit in the middle.  You're amazing and we could not do this without you.

Without everyone above doing what they do - none of it would happen and everyone - the venues and venue staff, the artists, the punters .. even down to the people who supply the stuff to the venues that people eat and drink when they come there to watch a show, would be at home watching MAFS*.  Which would entirely suck. 

So thanks.  I am really, really, really  grateful for all of you.

* Sorry if you like MAFS - I don't mean to upset you - it's just can't think of anything I'd like less to be doing.

In this post, I bid a fond farewell to Tangled. 

I'm not a fan of literality.  I far prefer it when people have to work a little to derive meaning.  I enjoy the variety of interpretation that creates.  I stand by this - despite the fact that my friend Ivan says he can never tell what my songs are about as a result :)

So when it comes to choosing an ‘operating name’ as an artist, it seems dull and obvious to choose to use my ‘actual’ name.  But friends, that is exactly what I have chosen to do.

If you're interested, this blog post talks about why I chose Tangled as an artist name for my original work. At some point if I get sufficiently philosophical I'll maybe talk about why I've now decided to use my actual name in another post. 

But the main thing to know now, I guess, is that it's happening - now.  And a few things are changing as a result.  

I have a new artist profile on Spotify and Apple Music.  All the music I've released thus far is now available under my name and Tangled is no more.  Other things changing as well - Facebook is changing.  Instagram is changing, Soundcloud is changing.  I have a shiny new bandcamp profile and a YouTube channel which (YouTube gods being willing .. ) will hopefully soon become a YouTube music channel.  This website also has a new domain. 

All this means - of course - is that if you had been kind enough to follow me on Spotify or add me to a playlist I would really love it if you'd follow me again as Tanya Aquino, put me back on the playlist, have a listen and so forth.  I'll stick a little list at the bottom of this.

And that is enough for this post I think.  But.  There are more things to come, quite a lot.  I have made this change for a reason after all!  Stay tuned, friends.

Thanks for being here and reading this - I appreciate you!

PS:  Here is a list of links to all the new things!  

Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Bandcamp | YouTube | Website | Facebook | Email |

Songwriters?  Does this happen to you?  

It's a heap of fun writing and recording .. particular when you're doing it in the company of good people - like this dude in the picture with me >>.  It's like this little bubble of happy, creative time.  I thrive on it, I could do it all day every day.  It's the actual thing, right - this is what it's actually about.  Music.  You don't want it to end, because of that - but also because then the rest of it needs to happen.

What's the rest of it?  So glad you asked.

Well once you've done the musical part of making music, there is a shit ton of other stuff that has to be done to get it to the point of being out there in the world.  Artwork, videos, release admin, shameless self promotion (SSP) in the form of social media blergh. Designing posters and merch.  Trying to take selfies with your iphone that are not horrific. See this post for my boomer adventures in selfies and I'm not even a boomer.  And then you launch it.  Aiiiee.  Band and venue logistics.  Ticket sales.  Do they let cats and infants in to make up numbers?

So you really need to knuckle down and concentrate on that stuff.  Get on with it.  RING the venue Tanya.  BOOK THE BOYS IN, THEY WILL ALL BE TOO BUSY IF YOU LEAVE IT TOO LONG!!

But no.  Another song has arrived and is living rent free in my head.  Banging off the insides of my skull while I try to sleep.  And I have to write it.  It won't let me alone. This is how it always is with songs, for me.  However right now it's ABSOLUTELY INCONVENIENT.  I am supposed to be FINISHING things not STARTING them.  Sigh,

Is it just me?  I think it's a good song though.  Let's see.

This post from a week or so ago contains an amount of whining about how hard it is to find a good font these days.  

Well I take it back.  Getting this profile picture was way harder.  

I am not very photogenic, there just isn't any getting around it.  I never have been.  I think the most you can say about my face is that it has character.  I'm fine with that, mostly.  It's only an issue when I have to produce a kind of half decent picture to do some SSP*.  

So the biggest problem for me is that I just can't work out where the hell the camera is on the phone.  I am always looking in random directions - and the photo screams “someone who does not know what they are doing, trying to take a picture with an iphone”.  Hardly very professional.  (Although who am I actually kidding … )

Anyway I think I took about thirty million pictures of myself today. This one was me about to give up in desperation except somehow I managed to be looking in the right direction.  Hallelujah!

*SSP = shameless self promotion.

Felt curious, may delete later.  

Actually maybe I'll just add to this random test blog.  And I'm pretty happy with my new logo so I think I will leave it here and show it off.  

But goddam finding a good font IS HARD WORK.  ESPECIALLY when you have an awkward name like mine.  (Who's dumb idea was it to use my actual name as an artist name … oh yeah, me :/).

Anyway I started down the rabbit hole of making my own, but pulled myself up short as I sat there at 3am googling how to make a SVG.  Enough is enough.  Then I found the font and … get this, it's called TAN Nightingale.  TAN probably stands for something in font-world but I was just stoked that I found a font named after me!  And so my font it shall be.

For <reasons> when I first started making music for and by myself, I decided I needed an artist name to operate under.  So I picked the name “Tangled” as a play on my nickname*.  

But now - it's time for Tangled to be laid to rest.

Why?  Because Disney. Well, mostly but not entirely. 

You can imagine.  If I appear at all in a search on social media - or even Google - it's at the very very very bottom of a really long to the point of unscrollable list of Disney and Disney-adjacent content.  Not to mention the covers of “Let it Go” that kept landing in my artist profile and I had to keep requesting be removed! 

So anyway.  I had a lot of chats about this with people.  Had some quite good suggestions for a new artist name (Untangled was one - which I quite liked - from my friend Lily).  But in the end, I am going to just use my own, actual name - Tanya Aquino.  Why?  And why now?  Well, that might be the subject of a blog post another day :) 

OK it's late where I am, and I have a day job to go to so I must away to bed.  Have a lovely day or night whatever time it is you're reading this.  Go forth and be happy.  As my friend (and awesome drummer) Andrew said to me today (and it made my day) - I appreciate you. 
___

* My nickname, if you're interested, is Tang and it was given to me by my dear friend Jason, who passed away suddenly, quite recently.  I miss him. And I won't go into how I got it, because it's not family friendly ;)