The Moment Tartie Knew Her Music Resonated With People

When asked to sum up their sound, a lot of emergent artists tend to um and ah. But for Tartie (aka Tash Anderson), there doesn't seem to be any ambiguity in what she's making. "It's alternative pop," says the young singer-songwriter. "Think Lana Del Rey meets Missy Higgins."

Recorded at Bradshaw Music Productions in Burwood with producer Lee Bradshaw, Anderson's freshly minted EP, Your Today, has the same clear vision, something that isn't too surprising coming from a self-described perfectionist. Written over a month-long period (mostly while Anderson was doing her laundry), the EP was inspired by a relationship that went tits up (as they say), but also one that Anderson had hoped might find its feet again. Not so, unfortunately, and Your Today is heavily focused on "the ramifications of what happened during the time that was spent apart".

Heartbreak has always been artistic lingua franca, from Shakespeare to anything John Cusack made before the mid-'00s. The deep frustration and hurt are universally understood and, meshed with her frank approach, Anderson seems to have struck a powerful chord with her audience.

"I sang Dorothy at a charity event in Melbourne. At the time I didn't know whether I would include it on the EP, however I played it live and had girls coming up to me asking what happened with my relationship. It was then that I knew it had resonated." In the time since, Dorothy has become Anderson's favourite track on the record. "It's the one that gets the most response when I play live and it's a massive sing-along tune. I love what the song represents and how, even though it's about my bike, it parallels with a relationship which has 'rusted'."