Introducing:Tara Nome Doyle

Fresh off the release of her spellbinding third album Ekko, Berlin-based Irish-Norwegian artist Tara Nome Doyle invites us into a world where myth, memory, and melody collide. Known for her haunting vocals and cinematic art pop, Tara has earned international acclaim from the likes of Vogue Japan, The Irish Times, and The Line of Best Fit. With Ekko, she turns her gaze both outward and inward—exploring pain, farewells, and the quiet power of transformation.

We caught up with Tara to talk minimalist production, ancient myths in the age of algorithms, and why sometimes the most profound sound is the one you hear within.

1.Ekko feels like both an inward journey and an outward exploration. What personal or creative turning points led you to make this your most emotionally distilled album to date?

During the writing process of Ekko I felt very lost - the songs were my attempt at re-entering, returning to my intuition and trusting myself to know the right answers.

2. You’ve referenced Echo and Narcissus as thematic touchpoints — how did ancient mythology help you explore modern ideas around identity, especially in our hyper-digital world?

There is so much timeless wisdom in these ancient myths and I think that it can be quite comforting to realise that the issues we face today have actually been around for a very long time. The myth of Echo and Narcissus in particular helped me re-frame my mental state and explore it from a more objective, curious standpoint. I challenged myself to create a different ending of Echos story - one where she regains her individuality after loosing Narcissus. And through this process I was also able to imagine a more optimistic future for myself.

3. There’s a beautiful intimacy to the arrangements, especially with the string parts you first recorded vocally. What drew you to that hands-on, minimalist approach in producing Ekko?

Ekko is the first album I’ve produced myself and I wanted to stick to what I know. Minimalist arrangements just feel the most authentic to me and it was so much fun finding ways to weave in tiny details and complexities whilst still staying through to a very direct sound.

4. You’ve collaborated with talents like Isobel Waller-Bridge and Simon Goff — how do those creative partnerships push your own songwriting or vision?

Every time I get to work with incredible musicians I take new ideas, new approaches with me. Both of the artists you mentioned have had a significant impact on my work. Isobel has a really interesting way of building song structures (she often chooses unexpected bar repetitions to break things up in an organic way) and Simon is a master of sound design and marrying rhythmic and harmonic elements with a distinctive drive.

5. The shell headphones on the album cover suggest a deep kind of introspection. What did listening inward mean for you in this chapter, and how has that shaped who you are now as both an artist and a person?

Listening inwards can be very uncomfortable when you don’t like what you hear - or when you realise you don’t hear anything at all anymore. But daring to listen, to quiet down and make space for this inner voice is the only way of reconnecting to a path that feels honest and exciting. Although I struggled a lot with this album I’m very grateful for the things it taught me: self-sufficiency, reduction and trusting my vision.