TAN COLOGNE

Tan Cologne is the music duo of Lauren Green and Marissa Macias based in Northern New Mexico. The two artists work in sonic and tactile modalities inspired by both Earthly and otherworldly landscapes.

We met Lauren and Marissa last September when they were passing through London on tour. They are the beautiful humans featured in our webshop wearing AW22.

 

Where are you from/where did you grow up?

Marissa was born and raised in the Pico Neighborhood of Santa Monica, CA. Lauren grew up in a small town outside of Austin in central Texas.

 

Where do you currently reside?

We reside in Taos, New Mexico where we have been since 2014. It is the place where we met and the place where we both live, work, and create.

 

Where were you photographed for this story? 

We were photographed in our home and studio with our dog, Cowboy, in New Mexico.

 

Please describe who you are/what you do.

We are a music duo known as Tan Cologne as well as interdisciplinary artists. Our project began when we first started creating soundscapes for experiences we would host at our once-mysterious-gallery known as “Psychic Sink”. We then began sculpting our sound and started including lyrics and vocals to the mix. We focus on outer worlds and landscapes, examining different terrains together, imagined and existing. We write, record and perform everything on our albums.

 

Individually, Lauren is woodworker, wood sculptor, and pursues various creative endeavors. Marissa hand dyes and paints textiles, always evolving in her visual communication, photography and design. Currently, both Lauren and Marissa instruct woodworking and teach textile classes at a local high school. 

 

What are you working on/interested in/preoccupied with at the moment?  

We have started recording our next album and are also finishing the final design elements for a project we completed this past Fall at Pescetrullo in Puglia, Italy. 

In parallel, we have been making a lot of fires, cooking, and researching spaces, pathways and materials for upcoming projects. The last couple of months have been centered in a more physical realm of making, recording and teaching. 

 

 

What does community look like for you?

When we see Maria working at the market and she says “Hey girls, the boys have colds, but let’s get together soon…maybe for the dances” and then Mason’s grandfather waves us over to his check out line and tells us “Mason’s home and he’s 6 now. He calls me bro and his hair is long, look…” and Marie at work talking about the snow covering her porch. All the little details and stories shared over small experiences within a day are powerful and power-filled in this rare place. It feels like trust, and that feels like a sense of awareness and real perspectives of community. To understand a place as each other's stories. 

 

Is there a sense of belonging to a place in your work? If so please share how.

We use landscape as dialogue and are continuously observing. We belong as witnesses and visitors.

 

What does self care look like for you?

Having time to let the mind rest, being warm, submerging in water, hair trimming, cooking.

 

Please share a ritual or routine that marks your day.

Opening the blinds and letting the light in begins the day. Caring for the animals is the routine. Visiting the neighbor’s horse down the road is important daily. Wine and candles at night for our loved ones and good wishes, after all things.

 

 

 

Currently on your mind:

 

A sound:

L - Crows on the roof

M - House creaking

 

A scent:

L - Cedar wood

M - Eucalyptus oil

 

An item of clothing: 

L - Cowboy boots 

M -  thermal underwear 

 

Something from the natural world:

L - Arugula growing in my cold frame 

M - Jesse’s rocks

 

A meal:

L - A stew we created one time called “woodland creature stew" - it is what a woodland creature would make for their guests

M - Steak y veggies

 

An artist/maker:

L - Artist Laura Soto

M - Candlemaker Doña Viviana