T4TEARS

Sophomore Album
RELEASE DATE January 24, 2025

1.  t4thirteen feat. Faun Vium
2.  From Hell feat. Andras_2020
3.  moon feat. Hanieh Bozorgnia
4.  Six Feet Under feat. Laura Totenhagen
5.  my hubris feat. Cat Jugravu
6.  Unfuck my soul
7.  Last of me feat. بنیامین
8.  everything i want to say is here feat. Jenny Browne
9.  Letter to Trace (13)
10. Ice Melts feat. Hanitra Wagner


FOLLOWING HER DEBUT ALBUM FUCKING AND DREAMING, COLOGNE-BASED SONGWRITER, PRODUCER, PERFORMER AND MULTI INSTRUMENTALIST TRACE PRESENTS ALBUM T4TEARS, HER MOST DARING AND HONEST WORK TO DATE.

T4TEARS EXPLORES THE ARTIST’S JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY AND IDENTITY, BOLDLY SHARING EXPERIENCES OF GRIEF AND HEALING. HERE, TRACE DRAWS FROM THE DYNAMIC ELECTRONIC PALETTE OF FUCKING AND DREAMING, THIS TIME PAINTING WITH DIFFERENT COLORS, TAKING HER TEXTURED RHYTHMS INTO A DEEPER AND MORE VULNERABLE PLACE. ASSEMBLING A GROUP OF FELLOW QUEER ARTISTS AND KINDRED SPIRITS AS COLLABORATORS, T4TEARS ALSO ACTS AS A MEDITATION ON THE POWER OF THE COLLECTIVE.

TRACE DESCRIBES HER PROJECT AS A DOORWAY TO RECONNECT WITH HER YOUNGER TRANS SELF, INCORPORATING THE MUSICAL ELEMENTS THAT DEFINED HER TEENAGE YEARS: ACOUSTIC GUITARS AND DIARY ENTRIES THAT PLAY OUT INTO RAW LYRICS. IN “MY HUBRIS”, FEATURING BERLIN-BASED ROMANIAN PERFORMER CAT JUGRAVU, TRACE ADMITS: “I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT LOVE IS FOR THE OTHER AND NOT FOR MYSELF.” LATER, IN THE TRIUMPHANT POP PUNK SONG “LETTERS TO TRACE (13)” SHE SINGS: “I WANT TO LOVE YOU BETTER, NOW I’M HOLDING LETTERS IN MY HAND.”
STYLISTICALLY, THE RECORD ADDRESSES THE GAPS AND INCONSISTENCIES OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES THROUGH INTENTIONAL GLITCHES AND BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL ON THE ALBUM OPENER “T4THIRTEEN”, REFLECTING THE COMPLEXITY OF MAKING SENSE OF PERSONAL TRAUMA.

INCORPORATING MEMBERS OF HER CHOSEN FAMILY AS COLLABORATORS ON THE RECORD, T4TEARS SHINES A LIGHT ON THE NECESSITY OF INTERDEPENDENCE AND COLLECTIVITY WITHIN QUEER COMMUNITIES. TRACE SAYS: “IT’S DEFINITELY A STATEMENT TO THE POWER OF TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITIES AND HOW THEY CAN SAVE US BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE MY CHOSEN FAMILY REALLY HAS DONE THAT FOR ME. I DON'T THINK I WOULD HAVE SURVIVED THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF TRANSITION AND DAILY TRANSPHOBIA IF I DIDN’T HAVE THEM AROUND ME.” ACCOMPANIED BY THE BACKDROP OF CALMING BIRD SOUNDS IN “LAST OF ME”, بنیامین SINGS: “CRAWLING THROUGH THE ASHES OF WHAT’S BEEN HERE BEFORE, MOTHERLESS CHILD, YOU’RE REACHING OUT YOUR HAND, BUT THE WORLD SEEMS TO IGNORE.”

THE FINAL TRACK OF T4TEARS, TITLED “ICE MELTS”, IS A POIGNANT REFLECTION ON EMBRACING VULNERABILITY. HANITRA WAGNER'S VOCALS CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF HOW SADNESS CAN TRANSFORM INTO SOMETHING REMARKABLY BEAUTIFUL. AS THE SAXOPHONE'S SOUND LIFTS HIGHER AND HIGHER, IT INVITES US TO CONTEMPLATE THE STRENGTH OF OUR INNER CHILD, IF ONLY WE ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO EMBRACE HER.

SUPPORTED BY BEIRAT POPKULTUR KULTURAMT, CITY OF COLOGNE.

SUPPORTED BY INITIATIVE MUSIK GGMBH WITH PROJECT FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONER FOR CULTURE AND MEDIA.