Tesse (Feature Artist)

Each week at Small Time, we collaborate with a local artist to showcase their music, merch and host a live performance.

Multidisciplinary artist Tom Stephens creates intimate visual and sonic worlds under the moniker Tesse.

Tesse has supported internationally acclaimed acts such as Stella Donnelly, Jack River and Angie McMahon, as well as being a contributing member to some of Australia’s most notable bands and singer-songwriters (Julia Jacklin, Phantastic Ferniture).

Stephens’ late-2020 single ‘My Madeline’ is an exuberant and soaring exploration of the struggles of suburbia. Deviating from the specific and personal nature of his powerful 2018 debut album ‘How It All Unfolds’, ‘My Madeline’ sees Stephens tackle his subject matter from a bird’s eye view, using a character study to more profoundly examine the ebbs and flows of ordinary life.

Stephens’ latest release ‘Better Than I’ll Be’ sees him take his passion for the visual language to a whole new level and marks his directorial debut with a short film written and directed with collaborator Matt Maule. It is a raw and moving piece of cinema showcasing Stephens’ delicate understanding of the human condition in an immense and undeniable way.

The accompanying track of the same name was produced by Stephens himself, working alongside renowned Melbourne based engineers Alex O’Gorman (Angie McMahon) and Joe Carra (Courtney Barnett, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard).

*The Small Time Feature Artist program is an inclusive initiative dedicated to elevating and supporting artists through network, performance and promotion.