On her latest release, We Got You, pianist and songwriter Vienna Teng explores the concept of duality, both lyrically and structurally. The idea came in 2020 as Teng navigated the pandemic, her roles as artist and activist and as a caregiver for her family, including her newborn daughter.
"I just got the idea that like, what if I wrote a song that sort of encapsulate this experience where it's two different songs but you play them simultaneously and it sounds both chaotic and like it makes some kind of sense," said Teng. "It's the sound of people trying to make sense of holding all of this at the same time."
We Got You is comprised of two songs that can be listened to individually, and a third song that combines the other two into a new work.
"I hope that they both work and stand on their own individually. And then when you put them together, it's a bit much in some ways, but the goal was for them to actually sound if you like really kind of sink yourself into it, it becomes like a richer picture and a richer duet as a result."
Teng's music often intersects with her other life's work, climate solutions. She recently made the 2025 Grist 50 list, which recognizes climate leaders from a variety of industries.
"I really care deeply about climate solutions and just being one of the practical, what do we do now kind of people when it comes to big issues like climate change. And at this point also interwoven with it civic life and democracy and how we live alongside one another and figure out hard things together," she said. "The same part of me that is driven to write songs standing in other people's shoes, it's the same thing that leads me to do deep canvassing shifts, right? It's same empathy and the same desire to understand other people stories and to kind of chronicle or be the soundtrack of people doing cool stuff that kind of leads me to both of the things that have kind of pulled me in different directions."
Vienna Teng will perform at Clark State Performing Arts Center on Thursday, October 9 as part of the Club Kuss series.. Tickets and more information are available at pac.clarkstate.edu
