Meet Temi Krovblit

We were lucky to catch up with Temi Krovblit recently and have shared our conversation below.

Temi, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

My development of confidence and self esteem has definitely developed the more I perform. Being on stage in front of a live audience changes someone. It taught me how to improvise in situations that called for it, while maintaining a certain image for the audience. This is not at all to say that an image is a false portrayal of the person, it is in fact an amplification of their inner self. This is one of the many things that I love about performing music. My confidence also stems from my music, as I use it to control nerves on stage, using it as a stable foundation; the root of my self-esteem. In other words, the audience around me, while I’m performing, may be daunting, but if I close my eyes and focus on my music, my worries melt away. This is something I find truly impeccable, the pure ability that music has to change the state that I’m in. Self-esteem comes from learning that one needs to be positive when entering the music industry as it is very competitive and difficult. Believing in myself and having the support of loved ones has allowed me to build my self-esteem and confidence greatly. Recently I have realized that maturing is also a significant component in the development of confidence, realizing that the negative opinions of others is irrelevant. I begin to find that there are many more important things to focus on in life, and the way others perceive me is not one. It is crucial for me to treat myself with respect and understand how I am feeling mentally day to day to create a good sense of self-esteem, therefore being able to reflect that self love and happiness onto others.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a musician that writes songs, plays guitar, performs, and has hopes of professionally recording and getting produced. I have always loved music for its feel, its energy that it brings out in people. It is energy in the sense that it can evoke emotion, good or bad, bringing out past experiences and memories. Writing is sacred to the author, they have an interpretation that comes out when they need it to. Meaning that, when I write a song, it is not simply because I am told to write, but because I feel that I need to. When my emotions are so strong in that instance, I need to express how I feel. Then my perspective on the situation or my feelings may become stronger or change when I sing that song over and over. When I play what I have written to an audience it is left up to them to interpret the song on their own, each individual with a different outlook on life, therefore a different outlook on the song itself. This is something I find quite fascinating and is a large part of why I truly enjoy performing and sharing my music with the world. My hope is to be able to influence my audience in the best way possible, sharing my message with them, and allowing them to take my words and ideas into consideration. For example, one of my new unreleased song, called “Slow down”, addresses the way I feel about the quickness of life, and perhaps if we were to slow down and appreciate the little things, the grand moments, and the loving people around us, then we could have a fulfilling and enchanting life. It also discusses the imperfections of people and life itself, as I continue to assure the audience with use of repetition that “it’s okay” and “we’re still learning”. This is the way I wrote the song to be interpreted, but I also love that others may see the meaning in a completely different light, and maybe it will give them clarity on a certain situation or issue they have been dealing with. This is the joy of songwriting. The immense fulfillment of life, I find, is given through my ability to connect with my deepest emotions and evoke that in others, to inspire, and to always be able to dream.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Songwriting is something that is truly special for me, and as I grow and learn – transitioning into adulthood – I am able to build this skill through the study of literature. Writing in general is sacred to me because it is an outlet for me to express my inner most thoughts and feelings, as well as delve into discovering new parts of my identity. In other words “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say”, one of my favorite quotes by Flannery O’Connor. The self-expression that writing allows is quite amazing. Songwriting not only pushes me too deeply think about current situations I am going through in my life, but also help be through times of struggle as it gives me a healthy way to cope with challenging times. Studying different literary techniques as well as learning how to properly analyze texts broadens my awareness of potential growth in this area of my art; fine-tuning my skills. All literature is another interpretation of the one before it, as Northrop Frye said “Literature is a system of recurrent themes and characters, reinterpreted in new ways”, also known as intertextuality. I believe that to become great, you must look to those who were great before you, and study them, and take their ideas and interpretations and change them so that they are now your interpretations and perspectives. This is where great art comes from, this is why we study literature so heavily, and with such care, and we study it for its importance to influence the reader. That is what I love about songwriting. A skill that will continue to impact me and my followers throughout my journey.

As a performer, I must always be brave as well as outgoing as I face large audiences. Performing such personal music can be intimidating initially, yet I love how the audience is able to connect. I find that being outgoing is a quality that has served me well throughout my journey into the music industry. This industry is always growing, and the sheer competition that follows is impeccable and draining at times. I remind myself that it is necessary to keep a positive attitude as well as find those important connects, talking to people, and taking charge of what I want. When I see something I want to achieve, I go for it. Being scared never helped anybody. In this case and in life, being outgoing is a great quality, one that takes practice and may not come so naturally to everyone. It is difficult to fully attain this quality, as I found, but I would always tell myself not to listen to what others thought of me. It is a crucial step on the journey to success. With an outgoing and positive attitude I was able to find more performances and make better connections, giving myself the opportunity to achieve greatness. my advice to you is to do the same. Be comfortable with being uncomfortable and give yourself a chance to live your dreams. Always go for what you want, and never let anyone tell you otherwise.

I am a self taught musician who has taken time to learn how to sing, play guitar, ukulele, and write songs. These skills took years of practice and dedication to perfect, and I am still always learning how to grow in these areas. As they say, practice makes progress. In my journey, I live by this saying, as I continue to mold myself into a better musician one day at a time. In terms of songwriting, it is crucial that I continue to write songs regularly and finish them. You will get farther along if you continue to produce more work than trying to create a “hit-song” on the first try – an important idea that I have learned over the years. The action of trying and failing is what leads to succeeding as you begin to better yourself by honing your craft. Something to remember – never give up! Art is like a plant, without water it is unable to grow and become beautiful. The only way to grow and improve is to put effort into your art, regularly. Surround yourself in it and keep working on it, just remember, never stop!

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I feel that it is extremely important to be well rounded when it comes to music and life in general. Balance has always been a key component in my life as it has given me clearance in times of struggle. It is crucial for an artist to be working on all parts of their craft, this will make an ever improving musician – the best kind. That being said, continuing to grow one’s skill set is something to always keep in mind. Focusing on areas that you might not be as comfortable with is actually something that will make you a better musician in the end. I personally used to struggle with collaborating with other artists because music is something that is very personal to me and therefore I found it hard to share out at times. However, once I learned how to collaborate with others, I truly saw the good it could do for me and the others involved. This opened up new doors for me as well because the collaboration created space for me to share my strengths and them theirs. Overall it was a good learning experience that gave me the opportunity to expand my skills and abilities. I do whatever I can to improve each day, I will be forever improving, that is my goal.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/temis_music/profilecard/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• Youtube: https://tr.ee/_qQ12_HEcI
• Other: link tree: https://linktr.ee/Temi.K?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=4297d4f3-f901-4326-b1c8-8474f1bf497e

Image Credits

David Krovblit