Photo: Kait De Angelis

Nate Terepka, former co-frontman of Brooklyn psychedelic pop band Zula, has unveiled the first single from his forthcoming debut solo EP Not Yet. The track, titled ‘Silence’, features guitar contributions from his cousin Henry Terepka, also a former member of Zula, and drums by Booker Stardrum. Set for release on July 19th, Not Yet traces the emotional journey of a breakup with a longtime partner. Over the course of five tracks, Terepka explores themes of love, heartbreak, and closure. Drawing inspiration from artists like Robert Wyatt and Sparklehorse, Not Yet “build[s] from a palette of sophisticated and bright psychedelic baroque pop”, as the press release explains.

The creation of Not Yet marked Terepka’s return to music after the disbanding of Zula in 2019 and a period of focusing on teaching music in Portland, Oregon. “At that moment,” Terepka says, “I let go of my ambition to ‘make it’ professionally as an artist, which was really liberating. I told myself I wouldn’t work on any new music until I organically and genuinely felt like it.”

Despite the album’s exploration of emotional collapse, Not Yet remains hopeful. Terepka comments:

“Working on this new set of songs and recordings felt very pure. It was the first time since I was an adolescent that I was making music for my own self-expression, untainted by ambitions for any particular kind of success in a scene. I think that’s why I feel so good about this project.”

Now take a listen to ‘Silence’.