A firm favourite of ours, it was high time that we got to know Tarn PK a little better. The release of his latest single, F.O.M.O., proved the perfect opportunity for a chat.

By Graeme Smith

About “the feeling that you’re falling behind and not doing enough,” F.O.M.O. is a track to which I’m sure plenty can relate. It’s the latest of a string of releases we’ve shared from Wellington, New Zealand’s Tarn PK, going back to 2022.

The track opens lightly before hitting some punchy electronic percussion. It trades blows with soft and soulful vocals in a textured and interested first verse. Lyrics inspired by the drudgery of a 9-to-5 desk job carry a certain melancholy there before things boil over during a soaring, pleading chorus. Tarn PK is a master of creating memorable pop structures in his arrangements and F.O.M.O. is no exception. The audible twists and turns keep coming as the track unfolds, finally arriving at a lingering, repeating close.

“[I’m] now pretty much in my mid twenties and seeing people around you now have adult jobs, it just makes you go ‘shit, I better get it together.’ This song really was an amalgamation of all of these feelings,” Tarn goes on to explain.

F.O.M.O. is the title track of Tarn PK’s upcoming EP, set for release 11 July 2025. The EP will also feature his April 2025 release, Cry Baby. The two tracks combine give us a sense of what the EP will have in store. “I felt this song and idea was an encapsulation of everything throughout the project as a whole,” he explains. “I’m so intrigued by the messy and simple, what can be brought into the pop world and then twisted to feel like something that isn’t being done at the moment.”

There is certainly an originality to his sound which keeps me coming back to it. It’s great acting as witness to his developing career too. How does he think his sound has changed in that time?

“People ask a lot of artists to figure out their sound from the get go,” he says. “I’ve been releasing music since I was seventeen and I’m a different person to who I was at the age. It’s natural that the music will have changed vastly from that starting point. I’m always working to deepen my appreciation for music and I’m sure I’ll continue to grow going forwards.”

I asked him about how it was to pull together the EP.

“Sometimes you have an idea of what the project is going to be, but this one took a long time to wrangle all of the pieces into their final form,” he says. “I spent almost two years writing and recording stuff that would eventually turn into this project; you plant a lot of seeds and just see what grows. It’s exciting when you start listening back and the connections begin to become visible. The ‘aha moment’ was the title, once I had that I felt like this is the next project. Interestingly Cry Baby, which now feels so central to the EP, was the last song to come and I had thought it may be on a different project, but it just made sense surrounded by the other tracks.”

Speaking of Cry Baby, it was a track that got Tarn PK a lot of attention, including places on editorial playlists on Apple Music and Spotify. What did he make of that?

“It’s always cool if the music can connect in some way with people, streaming services are definitely great ways to get it out there,” he says. “I try to not pay too much mind to those external factors, keeping my head down and focusing on the music is usually best.”

It’s a sensible approach from an artist who still has everything ahead of him. With the single out and the EP on its way. What else can we expect from him?

“It’s early days but I’m excited where things are headed. I’m currently rehearsing for some live performances in the future,” he says.

Those live performances probably won’t, for now, including any stops on this side of the world, but who knows what the future might bring…

In the meantime, F.O.M.O. is out now and you can check it out below.