Using her voice as an instrument along with a natural flair for melodic invention, Melbourne born Tess Cunningham writes filmic instrumental pieces accompanied by intricate visual artwork and videos from her subterranean studio in London. Having already built up a sizeable body of work drawing influences ranging from classical ballet to drone metal, Tess has had an eclectic performance education including stage and film appearances and now she has branched into composing for film, most recently creating a haunting piano soundscape for ‘The Markfield Monster’.

When not releasing music under her own name, Tess has an ever evolving guitar based side project Tess in Venice

She also appears on Berlin based DJ’s Subhuman Bros song ‘Waiting’ from their album Dream Theatre.

“It is hard to believe that her EP is a debut, as she has a bedrock maturity that usually comes from developing many studio productions……Tess Cunningham is irrefutably original with a voice that could make an angel high-five her.” – penny black music

“hooks galore and a kind of hippie / garden rock underbelly….with Tess in Venice’s artful inspirational aesthetic” – American Pancake

Spending her childhood performing and touring professionally as a ballet dancer and leaving home while still a teenager, Tess came upon songwriting as a means of expressing her feelings outside of the rigid confines of the ballet world. Teaching herself to record the songs in her bedroom or hotel rooms on her travels she eventually found herself in her new chosen hometown of London. Tess began to play her songs live sometimes alone with her keyboard, at other times with her first band (Tess and the D’Urbervilles). This resulted in the self release ‘Let’s Compare Scars’ an evocative collection of piano and lyric driven songs.

Keen to step out from behind the keys Tess taught herself to play guitar and started a new guitar based project ‘Tess in Venice’ releasing a raw, off-kilter guitar EP Flood Heart Fly and garnering radio play (Frank Skinner/Absolute Radio) for the lead single, Once Upon A Time.

Tess returned to the piano for her next release, a full album of stripped down filmic instrumental pieces ‘Songs Without Words’.

Tess continued to release instrumentals throughout 2020 as well as the single ‘Learn To Fly’ as Tess in Venice. Now working on new material, after taking time to gather lyrical ideas, Tess’s new music is coming soon…..