The Rise of Pan Terra
Words by Zachary Weg
Photography by Dario Tejada
Shortly after graduating from Brown University, Oluwatomilayo Madarikan found herself in New York, adjusting to adulthood and detoxing by taking the Brazilian martial arts class, Capoeira. After earning her first cord, her instructor noticed Madarikan’s innate fierceness and crowned her “Pantera,” or “Panther.” Madarikan then adapted this name to “Pan Tèrra.” A star was born.
Pan Tèrra, a Nigerian former software engineer now based in Los Angeles, is one of the most compelling independent musicians on the scene. Purveying a sound that she calls “Feminine Rage Funk,” Pan Tèrra is set to release her debut EP, Seeing Red, on October 9. Co-produced by herself and led by the sizzling second single, “Dragon,” the album blends elements of funk, rock, R&B, and Afrobeats to startling effect. To begin with, it’s her voice.
“I started singing when I was seven,” she says by phone on a recent Monday afternoon, sitting at a café in downtown LA. “I always knew that I wanted to be some sort of performer, but I wasn’t sure what the avenue was. Then I watched The Sound of Music and I tried to imitate Julie Andrews’ character, Maria. And I felt like, ‘Oh, wow! I sound pretty good.’ And, honestly, I just never looked back.”
Not long after seeing the classic wartime musical, Pan Tèrra immersed herself in various genres and artists. “Lots of R&B and soul,” she says. “Around the age of 11 or 12, I kind of discovered that I loved Diana Ross and The Supremes. Loved a lot of Motown acts, and got a bit into jazz, but I would say my biggest childhood musical fixation was Michael Jackson, for sure.”
Like Jackson, Pan Tèrra has extraordinary vocal range and can reach those sky-high notes. Also like the late King of Pop, Pan Tèrra finds a certain release when singing.
“I’m a Capricorn,” she continues with a chuckle. “I spend a lot of time in my head. I plan a lot…But when I’m singing, when I’m performing, when I’m songwriting—which I do by freestyling—it’s very physical, it’s very spiritual. It doesn’t feel like I’m really using, like, my brain at all; it just feels very embodied, and that’s something I’m really grateful for.”
Hearing Pan Tèrra’s vocals on Seeing Red, the listener may very well be reminded of the greats: Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Adele, and, yes, Beyoncé. “I adore Beyoncé,” Pan Tèrra says with a laugh. “I find her incredibly inspiring. Growing up, I really liked Beyoncé as a solo artist, as a kid. And then when she was in Destiny’s Child. I remember being three-years-old in England and watching her perform on Top of the Pops as part of Destiny’s Child…The way that she uses harmony is incredible.”
Like Bey, Pan Tèrra doesn’t just sing to the heavens; she almost instantly connects with listeners. On Seeing Red opener, “Eve,” for example, Pan Tèrra speaks to the betrayed and anyone who’s ever been wronged in a close friendship, as when she sings, “She was so selfish,/I was naive.” Painfully yet beautifully resonant, the simmering opener is especially intriguing for Pan Tèrra’s freestyled lyrics.
While many singers come to the studio with lyrics or write in the studio, Pan Tèrra takes a more spontaneous approach and, like a rapper, can freestyle on the spot. “Basically, what tends to happen is that, if I’m working with another producer and they show me some beat, and I’m feeling drawn to it, I’ll just kind of start freestyling ideas over it,” she explains.
“Something that I’ve learned over the years is to make sure that I’m recording everything because, a lot of the time, that very first freestyle may be the best or may come with the most raw, organic ideas that I can then work with later.”
Seeing Red lead single, “Quit My Job,” was developed this way. Her co-producer, Rob Aragón, laid down funky bass and drums, and, as Pan Tèrra says, she “freestyled the hook. The rhythm came next. So, a lot of the time, the words may not be fully set in the freestyle but I’ll know what melodies.” The bass-heavy “Quit My Job,” with ratcheting guitars that recall Ratatat and shouts of, “Go Tèrra,” over fast beats and handclaps, is certainly a marvel of production.
Like Seeing Red as a whole, however, it’s also the sound of empowerment. The EP can easily be heard as a suite about empowerment, both individual and collective. While the third track, “Man of the House,” for example, is a song of defiance of social norms, Pan Tèrra telling the man to “Get on your feet,” the horn-backed closer, “Sparta,” is seemingly about self-empowerment. It’s a battle cry.
“I want people to come away from this feeling empowered,” she says of Seeing Red. “But I also want people to come away from this feeling like they have been able to look within themselves. And reflect, meditate, and excavate whatever emotions they may need to in order to create that feeling of empowerment.”
In the end, though, Pan Tèrra just wants “people to dance. I want people to feel like these are enjoyable songs. I want them to feel like these are dramatic songs because I think they are a little dramatic sometimes. I just want people to have a good time.” Behind her stellar voice and sterling production, Pan Tèrra is poised to do just that.