Temme Scott Premieres “A Lot to Lose”

“It’s literally just f**king songs.”

Temme Scott is unpretentious.

Based in Los Angeles, Scott doesn’t shy away from rawness. Her candid lyrics and folk influenced singer-songwriter melodies fuse with gritty intonation and soulful but tender vocals to reveal something hiding in plain sight. Vulnerability is her biggest strength, but she’s also, in her own words, “really just trying to have a good time.”

After cutting her teeth in the industry as a teenager with her Baltimore-based band Say Chance, Scott gave up pursuing music, discouraged by the inauthenticity bred by finding success at such a young age, and moved across the country to attend junior college in San Luis Obispo, CA. After transferring to UCLA to pursue a degree in psychology, Taylor Emily auditioned for the annual student music competition Spring Sing “because my friend told me to” she says, and out of shyness created the moniker ‘Temme Scott’ for herself, a portmanteau of her first and middle names, plus her father’s name, Scott. During her senior year, Scott spent a semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she immersed herself in the indie music scene, playing her first solo shows at cafes all around the city. She discovered the excitement of playing live all over again, “this time more honestly,” and jumped back into action upon returning to LA.

Today, Scott navigates the L.A. music scene with the levity of someone entering a room full of old friends — usually because that’s exactly what she’s doing. In February 2020, she held a month-long residency at the Bootleg Theater, where she performed alongside a weekly lineup of local musicians, most of whom would at some point call up a friend or two from the audience to join them onstage. In keeping with this DIY collaborative spirit, Scott hosts Silverhouse Songs, a self-curated house show series she throws with her roommates.

Scott’s music evokes the earnestness of a child playing in a sandbox — though with markedly more adult themes. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty, to get dust under her fingernails, so long as she’s being honest with all of us about what she makes and what she feels.

Scott’s forthcoming album, “Trust You, Trust You,” is due for a 2020 release.