Song You Need To Know: Tatiana Hazel, ‘It’s All Right’

Tatiana Hazel has been strengthening her DIY abilities for a long time now: She’s a Chicago-born, Mexican-American singer, writer, producer, and fashion designer who has been quietly releasing her own music and videos since she was 13. Her latest EP, And the World Will Turn, was an opportunity for her to lean even more into her homespun skills. It came together during the pandemic — Tatiana had just moved to Los Angeles and was alone as the city shut down, so she spent her time perfecting the five songs that appear on the project, handling every piece, from writing to recording to mixing to video creation.

One of the tracks, “It’s All Right,” feels like an anthem for powering through periods of non-stop uncertainty. Hazel, who said in a release that And the World Will Turn gave her a chance to work out past traumas, starts the song with distant, spiky guitars before launching into her lyrics, delivered with both gentle optimism and crisp matter-of-factness: “Life is such a blessing and a curse/But I know that shit, it could always be worse.” She glides seamlessly into the chorus, her voice air-light and gauzy, as though she’s soothing herself and reassuring anyone listening. “It’s all right, it’s all right” she sings, “As long as I know that you love me.” The song is an ode to letting things go and embracing silver linings, laid-back and breezy enough to avoid getting schmaltzy.

Tatiana explained recently that “It’s All Right” was inspired by the Sam Cooke classic of the same name, and it was her attempt at creating a piece of music that comforted others the same way Cooke’s song had offered her solace. It also represents an evolving maturity in Tatiana’s work; the EP is full of glimmering, synth-happy indie-pop songs that show the creative evolution that came while she made it through difficulty.

Find a playlist of all of our recent Songs You Need to Know selections on Spotify.