TORRES
The Great
Balancing Act
Words by Sean Hamilton
Photography by Emily Maye
In the creative heart of Brooklyn, New York, Mackenzie Scott, known artistically as TORRES, weaves her own unique universe of music, motion, and emotion. Since 2013, under the moniker TORRES, she has crafted a distinctive journey in the music world, culminating in her latest offering, "What an Enormous Room," her sixth studio album. Operating with a fusion of athletic vigor and introspective creativity, Scott embodies a complex tapestry of experiences. We joined her at her Brooklyn studio, followed by a run in the dog-laden Fort Greene Park, which offered a glimpse into the world of a self-described former jock turned introspective artist, where the subtle magic of creativity and releasing powers of exertion unite in harmony.
What redirected you and got you back to movement?
MS: In November 2018, I got a membership at the Lower East Side Chinatown Y and started jogging on the treadmill; before that, my relationship with running had been very team-oriented. I love team sports, but maybe I didn't love running because I don't love running with other people.
I would dread the cross-country practice. I would dread the races. I would dread the track meet. It gave me an adrenaline burst, but the act was very challenging. So when I started running at the Y in 2018, people were working out around me, but the practice felt very individualistic. I wasn’t treating it like a competition.
Over time, I found that the kinetic energy is similar to the feeling I get when performing a song on stage. It's this build, and then you expel it. It is this form of release. It’s the same pleasure that I derived from having that release on stage, you know, with not just my instrument, but with my body, using my body in this way where I'm more than exercising, I'm exorcising all of it.
Do you find that running ties into your creative process? Is it a part of it in any way?
MS: For me, running permeates the creative process and vice versa. When I started running again, the way that I wrote songs was really movement-oriented. I wouldn't have considered how listening to a record felt in terms of pacing and moving the body before.
I think a lot about what I will do on stage when I'm running. But it also helps me work out other things in my head–everything from upcoming performances, songwriting, or thinking about my relationships. It's wide-spanning. I carry around a pretty good amount of natural rage. Whether it's about myself or the injustice everywhere, I carry it around, and running helps me with that. I recently heard that depression is rage turned inward. And I think if I'm feeling depressed or if I'm feeling enraged, it does feel like different sides of the same coin to me, and if I'm feeling anything like that, I usually try to go for a run.
It has become the great balancer.
"I carry around a pretty good amount of natural rage. Whether it’s about myself or the injustice everywhere, I carry it around, and running helps me with that."
You have a record coming out in January. Can you tell us about it?
MS: It's called "What an Enormous Room". The song that line is from is called "Jerk into Joy." I repeat this line: What an enormous room, what an enormous room. Look at all the dancing I can do. Look at all the dancing I can do.
For me, it's a very movement-oriented record, and the title track is very movement-oriented. It's literally about using physical motion to get yourself out of anything.
It comes out on January 26th, and I'm touring in the US in January and March. And then I'm doing a bit of European touring in February. So, right now, the focus is preparing myself mentally and physically for the tour, which is always a very physical and mental feat. So a lot of running in, you know, suboptimal conditions. I am trying to stick with it, stick with the outdoor runs, no matter what the temperature is, no matter what the weather is, just preparing myself for challenges.
You perform in running clothes predominantly now, right?
MS: I do, which is funny. I didn't intend for that.
You didn't intend for that, but was it a process born of the physical nature of performing?
MS: Yeah, well, I really do think of them the same way. When I thought about my clothes on stage and my movements, I noticed that the clothes I wore before were restrictive and not conducive to throwing myself around like I wanted to—jumping around, running, getting down on the ground. The clothes I used to wear on stage were confining and uncomfortable, so I started wearing running clothes to perform. I can do the same movements that I can when I'm running.
Watching Mackenzie run her chosen local loop and hone her craft in the comforting confines of her home studio, with her loyal dog Sylvia by her side, was a poignant reminder that running is more than just a sport. It's a wellspring of creativity that flows into other realms of life. This revelation is at the heart of our Creators Series, where we delve into the lives of runners who channel their passion for the sport into diverse creative endeavors and, conversely, draw inspiration from their artistic pursuits to enrich their running experiences and vice-versa. This series continues to explore the symbiotic relationship between running and creativity, showcasing how one feeds into the other, forming a continuous loop of inspiration and expression.
