6 minute read
Olivia Grace
Get ready for Olivia Grace! Freshly arrived in Los Angeles, this new indie-pop artist will blow your mind away thanks to her relatable lyrics and smooth voice. After releasing a couple of singles, she’s now ready to take over the world in 2019. Let’s sit for a second and dive into her world.
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On The Move: Hi Olivia! We’re happy to meet you. Can you tell us a bit about how you got into music?
Olivia Grace: I’ve been playing music since I was 8 years old. I got a keyboard as a gift from my parents. And then from there, it just took over and has become my life in a way. When I was very little, I remember seeing a movie where this girl would go to the Juilliard School and I was like « I’m gonna go there! ». I was only 10 and I didn’t even know at what time you were supposed to look for colleges and stuff. I didn’t actually go but it inspired me to want to study music. And now, I feel really lucky to be in L.A. and to pursue my career here because a lot of people don’t quite have this luck so that’s something I’m grateful for and proud of.
On The Move: Why choosing L.A?
Olivia Grace: So I went to school in Chicago and then I moved to New-York, and I was only there for a year but I wasn’t happy there. I had been visiting L.A doing a few writing trips, I came for an event in April last year and I kind of fall in love with the people that I was meeting, the music scene. So it just felt like the most natural move to me. It is just so easy to meet people from the music industry and reach out. They seem very welcoming. That’s what I love about L.A!
On The Move: How would you describe your own sound?
Olivia Grace: Quirky and intimate are the two words that come to my head. Introspective, kinda dreamy I guess.
On The Move: « Safe » is the first song you released after settling in Los Angeles. Can you tell us the story behind it?
Olivia Grace: So I wrote the song a while back, when I was at a very high point in a past relationship. So, that’s basically a love song but months and months went on and I didn’t get to actually record it until the relationship was over. So I really wanted to maintain that vibe I originally had when I wrote it but at the same time, it became a lot darker and nostalgic for me. That’s kinda how the sound got to be the way it is. It’s dark but it has the lyrics « I am safe with you » so it is kind of a cinematic emotional journey.
On The Move: And were you involved in the making of the music video?
Olivia Grace: So, I produced it and I worked with two cinematographers on it. I just knew that the inspiration for the video would be this feeling of loneliness and intimacy, something introspective and narrative. So we went out to Joshua Tree and also to the San Bernardino Mountains which was very isolated and beautiful. So it was kind of perfect for this!
On The Move: We can read online a lot of comparisons between you and Lana Del Rey. What do you think about it?
Olivia Grace: You know, I’ve just started to welcome it. I love her and I think she is so inspiring but I hadn’t listened to her in a long time actually and now, I’ve gone back to her music. At first, I thought that I had to be doing something that is a 100% me, that I couldn’t be compared to anybody. But then, I realised that’s just a freaking huge compliment!
On The Move: And it’s a thing, people and medias will always be establishing comparisons between artists, newcomers and confirmed ones…
Olivia Grace: Yes, and I’m definitely very flattered! It could be way worse (laughs) I used to be so obsessed with her in highschool. And now I guess I’m gettin back into her so yeah, I welcome it!
On The Move: Coming back to your own material, what is your writing process?
Olivia Grace: The writing process for every song is really different. For « Safe », I worked with a co-writer Josh Wood. I’ve done writing sessions before but this is the first time for my own artist project that I co-wrote a song before getting to the production part of it. Josh went for part of the song and then I produced it with Dave Burris and so starting the song, I was just lying in the park and heard a melody in my head and I wrote a couple lines, the first verse and I brought it to Josh and it became what it is now. But honestly, every song is so different. Sometimes it’s just me lying in bed and hearing melodies in my head or I go to a piano and start playing rough chords. Other times, I might be doing a co-writing session, someone would be playing around some production and we come up with something that I never would have on my own.
On The Move: Do you always write from experiences or sometimes, you put yourself in someone else’s shoes?
Olivia Grace: I’ve been asked that a couple of times before and at first, I used to say that I love writing about other characters as well, kind of making up stories… I do have some songs where I see no comparisons to myself but lately, I’ve been looking back to songs that I thought were about something I made up or just like creating characters and I realize « Wait a second!»… So I think that I do create stories if you will, but they always come back to my life in some ways.
On The Move: You’ve just released a new single. What’s its name and what can you tell us about it ?
Olivia Grace: It’s called « Higher Ground ». When I wrote the song, I made the decision to put myself first. I felt like in the relationship at that moment, I was making myself smaller to lift him up. It just didn’t feel healthy, so it was a very difficult decision but « Higher Ground » was very cathartic for me. And just getting the motions out and moving forward with my life was the decision that I made.
On The Move: Now you are totally independent, doing everything by yourself. What do you think are the biggest challenges at this point?
Olivia Grace: My music comes first but I’m also trying to think of everything I’m doing, all the different aspects of it. More strategic points in a way: releasing the songs, booking shows and having people to actually hear the songs. There’s also the creation of the artwork. Finding people to help me make the music video, cowriters… Just like everything. It can feel like a lot but yeah, all the different aspects, I’m trying to do it on my own. It feels very rewarding. I would love to have a team behind me but I’m just trying to find those people…
On The Move: Are you planning on releasing an EP or a full project anytime soon?
Olivia Grace: A 100%, I would love to release an EP or an album at some point. But for now, I’m just releasing singles and once I do have more of a team around me, I would release an EP to help push it. But right now, it is just singles. It’s also a way to keep movement going. And also, for me, as soon as a song is done, I just want to put it out like right away. So, waiting and waiting for all the songs… I definitely do want to release an EP at some point but I’m too excited just to put it out.
On The Move: Do you have any dream collaborations?
Olivia Grace: I don’t even know where to start with this. I love James Blake’s production. I would love to do something with him. I just feel like his songs are so beautiful. That’s always the first name that comes to my head. I don’t even know right now, there are so many artists!
On The Move: Do you have any shows planned?
Olivia Grace: I played a few different venues around L.A. I am working on scheduling a few shows right now. I think I might have something mid-December but I’m still waiting to confirm it. Otherwise, it will be probably January. But I’m trying to play at least, once a month or every two months or so. I would love to play School Night at some point. I feel like it might be a little early for me. Right now, when I play live, it is just me and a piano. But it’s definitely on my list of goals to have people behind me and have the production of my songs live.
On The Move: Which artists are you listening to right now?
Olivia Grace: Claire Laffut, the French artist I was talking about. I am kind of obsessed. She just released her EP. She had one song for like the longest time. I love her! Daniel Caesar, I love his music. Millie Turner also. H.E.R. is really cool too!
INTERVIEW BY Pam Charbit AND CORALINE BLAISE PHOTOS BY Jonathan Benbaruk EXCLUSIVELY FOR ON THE MOVE
