From Chicago to Nashville, TN, the dynamic artist, and mesmerizing singer-songwriter Layla Frankel releases an emotionally-impacting single entitled "TLC."
Too bluesy for country artists and too poppy for folk, Layla Frankel didn't fit into a box and decided to stop trying. Discovering her unique sound described as "Soulcana," Layla Frankel basks in the glory of genres like pop, folk, soul, rock, and blues, all to serve listeners wild versatility that keeps anyone engaged.
Now releasing the first track, "TLC," off of her upcoming fan-funded EP 'Postcard from the Moon,' Layla Frankel mentioned that this song was written shortly after the Parkland shooting in 2018 as a means of processing the emotional turmoil of the situation.
"Though the song came from a specific historical event, I think it continues to be relevant and relatable - especially in our current political climate," states Frankel.
Hitting play on "TLC," the song opens with uplifting instrumentals through bright piano melodies and warm acoustic guitar strums. As Layla Frankel begins singing of the tragedy that took place in Parkland three years back, she takes us through incredibly vivid and gut-wrenching scenes that put society on a pedestal and asks if we're genuinely and healthily healing from these tragedies.
As the instrumentation begins to swell with fluttering woodwind instrumentals in the background, twangy electric guitar pulses, and a mid-tempo drum beat, we can feel the emotion and sadness that Layla Frankel has crafted this piece with. Ending the song off on a contemplative note while exclaiming that all anyone is looking for is some tender love and care, Layla Frankel has truly outdone herself with such a meaningful piece like this.
Allow Layla Frankel to remind you of healthy healing through her latest single, "TLC," and prepare yourself for more emotion-evoking songs on her forthcoming EP 'Postcard from the Moon," releasing later this year.
We highly appreciate the emotion and reality you've placed into your single "TLC." What pushed you to create a piece surrounding the 2018 Parkland shooting?
I wrote the song shortly after the shooting as a way of processing my own emotions and despair. At the time there was palpable collective mourning and feelings of confusion and despair. So I wrote the song as a way of naming the emotion and calling for a response to it.
What did you want your listeners to learn from your lyricism within "TLC?" What message did you want to stand out?
I would hope that the lyrics offer something people can connect with. The song was my way of trying to understand and make sense of a situation that was really challenging and was just a call for comfort. The lyric “our cup of sorrow is full enough to share/ and all we’re really looking for is tender loving care” was a reminder to look for the bigger picture instead of getting carried away with the hysteria of the media.
Was it challenging to write from a place of hardship and grief for your single "TLC?"
I’ve written a lot of angry, resentful songs and I think in the aftermath of tragic events it’s very easy and almost expected to go to that place. But this song actually wasn’t meant to be about that. It was just coming from a more pensive and I think even hopeful place. It could even be considered a prayer for a more compassionate culture and society. If you’re able to see past the anger and resentment, I think art that’s centered around hope is really the balm we’re in need of.
How did your songwriting process go?
I wrote this one pretty quickly. I came up with the guitar riff first – the syncopated, finger-picked motif throughout the verses – and then just being in that sort of contemplative, moody headspace allowed the lyrics to kind of write themselves. I remember being up pretty late finishing it, so I sang the original voice memo very softly into my phone so as not to disturb my roommates. And the final master track is actually fairly close to the original, the only change being the doubling of the line “all we’re looking for” which gave the song more of a chorus section than in the original version. That was my producer, Jim Kimball’s idea. We wanted to give the song a kind of sing-along feel, which felt appropriate given the song’s theme.
How does "TLC" tie in with your forthcoming EP 'Postcard from the Moon?' Do you delve into more emotional and vivid scenes within the EP?
“TLC” is the first track on the EP and was actually the song that I sent to Jim when the project was still in its idea phase. It was the ground floor of the EP, if you will because we really felt that the message of the song was relevant and needed to be heard urgently. The other songs aren’t as politically charged, but there’s a strong emotion in every song I write. “Dear Jennie,” for instance, was my interpretation of a letter found in a library book in 1914, and I used the basic template of the letter to craft a heart-wrenching backstory. “Westward Bound,” is an image-heavy recounting of an experience I had traveling through Ireland, and then “Josephine” is a love song to the ethereal power that is "the muse." I try to keep my subject matter pretty varied, but my motivation as a songwriter is to write about subjects and stories that interest me. And emotion is such an inherent part of storytelling; I don't think you can have one without the other.