From Ireland to Nashville, TN, the gifted pop artist and singer-songwriter Grace Day releases the second single off her upcoming EP, 'Cities,' with "Bordeaux."
Making waves in the Ireland music scene through teaming up with various DJs and producers across the country, Grace Day found herself delving into genres like electronic, alt-pop, country, and other infectious sounds. Fueling her music with her confessionally-poetic lyricism and acoustic guitar, Day is now eager to garner the attention of listeners in North America.
Through her latest single, "Bordeaux," Grace Day offers listeners the inner monologue of a wanderer while bringing them into one of France's most romantic cities for a brief moment in time. While the sonics offer highly serene and organic elements, we're also met with the tenderness of heartfelt pop production, offering more of a Taylor Swift approach.
Jumping into "Bordeaux," the song begins with Grace Day's bright acoustic guitar and her soothing vocal portray. While singing of falling head over heels for someone new and describing their every way, Grace Day continues on this passionate venture and depicts reminiscing on past love as she cracks open a new bottle of wine and sinks herself into reflection.
Moving onto the chorus, Grace Day takes us through an incredibly heartfelt atmosphere with her descriptive lyricism and equally tender sonics. While the production begins to expand with warm pop elements, the song comes to an end and keeps us wanting more of such genuine and descriptive love songs like this.
Open your bottle of "Bordeaux" with Grace Day's latest single, and prepare yourself for her forthcoming EP 'Cities,' later this year.
We're very excited to delve deeper into the creation of your single, "Bordeaux." What inspired the song's descriptive and reminiscent lyricism?
The song is inspired by a somewhat cliché whirlwind summer romance I experienced during a year abroad in Bordeaux. It was a situation where we knew we were only crossing paths for a very brief moment in time and that our lives would be going in very different directions once we left the city. Given that we had a predetermined amount of time together, we threw ourselves into the romance rather than running from it. There's something quite freeing about knowing exactly when something is going to end. With the reminiscent lyrics like 'When I see a bottle of Bordeaux..'I wanted to conjure the painful, yet thrilling rush of nostalgia that you can get from seeing, hearing, or smelling something that reminds you of someone or something you cherished.
Did you create the entire sonic arrangement yourself for "Bordeaux?" Or were you accompanied by any producers or engineers to bring your ideas to life?
I had help with the arrangement. I wrote the song initially on acoustic guitar and brought it to my amazing producer Frances Praet. Frances has a home studio in Nashville and her whole family plays music. We recorded the song with just me and my guitar to start off and I told her I wanted to add some dreamy synths and some electro-pop drums. She understood the exact vibe I was going for and also had her Dad, J.David Praet play the electric guitar to give it more of a nostalgic vibe. She also enlisted her sister Katherine to play bass. I wanted a trumpet solo (Because the song was partly inspired by one of my favorite artists Dennis Lloyd, who often has trumpet solos in his songs) I sang the exact solo that I wanted and Frances got a friend, Ben Flynn, to replicate it with a trumpet!
Why did you want to steer away from electronic music for "Bordeaux" and create more of a tender country-pop song?
3I always like to have real instruments at the heart of my songs. While I love experimenting with electro sounds, I never want the instrumentation to detract from the storytelling. This song is very narrative and I wanted a tender arrangement to compliment the story itself rather than outshine it. Interesting that you're getting a country vibe from the song! I didn't realize the song sounded country at all. I guess that a subconscious Nashville influence.
Are there any particular artists or acts that helped inspire your sound and brand? Who do you look up to in the music industry, and why?
As I mentioned, Dennis Lloyd was the main inspiration for this song. I probably listened to his song 'Never Go Back' about 200 times during that summer I was in Bordeaux. Like the reminders I mentioned in my song, 'Never Go back' brings back a tidal wave of memories for me every time I listen to it. I'm also inspired by a lot of women in country and pop - Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Maggie Roggers, Haim. What I love about all these women is that they created their own lane in music and don't seem fazed by passing trends in the industry. They've all built a distinct sound that transcends genre and allows them to explore interesting themes and ideas.
What's next for you?
Bordeaux is the second single from an upcoming EP that I plan to release in early summer 2021. The EP will be a celebration of 5 European cities - Barcelona, Bordeaux, Istanbul, Galway, and Amsterdam. It's really all about escapism and nostalgia, which I think a lot of people have turned to in this last year! Aside from that, I'm always writing and I hope to venture more into the songwriting scene in Nashville. I really want to start collaborating with other artists more. Once it's safe I hope I can get out and play some venues in Nashville.
