GRAACE’s breakthrough happened in 2017 when she co-wrote and featured on Hayden James’ platinum-selling electro-pop single ‘Numb’. 

Now she's back to rule the music industry with her sensational new EP 'afterimage'.  GRAACE tells us about the creation behind the album, her favourite song on the album and she gives us one piece of advice after a breakup.

Thank you for speaking with ReVamp, can you tell our readers a bit about you?

Thank you for having me! I’m a singer-songwriter from Australia. I started playing piano when I was 8 years old, and fell in love with the Cheetah Girls and Hannah Montana. Not long after that I was inspired to start writing my own music and be a performer like them. 

What was your upbringing around music like? Was there someone in particular who inspired you to start creating music?

I grew up listening to a lot of jazz - Joni Mitchell, and Frank Sinatra. Music has soundtracked so many different moment of my life, and it’s been such a core part of my upbringing. As soon as I showed interest in wanting to learn piano, guitar and singing, my parents were so supportive and I feel so grateful for that support. Their belief allowed me to spend so much time focusing on my passion. 

Joni Mitchell was a huge inspiration growing up, and her album ‘Blue’ is a massive reason I wanted to learn piano. To be honest, my biggest inspiration was my father’s taste in music, and his encouragement for me to pursue music.

Your single ‘Honey’, was released on 10th July, what has the feedback been like for this single? 

Amazing! It’s been so fun to dive into the world of ‘afterimage’ so creatively. With all these characters and different versions of me, it sometimes feels more like a movie than real life. Embracing every side of myself has been so empowering, and the feedback has reflected that. ‘Honey’ in particular is a compelling character (we call it the -y song) and I think you’ve all really embraced that haha!

What does the buildup of releasing new music look like? 

So exciting but also nerve-racking! Having not released music for 2 years was so scary, but maintaining a relationship with my fans (friends) throughout that time has made it feel so much more comfortable and safe

Exciting news also, that your EP ‘afterimage’, was released on 16th August, how excited were you for this, and how is it different from past releases? 

As personal as ’Self Preservation’ and ’Self Sabotage’ were, it’s been so exciting to explore a new creative style, which also came out greatly in my writing. I’ve always felt so close to every song I’ve written, but creating these characters on ‘afterimage’ has allowed me to explore different narratives, and be more performative than I have in the past.

I love the name of this EP as this album is all about after a breakup, which a lot of us can relate to, what would you say out of all the songs on the EP, is the song you found hardest to write, and why? 

Thank you! ‘afterimage’ was just a beautiful, short-and-sweet sum up of the whole body of work. It captures the lasting effect of a impactful relationship. I initially wanted to name it ‘I can still see you on the back of my eyelids’, but that was a little long for a title haha.
I would say that ‘Her’ was the most difficult to write as it got re-worked twice. It's such a vulnerable song, but rather than making it a “feel bad for me” song, I wanted to capture the magic in the production. It came out beautifully and airy, which I feel was the essence of ‘her’.

This will be your new project in over 2 years, how do you feel about the release of ‘afterimage’ ?

Amazing! This time away working and writing has allowed me to build a world around ‘afterimage’ - not only sonically but visually. This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this, and it’s allowed me to put so much love into each song and the EP as a whole. It’s been liberating and fun. This whole project has reminded me why I started music in the first place. 

Finally, what is 1 piece of advice you would give someone after a breakup, apart from listening to the new ep of course? 

Self love of course! Break ups are so hard - I’ve had literal panic attacks after some of mine - so please do not take this advice like I’m an expert. I would just say be vocal about your feelings to your partner / ex partner when you have the chance, so that you don’t feel like there's any unfinished business. If that isn’t an option I would say block them and completely focus on yourself.