BY EMILY HARRIS
PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE SEES
Grace Sees is up-and-coming to the music scene. Coining her sound as Baroque Pop, See’s genuine pop lyrics and classical harmonies have made her featured in the Spotify Playlist Fresh Finds: Pop. Her two singles, “Your Sin” and “Pandora’s Box” being released earlier this year, defined the vibe for her forthcoming debut EP, Bunny Boiler. She was able to talk to talk to us here at Unclear Magazine about her beginnings as an artist and what’s next for her.
Tell us about yourself. What inspired you to start creating music on your own?
Grace: “So, originally I hadn't actually been a singer and a songwriter. Originally, when I left school, I got a scholarship to a musical theatre school in Guildford, and I was on the path to make my way into the West End. However, I think I hadn’t even made it a year, I think it was after my Easter holidays, when I basically decided that it wasn’t for me — there wasn’t enough creativity and actually it’s quite regimented. And so, I left there and joined a music school in London. So, when I came up to London I hadn’t really been writing, I think I’d messed around with poetry and lyrics in school but never really taken myself or it very seriously. And then, when I came up to London I realized it just wasn’t good enough to just be a singer. I didn’t want to just be in a function band so then I kinda started writing my own songs. I think I was like jamming right before band practice one day, my first year, and one of my friends came in and said, ‘Oh that sounds cool, we should get a few of us together and jam it about.’ So that’s kind of my first project. It started when I worked really closely with friends from uni and we would just arrange them together. So then I did that whole gigging about a little bit but then decided, I think it was in my second year, to take a step back and really focus on what I wanted to create and the sound I wanted to create — what the project would be. I started working with a producer and coming from that aspect a little bit more.”
As you’re still fresh to the music scene, what would you coin as your style of music?
G: “So, I call my music Baroque Pop [laughs] and that’s because I was with a friend and kind of joked about what I would call it. And because I love classical harmonies and you know, I put organs and I love the drummer of classical music and things like that. We use the voice as an instrument in a lot of the production. I kinda just joked around and said it’s Baroque Pop, obviously cause it rhymes. Then we actually googled and it’s a genre so, that’s kind of how it stuck. But, I think it is alternative pop music. It’s for sure pop, but it’s maybe not what your stereotypical pop song would be — it’s a little bit darker and moodier.”
Being from Essex, how has moving to London helped form the unique sound you have?
G: “So, moving to London was the catalyst for me writing my own music and creating this project. And I’ve met so many amazing people at university and so many people through that. So, I definitely say London has been a huge influence on my music, even just what I was studying at uni. It pushed me to listen and play and understand genres that I hadn’t been particularly listening to. I think that was a massive influence. However, after I left uni I actually moved back to Essex for a little bit, and as I said worked with a friend of mine. He played a big part in this EP with co-writing and hitting round with me — he worked on the production of ‘Pandora’s Box.’ So, for me, both Essex and London have been massive influences. I think I’ve met a few people along the way to help to mold it.”
What was the recording process like for your recent single “Pandora’s Box”?
G: “The recording process of ‘Pandora’s Box,’ I had originally written the song by myself, when I was living in my flat in London with my ex. I mean, most of my songs I do kind of write by myself — just the simple chords and get the lyrics and melody. And then I ticket with my friend, Longy, who I was working with at Essex during the time and we ticket to one producer. I think in that session we ended up restructuring it a little bit. I had actually originally written the middle A as a kind of pre-chorus and we just felt that it didn’t work. I actually changed up some of the chords to fit better. And then for some reason nothing really came from that session. And so, we started working on it, but neither Longy or I are producers. Between the two of us we got down the ideas we wanted and it wasn’t until I started working with Drew the First on the whole EP — and I definitely knew I wanted ‘Pandora’s Box’ on the EP — so him being a producer and coming from a hip-hop background, he really helped with the beats. We kinda stripped it back a little bit but keeping the core idea. So yeah, It’s really fun. I love the harmonies and the middle A. That song is really dear to me so it was really good. “
What’s your favorite lyric from “Pandora’s Box”?
G: “My favorite lyric, I think, is ‘You made me feel like I could fly, but your gas ran out.’ I think it’s a good metaphor of someone who promises you everything and nothing turns out the way you wanted it to.”
Where did you get the inspiration for the artwork of your single “Your Sin”, released earlier this year?
G: “The inspiration behind the artwork for ‘Your Sin’ was very much the original sin. So, I think I had been watching a documentary called like Hail Satan, or something, [laughs] where it’s talking about Satan — it’s a really good documentary actually. And the whole Adam and Eve concept was what sparked my idea. So yeah, we wanted the original sin. I wanted to create the original sin. And so, I worked with photographers Dafydd Bates and Rosie Woolman — they’re good friends of mine. We just went around their house and literally had a bowl pinned up on the wall and created what I think is really cool and representative of sin — Eve taking a bite of the apple. “
Tell us about your first concert experience. What would you like to bring into your live show?
PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE SEES
PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE SEES
G: “My first concert experience would be, I was doing little concerts at school since nursery. I was always like Mary in the nativity. So, I’ve done loads of different concerts, but I guess I was around sixteen or so, I was a part of a jazz band, so I used to do some gigs — weddings and functions and stuff. But I think my first proper gig with a full band was when I was at University, because everything else had been musical theatre led before then. And that was really cool. I remember singing ‘Have a Drink on Me’ by AC/DC. We were playing in Cargo in London. It was my first gig and it was so much fun — we were doing rock. I never sang rock before and I loved it. [laughs] But my live show? I think I would love to bring visuals as well as the music. I think with my music it would be quite hard — it would be finding the right balance between getting the electronics and getting a backing track but also, I want that excitement of the live. There’s nothing like a live performance. So, it’ll be fun to find the perfect balance between electronic and live. But also, I think the visuals would be so important. I would want to have some form of simple choreography. I would love the lighting to reflect the mood and potentially having visuals. I think it would be a whole experience. It won’t just be the music. I want it to look and sound consistent.”
What can we expect from you next?
G: “First thing will to actually release my EP, Bunny Boiler. Obviously I’ve only had the first two singles out, ‘Pandora’s Box’ and ‘Your Sin.’ So, the EP will be coming out — I’m just trying to figure out the best time to release, obviously with everyone in lockdown and quarantine. It’s things like creating the artwork and stuff. I’m going to have to potentially rethink my idea, although I do kind of have a backup idea for that. But yeah! It’ll be Bunny Boiler and then hopefully it’ll be putting some music videos together. I love creating music videos and I love creating visuals. And then obviously gigging. But, the issue is it’s very hard to plan things in the current climate, so I’m just trying to keep on it and keep creating, keep working. So that when we are free, I can get straight onto everything.”