New music
There is no method to navigate today’s music industry, clouded by the pressures of social media, deadlines and streaming figures. First making her debut in 2017, Grace Carter has tugged back and forth with the idea of success, at one point losing sight of her one, true passion: her craft. It’s a cautionary tale that lays the building blocks for her upcoming project, ‘A Little Lost, A Little Found’, a revelatory collection of tracks that reflect on Carter’s journey thus far, yet are equally conscious of the world that revolves around them. Exploring new sounds and styles, the project stays rooted in the artist’s momentous, pop-tinged ballads – now from a more mature, empowered perspective.
Stepping into the limelight once more as an independent artist, the current day marks a new chapter for the vocalist. Tracks like ‘Riot’ see Carter at her most impactful, turning the focus towards issues of racial injustice and their repeating of history, whereas ‘Bloodwar’ details a personal reach out for answers.
Wrapping up the final date of her recent tour, CLASH caught up with the singer-songwriter to delve into ‘A Little Lost, A Little Found’, creative autonomy and the artist’s current motivations.
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Can you tell us the meaning behind your upcoming project title ‘A Little Lost, A Little Found’?
I think it just sums up what’s been going on in my life. I see the whole project as me processing the past few years and what’s been going on. I lost some things, including myself, but I found some things at the same time. I’m never going to fully know everything, nothing is ever going to be completely straightforward and clear. But right now, I feel good and I feel like I’m in control.
Would you say that your relationship and approach to music has shifted across the years?
I think so, for sure. I went through a period of time in 2019, 2020 where I didn’t write any music at all and that was a very weird time for me, because music has been something that I’ve done consistently from the age of 13. I used to write songs because I needed to write about my feelings, and then it became my job. There’s a lot of pressure, alot of things that you have to do, a lot of opinions – I think I listened to that a lot. That scared me into a silent phase, where I couldn’t even be creative, and then coming out the other end of that, and having those conversations too, it was really shit and really hard. I felt really lost. But I’m now in a place where I go to the studio and I’m just existing, being there and talking about the things that I’m feeling at that moment. I’m not overthinking it and that’s a really exciting place to be in.
What was it like entering the music industry at such a young age? How would you describe that experience?
I think it’s so interesting, I speak to a lot of my friends about this. We’re all so young when people find us and we think we know everything but we truly don’t, we don’t know who we are. It was exciting when I was 17, but I think through that excitement there was a level of naivety from me. I’d written songs about my absent father and that became a really attractive story for people, they loved it. I think a lot of my life is in my music and it hasn’t always been put in the right hands. Being on stage, singing songs about trauma, coming off stage, being asked questions about trauma, being in meetings, people encouraging me to write more about my trauma, it was a lot. But I think through that I’ve definitely processed a lot of things, I’ve been forced to, but I now know what my boundaries are.
As someone who writes from a very vulnerable and personal standpoint, is there a level of uncertainty in what you share with the world?
I think after my first project, there definitely was a time where I felt like I needed to protect myself because my life didn’t feel like my life anymore. Now, I’ve realised the power of my voice. There’s so many people that don’t have that voice, they don’t have that outlet and that place to write how they feel. It’s artists like myself, and so many artists who write these things down, who give a voice to people who can’t explain how they feel. So I don’t think so, I think it’s just about understanding who I need to surround myself with.
How does the project mark a new chapter for Grace Carter? What themes are you trying to unpack on the record?
There’s lots of different themes. There’s a song on the project called ‘Mother’ which is about mine and my mum’s relationship, it’s very much focused on identity. I basically grew up in a white family, in a white town and it’s about how I navigated that. It’s about how much I love my mom, but sometimes I just don’t feel like her. There’s a song called ‘Hope’, which is about pushing myself forward and finding hope.
I think that there’s lots of different sounds happening on the project too, it feels a bit more like I’ve been experimenting and finding what sort of artist I want to be again. I really missed putting out a body of work, I think I’m just trying not to overthink. I’ve made some songs I really love and I think for me now it’s just about doing more of the same and being on a path of putting music out. That’s what I love to do. ‘A Little Lost, A Little Found’ is the first step of that. I’m just having fun.
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‘Riot’ feels like a very bold moment in your journey. Tell us about how the track came together and in what way it resonates with you?
I think it’s really important that I talk about the fact that the song was originally written in 2014 by a collaborator of mine called Fabienne Holloway. She’s a songwriter and was really inspired by what she saw happen to Eric Garner. I write everything from start to finish, that’s the artist that I am, that’s what I’ve always done but when I got sent this song in 2020 it really made me stop in my tracks. How could this track have so much relevance six years later? How could every lyric still have so much relevance to that moment? Even today, history repeats itself, nothing is changing.
I think it was that moment where, for me, I had to really realise that everything is much bigger than me, this music thing… it’s a song about standing up for what I believe in, it’s a song that isn’t about my feelings, because I’m a mixed race girl from the UK who’s never experienced that, but I’ve witnessed it and I know what it made me feel. That is the message, that feeling that you get when you see something happen that you don’t agree with. It’s not about going down the roads and smashing shit up, that’s not what it’s about, it’s about that feeling that you have inside of a riot, internally, the tired feeling that you get when you see something repeat itself again and again.
You’ve just wrapped up your UK/EU tour. What was that experience like? Are there any stories, any key moments that you’ll be holding on to?
I think from not doing a show in three years to having that experience, it was a real reminder to me that I really am a face-to-face person, I need that, that’s what I love, I love having conversations, I love meeting people. Existing online is not something that I do very well, so I think having that experience every night was so powerful, I needed to remember what that felt like. After most shows, I’ll go out and try to meet everyone that’s come to the show. And through that experience, you have conversations with people and learn so much about what the music has done to help them in their lives. I think those really human moments for me were the most powerful.
If you could hand one piece of advice to a young, emerging artist making their first steps in the industry for the first time, what would it be?
Be patient, trust your gut. I think for a long time, I would never trust my gut. Surround yourself with good people and just have fun. The main thing is just make music that you love because no one knows more than you. Listen sometimes, take advice, take tips, but don’t let that be your whole thing. Just try and listen to yourself and hold on to the reasons why you are where you are. It’s hard work, but it’s really rewarding.
Lastly, which three artists are currently taking over Grace Carter’s playlist?
One of my really good friends just released an album, his name is Q, he’s amazing. My friend Rachel Chinouriri – also love her, she’s the funniest person I know. And then there’s an artist from France, she’s called Yseult, she is incredible. She has a song called ‘Corps’ and I’ve been raving about the song for like three years. I don’t understand a word of it but it’s the most beautiful piece of music ever and she’s incredible.
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‘A Little Lost, A Little Found’ will be released on July 21st.
Words: Ana Lamond
Photo Credit: Mariana dos Santos Pires
