Tempo Talks: A Conversation with Grace Mclean
THE RELEASE
A hailed multi-hyphenate artist, Grace McLean has been called "electrifying" by the Huffington Post and "phenomenal" by The New York Times. She is, as they say, one to watch. McLean can most recently be seen on the music scene as the newly-signed artist under Meridian/ECR Music Group (Sony). With two powerhouse singles- "Reckless" and "My Lovely Enemy"—from her debut album, "My Lovely Enemy." The actress is currently in rehearsals for her third Broadway show as President Woodrow Wilson in Suffs. Stephen Holden of The New York Times proclaims, “Ms. McLean’s voice [is] a flexible instrument with unexpected reserves of power... Behind her playful adventurousness lies a well of passion.” In a nutshell, she's a unique talent and an artist you can't afford to miss.
"Albertine," the third single released from Grace McLean's highly anticipated debut album 'My Lovely Enemy,' showcases McLean's master artistry going into what is poised as an audio masterpiece. The single was produced and recorded by long-time collaborator Justin Goldner, mixed by Jack DeBoe, and mastered by Blake Morgan. A nimble vocal performance effortlessly winds through musical complexity to create a track that exists on both an intellectual and primal level, much like contemporaries St. Vincent and Tune-Yards. "Albertine" was released on February 6th and is the first taste of what is to come from McLean in the lead-in to her full album release on May 10th.
THE INTERVIEW
If you had to create a Mount Rushmore of inspiration, what four individuals molded the artist you are today?
Regina Spektor, Merrill Garbus, Caroline Shaw and Liz Swados
Throughout the production of your new album, were there specific challenges or breakthrough moments that had a profound influence on the overall direction and cohesion of the project?
“Albertine,” the latest single we’ve released from the album, is one of the first songs I wrote for this project. It went through many iterations in performance but when we started dreaming about recording it, something sparked. We were able to achieve a kind of intimacy while simultaneously accessing an exploded emotionality, the juxtaposition of which is central to the story of the song. And we tried to bring that intimate explosion to the rest of the album.
Can you offer insights into the collaborative dynamics that shaped your latest album, shedding light on the contributions from producers, co-writers, engineers, or featured artists and how their involvement impacted the final body of work?
My producer Justin Goldner is a wizard with this music. He brings such sophistication and imagination to orchestrating for live instruments, playing with pedals and electronics, and even going way far outside the box - at one point we captured sound with some kitchen utensils because they brought a particular timbre and grit to the song. I'm so grateful to have a collaborator who has an ear for the ways sounds tell stories.
Considering the entirety of your album, what lasting impact or impression do you hope the collection of songs will leave on listeners, both individually and as a cohesive musical journey?
This album is a collection of songs about loss or lack or absence. But it is not a sad boohoo break up album - it is a look the loss in the face and make friends with it, celebrate it, question it, poke at it, ignite it and use it as kindling album. I wrote many of these songs during the reconstruction era after a break up and they contain the searching, yearning, and fervent meaning making I found myself chasing during that time. I remember I felt like a plant who’d outgrown her pot and needed to find a new place to root. Some of the old dirt still clung to me, some of it I wiped away and some of it continued to nourish so it made the journey with me. It’s a delicate, vital and vibrant time when a little plantheart wrenches itself from a comfortable world and for a time must be totally exposed and vulnerable, underbelly showing, raw but determined to survive. And then it finds new soil to explore, new rocks in its path to navigate around or under or through, new folly and new friends. These songs are a raucous wake for a love well lived and a celebration of the barriers pain breaks down that we might rebuild better or maybe just different.
As you look forward, how does the release of this album set the stage for your future projects, and are there any subtle hints or clues you can share about the evolving musical direction you plan to explore in the coming months?
One of the projects I'm excited about working on next is a theatrical piece called "Hag" about a woman who is turning into a wolf. Initially inspired by Victorian era medical texts about women’s bodies, this is a story about the female body and the way it is ignored, gaslit and taboo-ed as it changes and ages. I continue to be shocked and alarmed by the oppressive language, lack of knowledge and lack of conversation around changing, aging bodies even today. Through "Hag" I want to wonder, what would it look like if turning into a monster was actually more like turning into a superhero?
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