Grace McLean On the Making Of ‘Albertine’
What inspired you to write the lyrics/music for 'Albertine?'
I borrowed the name of Proust's lover in “Remembrance of Things Past” because of a description he gives of her when they first meet - she appears fractured to Marcel, with every changing angle or shift in light she’s different, a new person, she’s slippery and he can’t quite get a handle on who she is. Which Albertine is the real one? Is it Proust who creates or perceives these differences and can each one be true? Is she reliable? Is he unreliable? I wanted to take that notion of an unknowable, unpredictable and capricious lover and write about how the moment the delicate, exquisite and irreversible tear in the relationship may finally bring clarity.
Which song(s) from 'Albertine' do you think best represents your artistic vision?
I think the single "Albertine" speaks to the ways I explore the questions that hound me the most. I wrote it during the reconstruction era after a break up and it contains 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. The songs on my forthcoming album "My Lovely Enemy" 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.
What has been one of your favorite memories along the path to making 'Albertine?'
Honestly hearing my drummer, Hiroyuki Matsuura, go crazy on the drums during the recording of ‘Albertine’ was thrilling. He is a deeply thoughtful and nuanced musician but also a beast, so to hear him wail like he did on this track was so much fun. He totally breaks open the song which has until that last chorus been full of quiet tension, and it's so satisfying.
What has been one of the most significant moments of your musical journey so far?
Learning how to use, work with and write for a looping station has really informed my songwriting. My voice is the instrument I know best and being able to manipulate, amplify and orchestrate it has allowed me to have a lot of agency as a creator.
What's your favorite part about performing live? How do you connect with your audience during a performance?
I love performing live! I practice the entire set at least once daily leading up to a live performance, learning about how I want to arrange and rearrange the set, what stories I want to tell, and then when I get out there I love listening to the audience and vibing with them. By putting myself so deeply in the music leading up to the show, I am allowed to then really play in performance. I'm sort of on a date with them the whole time we're together and I already know I love them so I come prepared with jokes and secrets and honesty and sparkle so I can make sure they have a real good time.