For the second edition of our Five Minutes with… series, we sat down with Hannah Grace, fresh from the Digital Pressing release of her forthcoming EP, Devoted. Discussing her beginnings in music, the challenges she faces as a musician, and of course, her CD collection, read on to discover more about one of our favourite singer songwriters.
Serenade: Hey Hannah, how are you doing today?
Hannah Grace: I’m really great thank you, I’m super excited about releasing brand new music!
S: First of all, I’d love to hear a little bit about how you got started in music?
HG: I’ve been writing songs, and singing for as long as I can remember - since I was a child and all the way through school. Growing up, my family was very musical, always instruments lying around the house, so in terms of me being musical, that was a given. As a teenager, I started building my CD collection, which introduced me to a new world of music and after school I went onto study at The Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama where I completed a degree in music, this was just an excuse to surround myself with musicians and sing and perform all the time it also showed me early on the importance of collaboration. I still play live with people I studied with. Whilst studying I discovered the Youtube music community. I wasn’t a Youtuber myself, but I made lots of friends in that scene, including Gabrielle Aplin, Orla Gartland and Hudson Taylor, which resulted in us busking together, and making the occasional video.
We were all experimenting with writing and recording our own songs - and I released through a label run by Gabrielle Aplin. I ended up opening up her tour across the UK, which really brought me into that community. Despite the often competitive nature of the music industry, I’ve found that much of my career has been based upon collaboration.
S: It certainly feels like the creative side of the music industry is more collaborative than ever before - which can feel a bit at odds with the commercial pressures in the industry, which feel more restrictive. People being pitted against each other to compete for screen time or playlists. You touched on it briefly - your CD collection - what was in that?
HG: Initially it was picking up my parents' collection - lots of jazz and 60’s singer songwriters, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, The Beatles - all classics. Then when I was building my own CD collection, that was more like Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, P!NK - I went through a massive Natasha Bedingfield phase at one point! I’d sit in my bedroom and listen to those albums all the way through, whilst trying to write my own songs, and learning theirs from the piano books that would go with them. Still inspired by all of them to be honest! All those kickass women.
S: Do you remember the first CD that you went out and bought with your own money?
HG: Yes! It was Britney Spears - I think the album with Toxic on.
S: That’s a great one; much less embarrassing than mine which was Aquarium by AQUA. You’ve been releasing for coming up to a decade now, which is hugely impressive; how have you found that your writing and creative process has changed over time?
HG: The writing is probably the part that has changed the most - when I started out it was more focused around the singing and performing. The writing was just an excuse to sing at first, but being around songwriters, that’s really inspired me to put more focus on that. Nine times out of ten I write with other people, and that’s my favourite part of the process - so now it’s almost flipped the other way - the song comes first, rather than the singing. It’s a case of ‘what are the songs about and what are they for’, and the music comes later - in essence they’re stories, and the more life you live, the more stories you have to tell.
S: It’s a rare ability - to be able to go into a room with someone else, sometimes a stranger, and open up, almost like a therapy session.
HG: It’s helpful in lots of ways - as well as having a song at the end of it! I make a point to surround myself with creatives that I get on well with, and I’m quite particular about who I write with, and who I let into that world. Ultimately I want my songs to be a reflection of me in a very honest way.
S: And the new EP, coming in a few weeks time (Digital Pressing out now *wink*) - what was the creative process behind that?
HG: It came together very naturally - I was in the middle of writing a huge number of songs, lots of which I loved. It was post pandemic, and I wasn’t quite sure it was the time for an album so I landed on piecing together an EP. The songs fell together in terms of the sound and sentiment, and the stories they tell - a good combination of happy and sad.
After I released my album, I had to pause and the EP feels like - collecting myself before I embark on the process for the second album.
S: And the title track, which arrives with the Digital Pressing feels like a very personal song - what’s the story behind it?
HG: The day I wrote it, I was in the studio with Ian (Barter) recording another song for the EP. He was working on the production for the track, whilst I was sitting at the piano - and the song wrote itself in about half an hour. Ian took his headphones off, and thought it sounded great, and helped me finish it, then we recorded a quick demo.
It’s not about one specific element - I’d been at a close friend's wedding the week before, which was the first event I’d been at since the pandemic. Everyone was so grateful, and there was even more love because of this - it felt really special. The idea of us committing to each other, I saw it in a whole different light. To be back together again really left an impression on me - not just in a romantic way, but as friends and family. It’s since become one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written.
S: I love that - the concept of devotion not just about love, but about devotion to humanity and goodness - to something positive.
HG: Yes! Sometimes the world is so depressing, and you just have to try. I was in a bit of an inbetween stage, and you have so many doubtful days as an artist - so it was also a commitment from my end - a devotion from me to my music.
S: As a musician, what do you find are the most challenging parts?
HG: The creative part is certainly the best, and I always protect my space and energy to write and create - because without that side, there’s nothing else. It’s everything else that becomes tricky - in particular the social media side of things; it can feel like a lottery every day. When you create something, you want it to stand a really good chance of getting heard. It can certainly be quite draining, but if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, then you’re never going to be fulfilled.
If I’m doing it because I want to write songs I love, with people who inspire me, then I’m doing it for the right reasons. The goal is people coming to my shows and enjoying it - I had a show last night and someone came up to me and told me that a song of mine had been their first dance at their wedding!
S: That’s pretty special. It does feel like musicians are increasingly pushed into driving statistics and algorithms - I’m not sure you can put a statistical number on passion from a fan - you can’t put a number on someone using your song as their first dance!
HG: Absolutely, that’s what makes it all worthwhile!
*S: Outside of the EP, what else is on the horizon this year?*HG: The day after the EP officially comes out, I’m doing an EP launch show in Cardiff, in a really beautiful venue - a converted chapel. Later in the year I’m going on tour - and a couple of the shows are already sold out. Plenty of shows, and no doubt more writing, and planning the next release!
Hannah Grace plays:
27th July - Cardiff, Acapela Studios SOLD OUT
8th November - Manchester, Castle Hotel SOLD OUT
9th November - Leeds, Oporto SOLD OUT