Young, Kiwi artist grim! is released her first single “birthday” today. “birthday” discusses the feelings around being stuck in a toxic relationship.
“And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
The release of “birthday” is in preparation for their debut EP “bones”, which comes out on December 1st. “birthday” is the first of four singles, all set to come out over the next four months.
Describe the Coromandel: Beautiful, warm, quiet. It was a great place to grow up surrounded by beaches and bush. It was great for a growing mind and imagination.
Fave swimming beach: Probably New Chums or Kūaotunu, Whangapoua is also really nice to swim at. I guess it depends on whether you’re wanting to just float or play in the waves.
Fave restaurant: There are so many good ones to choose from. For lunch, I’d definitely say Wharf Road, can’t beat there Aglio e Olio. For dinner I’d say either Umu or Stoked, again though, there are so many to choose from.
Fave summer venue: I really enjoyed doing the Coromandel Seafood Festival, Whitianga Seaside Carnival, and Taste of Matarangi, I think I’d say for summer those sorts are venues are my favourite.
Fave venue vibe: Support wise, the music club in Whitianga was always really good. Again, I think I have to go with the local festivals.
Who is Gemma Louden?
I am a 20-year-old singer-songwriter. I’ve been doing music since I was about ten years old when I started piano lessons. From there, I just started learning anything I could get my hands on. Now I’m studying commercial music at Massey University.
What other instruments do you play?
My main instrument is vocals, but I can support myself on piano and guitar. I also know how to play basic drums and bass and I mess around with electronic stuff sometimes.
We heard you grew up in the Coromandel. What was that like?
It was good, in the sun quite often! Small town things, I suppose. I live in Wellington now. Size-wise, it’s very different but when you go down to the waterfront, it feels quite a lot like Whitianga, which is nice. If I miss home, I’ll go and walk around the waterfront for a bit.
Where does the stage name grim! come from?
One of my friends calls me ‘Grimmus’ as a nickname. Then another friend was like, I want to give you a nickname. They suggested “grim!” I’m like, oh, that’s sick! It just kind of became my stage name.
Who do you look up to as an artist?
Adele! I really love Nothing but Thieves and Don Broco, which is more rock based. And I’ve always been intrigued by Nirvana and the lyrics that they write. I’m really into, like metaphorical lyrics. Something In The Waym by Nirvana:
“It’s okay to eat fish
Cause they don’t have any feelings”
I’m also absolutely in love with “Particles” by Nothing but Thieves.
“And I’m a shadow of a ghost
It’s feeling as if somebody has taken host
Babe, I don’t wanna make a scene
But I get self-destructive
If you could perform with any artist, who would it be?
Probably Jeff Buckley. I love him. He’s so cool.
How would you describe your music?
It’s 100% music for crying to. It’s quite sad. A lot of the music on the EP is orchestral-based. A lot of string arrangements, quite a bit of piano.
But I also like to delve into pop-country and pop-rock. I hope that with future music, I can go a little bit further into that rock type of thing, I find it super-interesting.
You’ve got your debut single coming out on 31st May. What was the process behind that?
Birthday [the first single] was written about three years ago, my seventeenth birthday. It is about being in a toxic relationship. A drunken teenage party narrative. I started off with that piano motif that you hear in the beginning, then I started humming quick-fire lyrics and it sort of built-up from there. It makes something quite ugly into something rather beautiful.
Dave Rhodes produced the singe and album. We did it over the course of about five and a half days. It was a super-cool experience.
What about the video?
It’s a pity party – I mean – the song is called ‘Birthday’. A sad looking birthday cake. And it just kind of delves into chaos throughout.
How do you feel about releasing your debut single?
I’m very excited! But I’m also incredibly nervous. Like – I’m letting my baby go off into the world.
What’s your favourite song to perform?
“Honestly, I’m doing fine”, which is the next single after “Birthday”. It sounds like a very fun song. But it’s also about like mental health – one of those weird juxtapositions where the music is like up but it’s not.
What’s next for grim!?
I want to keep putting music into the world in the hopes that it reaches someone, meaning something to someone. I have ideas for future albums.
Have you got any advice for people in a toxic relationship?
Listen to your friends and family. It’s very, very attractive to ignore what they’re saying about your partner. Because it’s like, no, you don’t know him like I do. But if anything, they probably have a clearer perspective of what’s going on than you do. And again, just talking. It’s a very, very difficult thing to get out of.
Visit: grimmusic.net
