Kayla Grace
So much can change in such little time. That’s certainly a sentiment held by Kayla Grace, the singer/songwriter who released her debut single, “Bird in a Cage” this past week. The Watford-based musician says that the song was written just about a month ago, which makes this a surprisingly quick turnaround. With that said, however, her music speaks for itself. Kayla brings a perplexing quality to her songs, paving a unique soundscape through beautiful pop vocals and lyricism. She says that her musical journey began by listening to her dad’s music collection, which included artists like Nirvana, Hole, and Courtney Love. Later inspirations from Amy Winehouse and X-Factor successes eventually motivated her to work towards the same. And this is simply a fantastic start. “Bird in a Cage” caught the attention of Spotify playlist curators early on, earning Grace a spot on their Easy playlist. We spoke to the artist about her favorite lyrics, pandemic songwriting, and more!
Hey Kayla! Thanks for speaking with us today! First of all, congrats on your debut single! How do you feel now that it’s finally out?
It’s all been so mad, the song was written in my bedroom like a month ago and is already out in the world which is such a quick turnaround. It’s been kinda crazy but I feel so blessed to have been able to produce something that I’m so proud of during the lockdown.
“Bird in a Cage” is a wonderful song. What was the inspiration behind the track?
Bird in a Cage was inspired by how deflated I felt sitting in my bedroom one night thinking about all the things I would have been doing as a uni student if it wasn’t for Covid. My 20th birthday was quickly approaching and I was so over the year already despite being only days into it. It’s a kind of teenage moany song in some ways, like complaining that I don’t get to party when some people are dying seems awful but I did think that it's something painfully relatable I needed to write about regardless. Uni students have kind of been neglected in this context and I know so many people that were feeling the exact same way as me so just felt like making something out of that frustration.
Photo Credit: Kayla Grace
Let’s talk about the months/years leading up to this. How did you get started making music?
I was always a horrendous singer growing up, I was obsessed with all the X-Factor successes and used to fulfill that cliche of singing into a hairbrush in the mirror thinking I could be something one day. My parents occasionally reminded me that I was a shit singer which brought me back down to earth a little bit (so grateful for them humbling me retrospectively) but I kept singing anyway and I guess eventually just became decent somehow. I committed to trying music when I picked up one of my dad's old guitars for the first time and ended up writing some half-decent emo song. And from then on I just turned to it to express any complicated emotions (which I have a lot of).
Was releasing music something you’ve always wanted to do or was this something that changed over time?
When I first started writing I would have passed out at the idea of anyone hearing my songs, aside from the fact that the lyrics were blatantly directed at people in my school, but they just felt like diary entries. I guess as my confidence grew I realized that there’s a universality in the specific and that being emotionally vulnerable could actually benefit other music-obsessed humans like myself. As soon as I started becoming obsessed with writing I was eager to release one way or another.
Has growing up in Watford influenced your musical style at all?
Watford is pretty close to London which I love but far away enough to make me feel like a cliche middle-class teen in the suburbs. A lot of the things that I’ve gone through growing up here were universal experiences for the people in my life and drawing influence from the same old media and energies I consumed daily probably led to the relatability in my lyrics. I’ve lived in the same house my whole life and pretty much never comprehended leaving and this almost entrapment in the known is another key element in my writing. I also feel like there’s a kind of attitude to the people in Watford like although I love it here people aren’t as smiley as in the countryside or something. This attitude comes out a lot in my satire lyricism and I’m not sure that would be the case if I grew up in a friendly little village so I guess I have the unfriendly strangers of Watford to thank for that.
You have such an incredible sound – from vocals to songwriting. Who were some of the artists that inspired this?
I was brought up by my Dad on a lot of grunge music like Nirvana, Hole, etc and random female rock singers like Amy Lee, Courtney Love, etc. One of the childminders that worked with me for the longest was obsesssssed with Amy Winehouse and so the sassy lyrics (like in ‘I heard love is blind’ lol) and powerhouse voice she has also influenced me a lot. These days I'm addicted to so many cool female artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Holly Humberstone, Mallrat, The Distillers (for some reason), Orla Gartland, Baby Queen.
Photo Credit: Kayla Grace
Do you have a favorite lyric from the new song?
The lyrics are kind of a flow of consciousness, to be honest, so It’s hard to pinpoint the one that feels any more authentic than the other but I quite like ‘I wanna kiss your neck but I just kiss my teeth’ as the image of me kissing my teeth sheds so much light on the pure frustration I was feeling when writing it. I also like the references to zoom calls and voice notes because it kinda allows me to laugh at how wild and technological our worlds have become because of all of this.
What do you feel is the textbook quality of every Kayla Grace track?
I’d have to say slightly audacious lyrics, pretty layered harmonies, and a painfully relatable message. I’ll always call out things that I know other people will resonate with, whether it's an easy thing to hear or not.
How have you been holding up during the pandemic? Has it affected your music-making process at all?
Generally speaking, I’m doing okay. I think the song pretty much covers most of the complaints I can justify having about it all personally but other than that I’m just taking each day as it comes and being as grateful as possible. In the first lockdown, I did absolutely nothing music-wise. My special needs sister moved back into our house which was chaotic (in the nicest way possible) and because everyone was working I was so busy most days keeping her entertained which gave me a great excuse to miss all my online lectures. I kicked myself up the ass a little bit for the next few lockdowns after having moved into my uni house and it ended up bringing so many songs out of me that I'd almost bottled up during the start of the pandemic. I’m writing almost a song a day at the moment, not to say they’re all any good but better than nothing hahah.
Speaking of which, what typically inspires you to make music?
I think I get more inspired by frustrations that other people share with me than just my own if that makes any sense. Like I'll always be inspired by the things that social media has done to my generation and by the way that teenage problems are always dismissed. Anything that can lead to either some painfully relatable or audacious lyrics works for me.
Who are you teaming up with for a dream collaboration and why?
I’m awful at answering these questions because I’m very obsessive about everything but at the moment I’m gonna go with Baby Queen because her mind amazes me.
What are some of the things you like to do outside of the studio?
I like long walks and reading and naps. I know I’m basically an old lady. My ideal day off from music is probably watching grotesque horror movies all day with bubble tea and a duvet on the sofa. I also like to spend money that I don’t have on clothes online to fill the void that lockdown has created and then cry in the mirror when they look atrocious lol.
What can we expect from you in 2021?
Music. Lots of brassy music. Hopefully some less emo music too since the sun’s coming back out to give me back my serotonin lol.