Submerged in her captivating dream-pop sound, Greta Stanley’s latest single, ‘Hope It Lands’ is an ethereal and emotive tune that surrounds you with its otherworldly essence. Known for her feats in storytelling, vulnerability, and honesty within her music, Greta has not only maintained her style but has fortified it through this equally dreamy but raw and open storytelling.
Taken off her soon-to-be-released sophomore album, we had a chat with Greta about ‘Hope It Lands’, her storytelling processes, and of course, what is to come!
The track comes as an anthem of change- a view of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone! Was there anything in the process of writing/recording this track that pushed you out of your comfort zone?
We didn’t have a chorus when the song began! Tristan my producer, friend, and co-writer just kind of bought it to life in the studio, and then I began writing the chorus once we started the session. Usually, I’ve gone into the studio when a song is more complete, but he really loved this one even when I only had two lines for it! So we just started it and here we are.
The song in its entirety holds such an ethereal and delicate tone, particularly within the call and response, leaving the feeling that you certainly poured some emotion into the track; what inspired it?
The track was written about this daydream of what might happen or who I might meet if I had the courage to be more social. The first verse I wrote when I lived in Melbourne years ago, and the chorus came to life in the studio just reflecting on those times. I have always been a homebody and struggled with anxiety, but there was a time in my life where it was so bad I couldn’t leave the house much, everything felt so hard and even if I wanted to go to a party or a social event, I’d just wind up in tears and couldn’t bring myself to leave the house. I felt like I was missing out on so much - so it was kind of like this alter ego vision of what would happen if I didn’t have that anxiety holding me back.
We see you delve into some nostalgic sounds and delectable beats- who were some of the biggest inspirations for the track and what do you think this new sound brought to the table?
We referenced a lot of stranger things (Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein) Old Lorde, Phoebe Bridgers, I think even Lorne. I wanted a futuristic vibe, but still keeping the storytelling lyrics and real instruments. But they were just references for sounds I loved as a whole for this new album. Tristan is such a mastermind who typically does sound for film and ads, so the cinematic touches are definitely just his jam, and we’ve worked together on previous releases too so he kind of knows what I like and what I don’t like and we both had the time to test things out and be creative without rushing.
‘Hope It Lands’ is a taster taken off your sophomore album that is yet to come- how does this song fit in with the album? Can we expect more sounds like this or is this track quite a different take from the body of work?
Absolutely, there is more in this world, some others that will be more stripped back and I guess leaning into the old records more so, but still with a touch of this moody pop. I think it will be between 12-14 songs total, which is really exciting.
We see quite an eccentric video to coincide! What was the experience of filming and getting your creative vision for the track onto the screen?
The creative vision for this video was purely Thomas Calder! We knew he was a creative wizard and I just love everything he does. He asked me to take a bunch of footage and shots and then he seriously asked me “Is it ok to be a little crazy” or something along those lines, to which I responded yes! Haha. I loved the finished product and I think it was cool to achieve that filmclip without even leaving the house. He has music under the name daggyman, super beautiful stuff.
Your emotional honesty within your songs is something that makes these tunes so relatable and timeless- has opening up become second nature to you, or is it still an overwhelming task at times?
I’d agree it’s second nature to open up, I find it hard to not be honest in my music. I’m a pretty honest person day to day but I find the icky or hard stuff is easier for me to let out with my music. It can be overwhelming to get on stage and then share that live, it’s a lot easier to sing it in a quiet room or be behind the song than in front of people sharing that, but over the years I’ve had people reach out and thank me, or come up after shows and tell me it’s done something to help them, and that makes the hard parts of vulnerability worthwhile. We’re built for connection, I believe anyway!
Who are some of your favourite local acts? Or some home-grown acts that you'd love to share the stage with?
From cairns, water street boys are doing great things for the north. Jelly Oshen has just released a new single that my bestie did a beautiful film clip for showcasing the tablelands scenic beauty. Maggie Slater is also putting out new stuff and she’s a very cool lady from up here!
Daggyman = pure genius but I’ve already been lucky enough to share a stage with him.
Homegrown, I’d love to share a stage with Tia Gostelow, she’s great, Lisa Mitchell, Mallrat, Dominic Breen, Gretta Ray, Sweater curse, Violent Soho (cos that would be so fun!!) Allday, Gordi (what a voice!) ah gosh there’s so many awesome Aussies I love it’s hard to choose!
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