Dream pop singer songwriter Erika Grapes recently shared a powerful and compelling music video of the single “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby”.
The video was filmed in Swansea, Wales by director and artist Alfie Scheinman which Erika had long known since a time she spent in London singing in an indie rock band named Bungalow Purple, where Alfie was playing guitars and composing part of the songs.
Although being a songwriter, also, Erika decided for her debut single as a solo artist to cover the famous Dream Pop hit “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” by Cigarettes After Sex, adding an electronic/trip hop vibe to it, created by the artist and producer Lorenzo Montaná (Tying Tiffany, TTL).
Erika also recently released new single Falling Inside Out which you can view below!
We caught up with Erika as she talked about her latest singles and more!
So how has the releases of Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby and Falling Inside Out gone down with fans?
I got a totally unexpected positive engagement from people around the world. It made me very happy. I like to consider my most dedicated fans as new friends, though, as in the past few months I got to chat with very creative, sensitive and intelligent people of all ages from 6 continents out of 7. My fans are the best! I’m a fan of my fans.Apart from this lovely aspect, I’ve been contacted several times by fellow musicians for some feat and collaboration.After the first single with Lorenzo Montanà, I got contacted by an Indian producer and a very spiritual soul who had asked me to chant a “Waheguru”, then I started working on some new tracks with bass player and producer Andrea Castelli and I’ll be on the upcoming single “Romantic Sanity” of a young rapper from Detroit, WaveyBoy. I wrote part of the chorus for that song, too, and I’m quite proud of it. Check it out, it’s due out on release October, 15th. I have in store, also, a pop song with a South African producer and more electronic music to come.
Can you tell us something about each single that no one else knows?
Yes. When I first started working on the vocals for Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby, the singing intention was closer to the original version: a blend of sensual, flirty, caring moods.Then, COVID-19 took my mother away last November, almost a year ago and it hit me really hard. My whole perspective on life and its fragility changed. I wanted to sing it again with a more mystical, universal feeling. As if I was some sort of a portal, a medium, singing “nothing will hurt you baby”, because, at the end of the day, we are nothing but stardust ignited by love and that Universal Love that pervades all forms of life and beyond, guides us all in a continuum, a flow with no beginning and no end.As for “Falling Inside Out”, it was, at first, a grungey, alternative rock song called “Fly”, written and composed by Andrea Castelli, who played contrabass on it and produced it. We kept the melody, with little changes and adjustments. I kept some lines (“You don’t need a fairytale” and “fly and let your wings unfold, leave it all behind, your sorrow will be gone”) because I liked them alot and they fit with the “Erika” of Summer 2021, when we started working on it. The rest of the lyrics deal with trauma, personal trauma and ways of coping with it. It’s a bit cryptic, but autobiographical. I won’t go into details here, but I’ve personally been through alot and most of my life has been a way of learning and adjusting with the effects of PTSD. It’s an ongoing process, but in Falling Inside Out, I basically encourage whomever is suffering for whatever reason to think positively, because it is possible to overcome pain and healing might not be an overwhelming explosion of stars, but more like a set of mild realizations that can reset your life to a much more enjoyable experience.
How long did it take to write and produce each single?
It took a very long time to produce Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby and around 2-3 months for Falling Inside Out. But I’m faster now! It took us just a few takes to produce “Romantic Sanity” and literally only one session for Love Potion N.9. It was ready in a little more than a week.
You’re set to release a cover of Love Potion Number 9 on Halloween, how much did The Clovers influence you as a singer?
I’m blushing here because, although I really listen to alot of different music all the time (check out my playlists on Spotify), from different eras, I didn’t know The Clovers until a few weeks ago. I was listening to a cool vintage youtube playlist and when Love Potion N.9 came on, I was lovestruck! I wrote Andrea Castelli immediately asking him if he would have liked to do a spooky-surf cover of it and he did it! I wanted to sing it in the original key and, at some points, I hit some very low notes. Which makes the song spookier, along with a solo of ghosts which we had fun recording.
Will you be releasing an EP/Album this year?
It’s possible that, at some point, I will record an EP of jazz standards, but not this year.
If you could work with any artist or band, who would it be and why?
I don’t know. In a fantasy world, I would go back in time and do some backing vocals for Diana Ross and The Supremes just because I love those songs so much. Or release a track with Portishead, or Courtney Love. She’s a Goddess.
Will you be touring at all this year?
Not at all, but I will start working on my live show somewhere this year.
Did you ever lose motivation during lockdown with Covid-19?
I’m a very introspective person, so I suffered less than others for last year’s lockdowns. I live in Milan, Italy and we got struck first, in March 2021 and it’s been a quite intense rush of adrenaline to not know what the future would bring with the whole tragedy. How many of us would have survived (R.I.P.).It’s been really bad for live music, of course and I know many venues that had to shut down for good, but I believe that there was no alternative at that time. Although I think that, now, nightlife and live music and cultural events shall restart because things seem to be on the safer side if compared to one year ago.As for motivation, I always prefer to follow inspiration instead.