Gretta Ray has shined bright in the music world since she won the Triple J Unearthed Radio Competition, with her song ‘Drive’ where she first showed off her singing, and songwriting skills. From that moment on she continued to win competitions, as well as hone her musical abilities in front of different crowds. Now here she stands at 25 years old, with tons of experience, and her recent sophomore album Positive Spin.
Now Y’all Positive Spin has easily found it’s way into our music rotation with so many addicting tracks like, ‘Heartbreak Baby,’ and ‘Can’t Keep It Casual.’ So we were more than thrilled to talk to the singer all about it, as well songwriting, being someone our age who is very successful, among other things! So check out our interview with Gretta Ray down below!
Hello Gretta and welcome to The Honey POP! How are you feeling after the release of your sophomore album Positive Spin?
Thank you for having me! It’s now been a bit over 3 months since the album came out, and I’m feeling really good! I’ve been so lucky and have been able to tour the album twice already – once around Australia, and also across the UK with Maisie Peters! Touring is my favourite part of my job and it’s been a dream come true to play so many shows this year.
It’s always so cool to see talented people our age thriving, and really making a name for themselves, which is what you’ve been doing since 2016! We know you said you felt a bit intimidated by your accomplishments from your teenage years but now you realize you are grateful for everything. So what, to you, has been the most rewarding thing that you’ve accomplished since you first started your career?
Honestly, I feel like the most rewarding accomplishment in the past 7 or 8 years has been connecting with other creatives and collaborators who have become some of my closest friends. There is nothing more enjoyable than making music with your friends, and I feel really lucky to be connected with musicians like Gab Strum and Hamish Patrick, two of the main collaborators on ‘Positive Spin.’ I have so many wonderful memories with friends of mine in London and L.A… I’ve learned so much from them and they’ve kept me really grounded. So I think my relationships would be the most rewarding accomplishment for sure.
You wrote an essay about the ‘America Forever’ writing session. And we knew you could write from your songs, but the essay was brilliant, and we wish more artists did it! Can we expect any more for Positive Spin?
Thank you so much! I loved writing that essay for Rolling Stone because of how much I loved writing ‘America Forever’ with Carol Ades. I needed everyone to know the full story of how magical that session was! I don’t have plans to write any more essays for the Positive Spin campaign, but I really enjoy writing long messages in my Discord, and ‘letters from Gretta’ to fans signed up to my mailing list. I would love to write more essays down the track when it feels right!
We absolutely love everything from Positive Spin. From the tracks we’ve heard before to the new ones. Now besides ‘Heartbreak Baby’ our favorite track from it has to be ‘Can’t Keep It Casual’ and we’re super excited for people to hear it.
I think I initially imagined that the track list would be 15 songs long, the same as my last record. However, eventually it just felt like these 12 tracks were the standout ones, and that thematically, everything was covered, so I didn’t need to extend it further beyond those songs. There are songs that I once imagined would be on the record, but now I’m of the perspective that these 12 tracks were the exact ones that belonged on the album, and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Positive Spin continues proving your songwriting skills are impressive as always. What is a lyric of yours that you always look back on thinking “Wow, how did I come up with this?”
That’s so lovely of you to say, thank you! I really do love the lyric ‘music is mine and it’s yours’, because it sums up exactly how I feel about my relationship with music. Sometimes it feels incredibly private and personal, and other times, I’m sharing my relationship with music with many, many people! I love how it can be both of those things for me.
We think it’s so cool that you released Positive Spin on vinyl. Do you collect Vinyls?
You know, I actually don’t collect vinyls at the moment as I don’t have a vinyl player! But my Mum has a really fantastic vinyl collection. I’m sure one day I’ll follow in her footsteps and start my own.
As the album is about putting a positive spin on your experiences, what songs do you think to, to put you in a good mind space?
Some songs by other artists that put me in a good mindset at the moment include Ryan Beatty’s song ‘Andromeda,’ Troye Sivan’s ‘Honey’ and RAYE’s ‘Worth It.’ All these tracks are from albums that these artists released this year, which I’m loving so much!
You just wrapped up your tour, how are you feeling? Was there a specific moment that will always stick with you?
I loved my recent Australian headline tour so much, and I think something that I will always remember about the tour was the incredible amount of love, support and loyalty from the fans. They brought such positivity into the room every night, wore the most beautiful outfits, and sang every lyric at the top of their lungs. At the first show, when I started singing the title track from the album, I couldn’t believe how loud they were singing. It totally blew me away!
What can we expect from Gretta Ray for the remainder of 2023?
Now that it’s the end of November, there’s not much left for 2023 for me! I have 3 more festival shows, but aside from that I’m beginning to wind down, and think about next year. It’s been an extremely busy year, and I’m looking forward to recharging with the intention of entering 2024 feeling fulfilled and inspired for what’s next!
See this is why you should always be on the look out for more songs because you never know when you may stumble upon a Gretta Ray: Someone who has phenomenal song writing skills, amazing vocals, and is an overall A+ artist. Make sure you check out Positive Spin, and keep your eyes on Gretta’s socials for what she has next! Did you love Positive Spin and Gretta Ray as much as we did? Let us know in the comments down below or over on Twitter @thehoneypop, and don’t forget to talk to us on Facebook and Instagram!
If you loved our interview with Gretta Ray then you’ll love the rest of our interviews as well!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GRETTA RAY:
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