FLOOD | Page 28

Grace Mitchell is on a different tip this morning. She’s in the midst of baking a batch of Valentine’s Day cookies while simultaneously delving into the culture of Andy Warhol’s Factory and the proto-punk scene of 1970s Manhattan. Think Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Robert Mapplethorpe. Upon listening to Raceday, Mitchell’s latest EP, this might not strike one as the most obvious set of influences. But while that record is barely off the cooling rack, Grace is already looking ahead to the next recipe. “I’m trying to immerse myself in what that era must have been like, because it’s so fucking fascinating,” she says over the phone from her home in Los Angeles. Mitchell’s tone rings out as one of a firebrand, equal parts youthful vigor and a comfort in her own skin that is well beyond her eighteen years. “I’m really interested in finding where sounds that I’m influenced by come from.” A self-propelled musician from an early age, Mitchell cut her teeth by sketching out songs on an acoustic guitar, but she really shifted into gear after a family friend showed her how to use GarageBand. From that point on, every day after school she would make beats or a cappella arrangements in an ongoing effort to “bring the music of her imagination to fruition.” Mitchell’s natural talent and work ethic paid off in droves, as before long the Oregon native was signed to Republic Records. Shortly thereafter, the opportunity to contribute a cover of Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s soundtrack would formally launch her music career. “I’m a huge Hall & Oates fan,” Mitchell says. “It was a good opportunity and I feel really proud of it, because it was something that I was passionate about.” Undaunted by the notion of releasing a cover song as her first bit of professional output, Mitchell took hold of the opportunity and delivered a downtempo synthballad version that does the ’80s classic justice, all without sacrificing her bold personality. Following her debut Design EP in 2014, Mitchell’s next project found her in the studio with Mark Foster of Foster the People. Despite the discovery that she and Foster brought disparate influences to the drawing board, Mitchell’s newfound collaboration ultimately turned out to be a harmonious one. 2266 LOOODD FFLO