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.
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