MULTI-instrumentalist Zoe Graham will showcase her new direction on Saturday. The Glasgow musician will play a clutch of new songs at a Sneaky Pete’s gig, including electro-flavoured single Gradual Move, mixed by Eduardo De La Paz, a Grammy-winning producer who’s worked with Arcade Fire and Frightened Rabbit.
The single ends a busy year for Graham, who played a Quay Session for the BBC last month.
The gig will also feature older songs from Hacket & Knackered, a wistful collection of smart acoustic songs released last year.
“I’ve found that electro-pop and synthesised music has resonated with me a lot more recently,” Graham says. “I’m still a big fan of Laura Marling and Sufjan Stevens but listening to people like Bat For Lashes and Christine and The Queens seemed to flip a switch in me. I’ve also been writing a lot more at the piano, which has spurred on that direction.”
Originally written on the piano in the house she grew up in, Gradual Move addresses a period that included Graham moving away from home, the end of a significant relationship and the passing of her beloved dog.
The track took shape at Belfast’s Oil Tape Studios, run by Kris Platt and Danny Morgan Ball, aka indie band Blue Americans.
Graham, impressed with their electronic reworkings of tracks from Fatherson’s Sum Of All Your Parts album, had suggested the trip to Belfast to her manager.
“It ended up being a really good idea,” says Graham, who is keen to work with the Belfast boys again.
“It was a heavily collaborative effort where we all worked to build this soundscape around the song.
“We worked in a tiny studio built out of chipboard. It made me realise you don’t need a big studio to make something sound really good.”
In January, Graham will play a Celtic Connections concert with Americana outfit The Wandering Hearts. The new year will also see the release of another single, with an EP and more live dates planned for spring.
For now there’s the stirring Gradual Move, the dramatic video for which sees Graham attempt to move a boulder in Mugdock Country Park.
“Our family would refer to that stone as the ‘wishing stone’ on family walks,” she recalls. “As kids, each of us would take a turn to stand on top and make a wish.”
December 7, Sneaky Petes, Edinburgh, 7pm, £8.50. Tickets from www.songkick.com; January 30, Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £17.60. Tickets from www.celticconnections.com www.zoegrahammusic.com.
Gradual Move is out now
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