The term eclectic gets thrown around a lot in music, but perhaps no one exemplifies it quite like Erika Grapes.
On her latest single ‘Once Upon An Ordinary’, the Italian-born, London-forged musician somehow skates from Ancient celtic folk balladry to vivid and dystopic electronica, with the assist of featured artist Felix Subway.
To fuse elements of these seemingly disparate sounds, Grapes offers an intro to the track that brims with warm and impromptu acoustic riffs, spoken word atmos and rattling percussion.
That serves as something of an amuse-bouche, preparing listeners for the kind of rustic folk that awaits them on the forthcoming ‘Once Upon An Ordinary’.
The guitars are one of multiple spotlight-stealers on the track, delivered with an almost fairytale-like quality as though Grapes is recounting a fireside story.
The track — produced by Andrea Del Miglio — then veers towards joyous celtic flourishes, with regal wind instrumentation and the steady drive of pulsating drum beats.
In these moments, ‘Once Upon An Ordinary’ instantly recalls the likes of Grapes’ peers, from the off-kilter art pop of Fiona Apple to border-crossing folk rock like Of Monsters and Men.
For all its more acoustic and rustic flairs — which later come to include rattling tambourines, plucky strums and the reappearance of those jubilee-like wind instruments — the single maintains an equal focus on electronic elements.
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There are moments when Grapes’ vocals refract and distort into the spacious soundscape, and the drum beat is pulsating enough to recall a softer dance track.
Later, a climactic build-up explodes before a cathartic instrumental section, as various instruments are chopped in the vein of a bass drop.
Much of this is owed to the track’s production, which seamlessly blends these multiple stylings while still allowing the vocals to shine.
Grapes’ vocal performance is another scene-stealer, brimming with a warm and carefree energy and masterfully complimented by Felix Subway’s own voice.
Together, the pair deliver resplendent harmonies, and flit between delicate, airy whispers and more impassioned belts with finesse.
Grapes tops it all off with some equally engaging lyricism, waxing poetic on “life’s strange angles” while vowing not “to worry.”
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It feels fitting that ‘Once Upon An Ordinary’ closes with the same sounding guitar melodies as the intro, as though Grapes is circling back to the beginning of her story and offering this fairytale’s happily ever after.
Erika Grapes’ next track, ‘Take My Heaven’, will arrive in November, but thankfully we can now at least feat our eras upon the Celtic folk revelry of ‘Once Upon An Ordinary’. Listen to that below.
