Five Questions With Polina Grace

Photo Credit: Kai Boet

Montreal based, model, turned musician Polina Grace has recently released her single, “High Enough” via AMG/ SONY. We were stoked to chat with Polina during our newest segment of Five Questions With. We can’t wait to hear more from this talented Canadian artist! Enjoy!

Care to introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi, Canadian Beats Readers! It is my pleasure to be introducing myself—my name is Polina Grace and I am very passionate about creating authentic art. Music has always been my biggest passion; however, before I was able to fully delve into the pursuit of my music career, I was involved in professional modeling and I also graduated from McGill University with a degree in Commerce and Psychology.

Today, music is my biggest focus! And I will pursue this path with utmost determination! My full album, Eclectic, will be out this October. However, I have lots of amazing content coming out in early September and my first single High Enough is just a small glimpse at the big picture of what I have been conceiving musically J

Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.

I began my career primarily as a vocalist and so I have always admired big voices and the way iconic singers have been able to interpret the story of any song through their power, control, and expressivity. I value the integrity of real singers who are able to deliver a performance as strong on stage as what they create in the studio. I am a bit of a purist in that sense—I do not really believe in things like auto-tune or excessive digital vocal enhancement—I like to listen to raw, untouched voices such as those of Whitney Houston, Karen Carpenter, Steven Tyler, Michael Jackson and Elton John.

Generally speaking, I love soulful music—in other words, music that truly grabs you by the heart because of its purity and depth. And I really hope and believe that this is reflected in my own music—everything that I have recorded to date has been the product of my genuine love for the music I grew up listening to and being inspired by—from rock and alternative to RnB and soul. As such, my own style can be defined as a hybrid of genres but I would argue that my music is quite soulful with both rock and pop elements.

As for my writing style, I enjoy writing with at least one other person in the room. I tend to vibe well off of other people when creating and it also allows me to not overthink as much. On my own, I get so caught up in the lyrics that I often over-complicate them. But whenever I have someone with me to keep me in check, as long as the other person has musicality and an equal passion for story-telling as me, I tend to create beautiful melodies and witty lyrics. I loved writing with Annette Ducharme—she is an incredible songwriter. Are you familiar with Tom Cochrane’s old hit “Sinking like a Sunset”? Well, that song was Annette’s creation! One of my arguably strongest songs on my record is “Giving Up On Giving Up,” which I co-wrote with Annette.

Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?

I do not have any official shows scheduled yet, as I am currently focusing on building my fan base and creating awareness about myself as an artist. But this is only a matter of time. Likewise, I am also focusing heavily on rehearsing for my live show and have a wonderful team of musicians behind me already. My loyal and enthusiastic manager, Pierre Paradis, and I are working hard to put together an exhilarating live show, which will showcase many sides of my personality—from soft and soulful to intense and rockstar-esque. I encourage prospective fans to follow me on my social media—Instagram, facebook, twitter—to keep an eye on my show announcements and releases!

If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?

Oh goodness, this question is a tough one for me, because I poured so much of me into each one of my songs and they are all quite different from one another. But I have to say that my original track “Down” is probably the best representation of me, as it has so much dynamic: it begins light and vulnerable and then it builds into this musical beast! Haha! Down has these catchy pop-esque choruses, but the song in itself cannot be defined as pure pop at all—it’s got an amazing rock drum sound—Randall Stoll knocked the drumming out of the park on this track, and there are lots of runs and riffs and belts at the end of the song, which really showcases how far I can push my voice. Down has a very strong message, as well, which I love—it talks about surmounting heartache with the most badass attitude and about moving forward no matter what. I think that “Down” might be the kind of song that takes a couple listens to fully grasp for some people, but once you get it—it is addictive.

Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?

There are almost too many to mention!

I have always loved some of Canada’s biggest Canadian boy bands—from Simple Plan and Hedley to Mariana’s Trench. Josh Ramsey, from Mariana’s Trench, has an incredible voice and writing style. I have actually met Josh before and he is a really down to earth guy. I do not think he is aware of how much I love his music, but I really am a huge fan of him and his band, especially of their album Masterpiece Theatre. I, of course, admire and respect Bryan Adams—have I mentioned that my instrumentals have been recorded in Vancouver at Bryan Adams’ studio? Alanis Morissette has been a big influence of mine—I love her quirkiness, her vibe and just her overall set of talents. And last but not least, I really like Amanda Marshall, as I believe she has one of the most beautiful voices to have ever come out of Canada.

Finally, a young, breakthrough Canadian artist that I also currently enjoy is Alessia Cara—I enjoy the timbre of her voice, but what I love most about her album “Know-It-All” is the complexity of the lyrics of most of her songs. For a writer that young, she is carrying a really positive message to her fans and is doing so in a dignified way!

Connect with Polina Grace:
Website
Facebook
Instagram