[FEATURE] VIPER PRESENTS: PIPER GRACE

We caught up with South West-raised R&B and Neo-Soul artist Piper-Grace following the release of her single, ‘Skin’.

What five words define your sound?

Relatable, sultry, dreamy, unique, refreshing

Tell me something unique about your creative process

It’s a combination of observations I find in my daily life. Whether that be what I notice in movies, on public transport, from friends or family and of course my own experiences. I then write down these ideas in my notes / voice memos and take it from there.

Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?

‘Caught up’!

What inspired you to make that song?

To be honest, when making this song, WAVSDNTDIE and I just went with it. He made the beat, I began to sing melodies and then the inspiration came. I thought of lyrics that resonated with me at the time and we took it from there. Every song I write has a personal experience attached to it, whether I associated it consciously or not.

What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?

My latest single ‘Skin’. Although it has an uptempo production; the lyrics show the highest level of vulnerability out of all my releases so far, this one told more of a personal story. But I’d say the most vulnerable music I’ve ever written is yet to come.

What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?

My best experience would be performing at The Kindred for my birthday. I’m a big family person, so this show sticks out to me the most as so many of my family members were able to come and share that moment with me.

What is your favourite song to perform?

‘Higher’ – Piper-Grace

Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?

Oh, this is a hard one. I grew up around so many different types of music. The three albums that stick out to me the most would have to be Rihanna – ‘Anti’, Nina Simone – ‘I Put A Spell On You’ and Amy Winehouse – ‘Back To Black’.

What’s the meaning behind your name?

Both my parents loved the name Piper because of 50’s actress Piper Laurie – then they heard the name again on TV Show Charmed so it kind of stuck. They always planned on hyphenating my name, and so the Grace came from my mother’s adopted sister who I was named after.

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?

I’ve always had a fascination with criminology, so I’d say I would have loved to have done some detective work in another life.

What’s success to you?

Being able to provide for my loved ones, making my family proud and inspiring the next generation.

What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?

I’d say this would be when I left Exeter. I was 17 and went to South Africa, alone. It was time to adapt to the real world and take challenges on my own without the comfort of my family and home environment.

Where can people keep in touch with you?

My social media handles are all the same, @pipergraceb