Manny King John
Who doesn’t love a good beat and lyrics? Serena Foster, a quirky singer from Los Angeles, caught our attention at first glance when we heard the songwriting on the Electro-Pop track. Stating that she can’t get the high that everybody’s chasing, it made us curious to know what she meant. So we asked.
What inspired the lyrics of the record?
The inspiration for the lyrics of this record came from my feeling towards the pressure of growing up. I have always known since I was very young that music was my passion and what I wanted to do, but sometimes being an independent artist can be tough. I have struggled my whole life with anxiety and depression and I’m not gonna lie, there are some days where I honestly just wanna go into “my parents’ basement” and get high. Being an independent artist in 2018 is truly amazing and very exhausting all at the same time. When we were writing this record, X.ARI (one of the writers) came up with this fun idea of writing about being trapped in my parents’ basement and just feeling stuck in life. Whether it had to do with my personal life, work related, or just feeling mentally stuck. I loved it and could relate to this theme so much, and immediately all of us in the room started throwing ideas left and right. It was such a great writing team on this record with Raz Klinghoffer (who was also the producer), Matthew John, X.ARI, and Blake Adam.
Does music make you high?
Absolutely. I love music, and just like something else that might make you high (wink wink), music can do the same thing. It is an instant mood booster.
Who came up with the concept of the music video? Was it fun to create?
The concept was created by my incredible director, Kassy Mahea, and myself. The song speaks to the concept in itself, but it takes an incredible director to execute this tricky theme of getting high in your parents’ basement. We went back and forth for a few weeks about a few different ideas to create a cool story, and eventually, Kassy came up with the idea of showing imaginary figures I see from being high in my parents’ basement. I loved it and said let’s do it. She is so wonderful to work with and I had a blast creating this video together. I love elaborate themes and had so much fun going to a million thrift stores and putting together all of the many costumes you see in the music video.
When you hear the name GRUNGECAKE, what comes to mind?
I would have to say—in my head right now—I am picturing a grunge rocker eating cake while listening to music. Yeah, that’s a pretty cool visual.
