REVIEW: "Wake Up" by Nolo Grace Feat. Sean Kingston
Nolo Grace
A Globetrotting Artist Bound For International Stardom.
Before we get into the fascinating artist that is Nolo Grace, I think it's mind-blowing that "Wake Up" is only her debut single. Here, Nolo has mastered a unique and dreamy mood laced with such irresistibly catchy melodies that it's hard to believe this is her first offering as an artist. On top of this, throw a Sean Kingston feature into the mix, and you simply can't see this song being anything but an anthem to a post-pandemic summer. On a side note, we should probably remember that this is the very same Sean Kingston, whose debut single, "Beautiful Girls", peaked at no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the charts for 22 weeks. It's fair to say, Nolo Grace is in good company and seems to be on her way to big things.
"Wake Up", out today, kicks off with moody synths that provide a perfect backdrop for Nolo's incredibly captivating vocal performance. She wraps us up in what sounds like conversations with her younger self with lyrics like, "don't sacrifice yourself, not for anyone," and before we know it, the beat drops, and we're cruising straight towards a hugely hooky chorus. Something that sets this track aside from other contemporary pop songs is Nolo's lyricism and the atmosphere she builds around it.
Of her process, Nolo says, "she tries to approach music like a child exploring sound, often starting tracks spontaneously using her own voice and building from there," and I think this is apparent in how these textures and sounds seem to float around and emphasize her lyrics at just the right moments. Importantly, once you learn her backstory and the whole context of this song, "Wake Up" becomes an even more cathartic listen.
Growing up in the home of two Korean immigrants, Nolo says her earliest memories were begging her parents for piano lessons but unfortunately, in her household, "music was discouraged." So at the age of 14, Nolo departed for boarding school, and soon after, she landed herself a successful position as a young executive deep in the world of Wall Street. While this may have filled her life with stability, it definitely did not fill her soul. Nolo told us, "I spent so much of my life chasing a phantom idea of success…burning myself out working 100-hour weeks for dreams that weren't my own, and believing that if I pushed myself hard, I would one day achieve success and be happy." So it was very much this realization that encouraged Nolo to leave behind a world that wasn't working for her, take a risk, and adopt a digital nomad's lifestyle. After a series of one-way flights, adventures in over 40 countries, and deep spiritual practice, Nolo eventually landed in Los Angeles with a newfound love for music production and a renewed purpose as an artist.
Nolo says, "Discovering music production and Ableton was completely life-changing," and I have to say how glad we are at IndieWavves that she had this awakening. "Wake Up" is a brilliant song with a fantastic story, and it is clearly going to be the soundtrack of many people's lives this summer.
Written by George Barnett