Gretta Ray on envying her younger self, new album 'Positive Spin'

Dear Seventeen is a very compassionate letter to your younger self: “I could resent you, but I don't” and “Don't change a thing when you don't know a thing at all” are two of its memorable lines. It's sometimes incredibly hard not to cringe at our former selves – did you always feel so forgiving of Baby Gretta?

I’m so happy that you like Dear Seventeen! I definitely haven’t always felt forgiving of my younger self. However, the ‘resent’ that I address in that song was actually inspired by envy of my younger self, rather than the ‘cringe’ moments!

There was this wave of excitement and interest that came with the release of my song Drive when I was seventeen, which brought in so many opportunities that I’m forever grateful for. Now, at 25, I know a lot more about this job. Sometimes I wish a similar ‘wave’ would occur with a new song because I believe I would know how to navigate it a lot better now that I have more experience!

I think this kind of feeling is what the phrase ‘youth is wasted on the young’ is about… but I actually hate that phrase and think it’s so stupid. The truth is, I was perfectly equipped to ride that wave at seventeen - it taught me so much, and it’s brought me to where I am now! So I really wouldn’t change a thing, and when I get caught up in that feeling of envy and resentment, I now have this song as a reminder to be a little more gentle when thinking of little me.

Light On is one of the most relatable and beautifully-rendered songs of observation and reflection we've heard since Maisie Peters. When did its penny – the thread of its tale – drop into your mind, and did it come all at once?

Thank you, that’s so lovely that Light On is a stand-out to you!

I started writing it when I was in L.A last October, working with Gab [Strum, producer]. I knew that I wanted to write about a very specific feeling: the ‘arriving at the right place’ in a relationship and finally feeling secure and confident in that connection.

Incorporating the ‘leave the light on’ lyric felt really special because there are two songs on my previous record, Begin to Look Around, that talk about hoping someone would ‘leave on the light’ for me in a relationship or what they would need to do to prove that I should ‘leave on the light’ for them. Now that that’s deep in the past, the light is finally on in this new, trusting love.

I took a while to get this song right because the subject matter was so important to me. Writing happy love songs can be challenging, and I really needed this song to ‘speak volumes, ’ as I say in the lyrics!

Heartbreak Baby gives us major Taylor Swift energy (and we know you're a fan, as you lay it out in Dear Seventeen). What do you admire the most about her songwriting?

Thank you so much! Yes, I am a huge fan, and what I admire the most about her songwriting is how she is constantly trying new things - for me, this goes far beyond the ‘eras’/‘reinventing herself’ concept… I am blown away when I listen to a new record of hers and hear her using melodies that I would have never expected her to or incorporating production ideas that are unfamiliar to her fans. She continues expanding her skill set, and it’s just so ridiculously impressive.

The vocoded, Imogen Heap-style harmonies which open Nobody Here (and the similarly gorgeous layered harmonies in the chorus of Can't Keep It Casual) are divine. Do you have to give yourself a time limit on playing around with those layers so you don't just do it forever? Is it Gab who has to rein you in (or who gives you rope)?

I’m so stoked you picked up on that reference! In terms of finding balance and ‘reining it in,’ I honestly think it depends on the song. When it’s an album track, I feel like I’m free to layer as many vocals as I like, experiment, and be flexible. If I know the song could be a single, I focus a little less on excessively decorating the song and do my best to assure that it is structurally strong, catchy, and appealing to a larger variety of people.

The title track is a rosy opener and full of excellent advice. But how do you know when to allow yourself to be sad instead of injecting a situation with what could turn out to be toxic positivity that isn't honest to your true feelings?

One thing I really want my audience to know about this new album is that just because we are ‘seeking out the silver lining’, that doesn’t mean we are ignoring the clouds themselves and pretending like they're not there! I think it’s so important to sit with your emotions and feel every single one of them.

I’m fortunate in the sense that songwriting is an outlet for me - it allows me to process any given situation and to arrive on the other side of it knowing more about myself and how I’m going to move through it. While I think there are plenty of scenarios that you would be wrong to put a positive spin on, I also believe that heavier situations and emotions can serve as vehicles to drive us into more positively intended actions. For example, the global pandemic and several hard lockdowns in my home city of Melbourne made me feel miserable, but at the same time, I was all the more grateful for life in general after that experience.

The bad taught me to see the good and to appreciate it more rather than suppress the bad entirely.

Positive Spin by Gretta Ray drops via EMI.