VIDEO PREMIERE: Kate Gratson Performs «Next to me»

« You’re wrong when it’s right, it’s black and it’s white, we fight we break up, we kiss we make up, you don’t really want to stay, but you don’t  really want to go », excerpt from Hot’n’cold by Katy Perry.

This is not only the perfect sums up of every on and off relationship, but the perfect start of the piece and single we’re introducing to you here.

Next to me is the third release in 2020 from Kate Gratson, an independent woman, born and raised in New York.

Trained from an early age as a cellist and vocalist, Gratson was destined to pursue classical music as a career.

Yet growing up and going places, she fed her musicianship with new sources of inspiration.

After her studies, she returned to NYC to create a new body of work. Steeping herself in writing and producing she found inspiration in artists who blur the lines between jazz, classical, and pop music, such as James Blake, NAO, and Snoh Aalegra.

That’s how Kate Gratson produced most of her records from her forthcoming EP, The Girl You Knew, right in her bedroom, in DIY mode.

Her voice is nothing but smooth, as heart-warming as Mali-Koa‘s. Melodies sound so peaceful, with a fine taste for R&B flavors. Gratson catches our attention on every word she’s saying.

“Next to Me” tells the story of a woman who is newly confident in expressing herself, after years of self-doubt, with lyrics such as:

“I’ll be the one to say so, don’t make it hard. I’ll be the first to let go, put down my guard”. These confident lyrics fit seamlessly within the polished production.

Next to me suggests the tale of two persons being in a indecisive relationship. She’s having a hard time letting the man goes (« Don’t make it hard »), as she claims to be the boldest (« I’m bolder than the rest »), and expresses her irrepressible desires for meeting him (« there’s no reason to wait »).

But this one-sided game of seduction is slowly getting as childish as, which leads somehow to a toxic romance: « how many days did we play hide and seek ».

After being patient for years and waiting on him to make up his mind and make a move, the lady’s done (« we know it’s now or never, make up your mind, can’t hurt to try »). They only have one life, so why wait? Plus deep in her heart, she’s got the feeling they were both made for one another, like soulmates.

Whatever the tales this song might suggest you, for a young woman living in New York City, this life is all-about assertiveness and self-confidence.

After all, like Demi Lovato sang it, what’s wrong with being confident ?