THE 'WAVES' OF MEGAN GRANEY
How Megan Graney's latest single 'Waves' washed over an audience.
We are so excited for your release of 'Waves'! Congratulations!
Are you soaking up the release right now?
I am definitely soaking up the release still! ‘Waves’ was released on August 27th and I couldn’t have hoped for a better receival. This song had so much intention behind it, from the music to the artwork. I really wanted to set up this release to help people feel empowered through catharsis. The song was written as an homage to grief, after my father passed away in 2020. I am so grateful that it’s helped soothe the continued pain for anyone who has lost a loved one. ‘Waves’ sparked many conversations about resiliency and alchemizing grief into hope.
Best fan reaction to the single?
The best fan reaction is a toss up between two people. I had one person reach out and tell me the single’s release lined up with their grandmother’s anniversary of passing away. I had no clue what kind of synchronicities were going to unfold when I put this song out. They mentioned that their grandma would have loved this kind of music, which confirmed a sense of timelessness for this song. I was very humbled knowing my music was able to honor the memories, and never ending love for her grandmother.
Another fan’s reaction was more heavy on the dark humor side, which I can personally relate to with my own process. He promoted this song as ‘musical Xanax’ and I thought that was so spot on. This fan also mentioned the song made him cry! He’s not one to cry very easily, so that made me feel honored this song moved him in such an unexpected way. This all ties back to the intention of helping someone connect and release deep sorrow from grief.
What was the best part of the release?
The best part of the release was being able to relax and watch how ‘Waves’ washed over everyone. I can’t resist squeezing in a pun. Truthfully? I was incredibly moved to see people of every background reach out to me. All age groups, religious/nonreligious, race, sex, sexual preference, you name it. The representation was endlessly diverse in sharing vulnerability about another’s experience with grief. I was blown away to see how this song resonated on a universal level. It further proved that our mortality is inevitable and it’s just a matter of when we experience loss.
What was the most nerve wracking?
The most nerve wracking thing was knowing how drastically different this song compares to my first single ‘Borrowed Time.’ I was nervous that this would throw listeners through a loop. Moreso the judgement, that it doesn’t match the initial groovy-feel-good ‘brand’ I put out. In general my music touches on how complex the range of human emotions are. Thankfully, my nerves calmed down when fans, friends, and family reached out expressing how much this song touched them. It became a pleasant surprise and some preferred this style over the first song! It was so refreshing to see people yearning for raw honesty in music. I felt relief knowing there will be a deep appreciation for how I convey my own vulnerability.
How are you living your best life right now?
I am living my best life right now by doing a dance between resting and creating. A quote I’m living by is ‘Do what feels good.’ Having that mindset has empowered me to say ‘no’ to more things that aren’t serving my highest purpose in life. I am still unlearning feeling guilty and an obligation to do things that aren’t giving me joy. Life is short. There is no use in wasting time with excuses that are backed up by fear and self-sabotage. I think all of us have suffered enough from that. I am purely focusing on daily choices that uplift my mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. It has definitely honed my self-discipline in discovering what truly makes me happy. Commanding my quality of life is no longer distant from me, it is always present.
What's up next for you?
The next thing for me is finishing my debut EP. Part of that includes building customized artwork for each song. We are working with graphic creators that can help us capture the emotional symbolism of each song with striking visuals. Eventually, we will be releasing music videos after the unveiling of the EP. Hopefully by next year, I can start to showcase this body of work with live performances. Performing a tour of my own has been a huge dream and we’re building a solid foundation for that to become a reality soon. The journey continues!
Social media! Thank you Megan!
You can stay up to date with me through my website megangraney.com and follow my upcoming releases on Instagram and Spotify. All of my social media platforms can be found on Linktree here: https://linktr.ee/MeganGraneyMusic.
If you would like to support my music and artistic team, you can become a member under my Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/megangraneymusic. Building a community around creativity is a top priority for us to continue providing quality music and content for my audience. Your monthly support is invaluable for an emerging independent artist. We can’t wait to share more exciting updates with you as they unfold!