There is no life event more beautifully disorienting than having a child. It changes your life forever and brings your own mortality into new light. Children represent the future potential and legacy, and they are often one of the most inspiring moments in an artist’s life.
Multi-instumentalist producer Active Child, (born Patrick Grossi), and his partner recently welcomed a daughter, and the love he felt in his heart was honed into luscious song.
“‘Set me free’ is for my daughter Nova,” the artist tells Billboard Dance. “I sing, thanking her for breaking the spell and filling my voice with light and air and hope again. Its like a hymn to me.”
Grossi actually began writing the tune a few years ago, kicking at it now and again in his Pasadena studio. It wasn’t until a few weeks after his daughter was born that the final pieces, including the vocals, fell into place. “Set Me Free” is tender and warm, moody with atmopsherics that capture the quiet glow of newfound parenthood.
“I tracked layer upon layer of vocal overdubs and harmonies to help translate how big my spirit felt at that moment,” he continues. “Songs began to take shape more easily after that, and her arrival was the catalyst for all of it. It had been a long time away for me, but I never stopped writing. So it’s a bit of a relief to find people are still eager to take the time to listen.”
“Set Me Free” is paired with a cinematic video that captures the wonder and love between parent and child. Grossi and Nova have a sweet cameo in the middle. The song is out now on Sony Music, but you can check out the music video exclusively on Billboard Dance below.