Von Grey wrote “Plans” during a “very difficult decision-making process,” as Annika von Grey tells Billboard. Two of the three band members — who are also sisters — made the move from Atlanta, GA to New York City, and everyone started attending university. As such, the trio struggled to leave the comfort of their “lovers, friends, and roots.”
Channeling that discomfort into music, the band recorded “Plans,” which will appear on their next studio album In Bloom, due July 20. You can get your first listen today (May 7).
“The song is about the scary process of pulling apart all of your safety nets,” Annika explains. “It’s about listlessness, not knowing what’s best for you, and trying to handle change with tenderness.”
Listen to “Plans” below, and check out the rest of our Q&A with Von Grey.
In Bloom will include some acoustic re-recordings of your album TRINITY. Why did you decide to strip things down?
The three songs from TRINITY that we selected to rework were three of the most personal songs on the EP. We wanted another chance to connect with them in ways that sonically matched their conceptual vulnerability. Stripping the recordings down and really breaking them open gave us space to reconnect with the songs and explore them in ways that brought us back to our roots as songwriters and instrumentalists.
This is our first recording project that has been entirely self-produced and self-engineered, and it felt natural to hone our DIY recording skills in a context that relied heavily on our musical/sonic roots. The entire creative process has involved us getting more comfortable with our own vulnerability, and that mental/emotional adjustment inspired all three of the new songs that will be on the EP. The three newest songs really play within that space of almost uncomfortable rawness, both lyrically and in the way that we treated and recorded our instruments. We recorded our voices in our kitchen, cello in our bedrooms…the entire project is made up of the most immediate, unfiltered pieces of ourselves that we have to offer.
You have a few tour dates coming up. What’s your live show like?
Our live show is constantly evolving, and it changes a bit depending on the vibe we want to present and the venue we are playing. The setlist for our upcoming tour is going to focus really heavily on intricate vocal arrangements and fairly raw instrumentation. We always like to incorporate a warm, bass-y underbelly for all of the soundscapes we create, but our Spring/Summer tour is definitely going to be a bit less dance-y than usual and will be more of an intimate, story-telling musical experience.
If someone hasn’t heard you before, what song should they listen to first?
“Plans” is the VON GREY song that has us the most excited at the moment. We are also really attached to “Poison In The Water” and “Forever Bound.”
What’s something you’ve been passionate lately outside of your work?
Fiona spends most of her free time taking photographs and curating visual content. Her Sony A 6500 is her best friend, and she has directed both of our most recent video projects as well as shooting a variety of music videos for other artists. Kathryn spends a lot of her time with children and has been on a recent foray into the world of developmental education and psychology. I spend most of my time studying herbalism and reading up on political theory and philosophy. All three of us passionately stress ourselves out over climate change, queer discourse, and gender issues — constantly trying to find ways to mobilize and participate in the things that matter!
Anything else in the pipeline?
More songwriting, more performing, and more recording! As always, we have a bunch of visual content in the works and are feeling generally inspired and ready to stretch new artistic muscles and push ourselves to venture into as-of-yet unknown musical territories.