To like something has become more than an admirable feeling towards a thing or a person. To like something today means to set a value at the push of a button. To lose yourself in the thought that you have to be liked by everyone is quite easy. It's a crushing inner debate that Greta Isaac shines a light on in her latest single.
“Like Me’ swiftly follows Greta’s first two releases, "Power" and "Pessimist”, which both attracted a glut of media attention. BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, taste maker blogs such as NOTION and diffus have shown their support for Greta and she has also landed spots on regional stations such as BBC Radio Wales & Amazing Radio as well as on several prestigious editorial playlists across all streaming platforms.
Starting out as a gentle pop song, "Like Me” builds up anger and clout over its runtime, ridiculing today's fears and expectations. "We wanted something that sounded like anxiety, a quick heartbeat, that urgency. This rising panic. We just bashed it out in an hour. It sounded like a dance track that we were thinking of pitching to someone. But when we put the guitar in it became so gnarly," Greta remembers about writing it. "It’s probably the most on the nose in terms of just wanting to be validated and how that is my intention behind everything I do. But I still wanted it to sound like a euphoric release, for it to give you relief from any panic that I felt. I never get bored of it, I love it!"
"Like Me" is part of Greta Isaac's new EP that is out in May. It comes with a self-shot, self-directed video by the artist. Greta grouped several female creatives around her to give the "Like Me" video an all encompassing look and message. Setting, outfit and choreography are crafted to make the viewer see the intimate desperation of wanting to be loved.
Greta says: “I wanted to set the scene in a house that doesn’t seem to have an up or down or means of exit. I wanted the space to feel very familiar too - somewhere that, in a way to find comfort in my inability to leave, for fear of being judged, I’d transformed into a sort of playground - Locked in the safety of the world I’d constructed for myself where I was never challenged or threatened. My intention was always for the house to feel like a character in and of itself, one that almost felt alive. We managed to create this illusion with a combination of very specific movement and shots.”
Her sister Elan Isaac then choreographed the sensual, puppet like dance. "I had such fun creating the movement for Greta's video," Elan remembers. "She gave me a visual mood board and description of the energy and feeling she wanted to portray and put her trust in me to interpret that through my style. I wanted the movement to be playful, feral and childlike but to also have a cool and sensual air to it. I looked to Bob Fosse's iconic style and meshed it with gestural movement - I like taking everyday, natural actions and stretching it out so it becomes a bit distorted and stylised. It was also so fun to have the backdrop of the house to play around with - I wanted Greta's movement at the end to look like she was having a wild party by herself but actually the house was very much alive and at the same party."
To rund everything off, stylist Suzie Walsh created a unique outfit for the shoot: "The design was very much a collaboration between Greta and I. We wanted to build a look inspired by lingerie and corsetry, the textiles within the location, but with a deconstructed approach. Inspired by the tones and mood of the location, and Gret's desire to feel part of the space in which she was trapped, I used upholstery fabric to make the top and skirt, and deconstructed an old corset and covered with Poundland leather scrap car cloths, then styled with some spandex pieces I'd dyed."
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