gnash 'TheArtofLettingGo'
Photographer Maegan Grendell @maegangrendellphoto
Model/Artist Gnash (Garrett Nash) @gnash
Makeup Artist/Groomer Lana Hrachian @lanaharachian_mua
Wardrobe Stylist Chechel Joson @chech_joson
BTS Photographer Nadja Aumueller @omillershots
BTS Videographer Connor Fornes @fornesfilm
Journalist Jewel Fiorillo @jewelfphoto
Whatisyournewalbum'TheArtofLettingGo'about?
TheArtofLettingGodroppedon3/23whichistheareacodethatI grewupwith Thealbum'saboutLA,whereI'mfrom,andaboutmy family It'saverypersonalbodyofwork It'slikeopeningupmyjournal whichisabitofadeparturefromthenormallyricaldirectionofThe gnashProject WeplayedwithchangingmynametoGarrettNashlast year Weswitchedbacktognash Ithinkwe'regonnadoubletagthe albumonSpotifytobothGarrettNashandgnash Itfeelslikeavery smartstepintoadulthoodforme Italsoissomethingoutsideofthe wheelhouseofthenormformyproject
Nice,it'llbecoolalsosothatwayyoucanalmostseparateyourpast workfromyourfuturework
Yeah,totally Movingforward,I'msittingonalotofrecordsthatI've beenteasingaboutlivesandstuff ThatIfeelisalittlebitmoreinthe wheelhouseofwhatpeoplemayexpectfromthenextsteponthe gnashproject ThisprojectissomethingI'msuperproudof Imade mostofitoverthepandemicwithmybuddyGabeSimon,whorecently didalltheNoahKahanstuff He'stheproduceronalotofthatstuff It's areallybeautifulbodyofwork I'mextremelyproudofit,andI'mjust excitedtohaveitoutintheworldsopeoplecanhearitandhealfrom it justlikeIdidmakingit
Awesome Readingfromtheexcerptaboutthisalbum,youmentioned struggleswithlettinggoofcertainemotions,relationships,orissues ofsituations Iwascuriouswhenyou'relikesittingwiththose emotionsthatyoucan'tseemtoletgoof,iswritingmusicawayfor youtofullyprocessthesituationthatyou'regoingthroughorhelp youworkthroughthoseemotionseasier?
Yeah Iwasstrugglingwithresentment,frustration,andangerduring thepandemic,justingeneral Iwasalsobeingforcedtofacefeelingsof potentialimminentlossanddoom AllofthesethingsthatIthinkweall kindofuniversallyfelttogether ThewaythatIchosetodealwiththat andknewhowtodealwiththatwasthroughwriting SoIjuststarted writingsongsabouthowIwasfeelingandforthefirsttimeinalong time,usedmusicastherapy It'smesayingIdon'thavetheanswer,but Ithinkthisiskindoftheprocess,youknow?Thealbumgoesthrougha journey Ittalksaboutmepersonally,myrelationships,mythoughtson lifeanddeath,andthingslikethat kindofgoesthroughthisstory At theendoftheday,weallendupatthesamelightattheendofthe tunnelandthelessonsyoulearnalongthewaycancomeupindifferent waysordirections Yoursoulwillreflectthosedifferences I'mabig believerthatwegetpoppedoutintothisexistenceassoulswitha certainsetoflessonstolearn Howwereceivethoseiskindofatthe discretionofthechoiceswemakeinthepastthatyouchoose Atthe endoftheday,we'regonnalearnthoselessonsonewayoranother andthencarrythoseontoournextlife Thisprojectsummarizesalotof thosefeelingsandalsoatthesametimeletsgoofthesethingsthatI've beencarrying Duringtheprocess,IfoundoutIhaveageneticdisease calledhemochromatosis,whichisathingthatmakestoomuchironin yourbody
I'mabigbelieverthateverythinghasaspiritualconnotationaswell asamedicalconnotation Ithasalottodowithyourliver Yourliver carriesalotofresentment Ithinkthatthatwasahugewake-up callformebecausethisisn'tsomethingthatactivatesin everybody'sbodythathasthedoublegenebutitdidforme Iwas like“WhatamIcarrying?”Itreallyforcedmetolookinthemirror, reflectonthosethings,meditateonthem,andgenuinelydomy besttoletgoofthem I'vedonealotofpurgingandreleasing It's beenreallybeautiful
It'sacatharsismethod You'redoingitalsotocopewithyour emotions,butalsotoreallyprocesswhatyoujustrecentlyfoundout aboutyourselfandbeopenaboutit Bringingawarenessisso importantbecauseyoudon'tknowwho'sgonnahearyourmusicand maybetheycanrelateinsomanydifferentways It'sablessingthatIhaveaperspectivelikethis I'vebeeninvolvedina coupleofthebiggestsongsofthelastdecade I'mverygratefulfor that SomethingthatI'vetakenawaythisisthatyoudon'tgetto choosehowmusicimpactspeople Onceit'soutintheworld It'snot reallyyoursanymore,it'suptothemandtheirvibrationandhowthey reflectthatbackontoyou I'mlookingforwardtoseeinghow“TheArt ofLettingGo”helpspeopleintheirhealingprocessbecauseithelped me I'mexcitedtohaveitoutintheworldandmoveontonewstuff I trynottoruminatetoolongonanythinginparticularanymorebecause ourattentionspansarejustgettingsmallerandsmaller I'mreally focusedonjustreleasingalotofmusicbecausethat'sthebestwayI havetocommunicatehowI'mfeelingandpeopleseemtoreally resonatewithit
Seriously Ilikewhatyousaidonceyoureleasethealbumor theproject,youdon'twannafixateonitbecauseyou wannakeepgrowing almostliketransitioningfrom howyoulearned“TheArtofLettingGo”
Itbelongstoeveryoneelse,youknow?Inowneed tocontinuemycreativejourneybutwe'restill gonnakeepdroppingasongatleasteverymonth fortherestoftheyear,ifnotthenexttwoyears Imadeabout180songsforthisproject There areonly12ontheproject I'vegotalotofthings inthebacklogthatI'mgonnadrop,butI'vealsogot alotofnewstuff Imeanmakenewsongseveryday That'sthebestwayI'velearnedthatImakeadifference intheworld Peoplearesoafraidofdeathbecausethey fearleavingalegacy,whatthey’llleavebehind,and people’sopinions Itouchedonthatalittlebitina songontheprojectcalled“BeHereNow”
ItwasrightafterKobedied Iwrote aboutthat Itfeltlikeeverybody hadanopinionabouthim Some peoplewerenegative,andsome peoplewerebringingupthings from15yearsbefore Itjust mademethink,“Whatare peoplegonnasayabout me?”Thenthechorus islike,“Idon'treally havemuchsayover that,soI'm justgonna beherenow”
Whatdoesthisprojectandthemusicthatyou'recreatingwiththis projectmeantoyou?Whatwouldyouwantittomeantoyour listeners?
Idon'treallyhaveanysayoverwhatpeoplethinkoftheprojectorhow itaffectstheirlife Ihopethatitencouragespeopletobemorepresent, kind,liveinawareness,beopentospirituality,otherlifetimes,andsoullevellessons ThecoreofitisthatIhopethatpeoplearemorepresent whentheyhearit Ihopepeoplelistentothewholethingfromtopto bottom Itbecomestheirbedtime,meditation,ortheirroadtrip music Ortheylikeoneortwosongsandtherestofitisn'tforthem I'vegottwofavoritesongsontheproject “Money,Love,andDeath” and“FamilyMan”areamazingsongs Ihopeitiswhatthelightmeans tothem whetherthat'stheinnerlight,somethinginthesky,or somethingyoulearninabook Idon'tknowanyanswers,butIhope thatitencouragespeopletobemorepresent There'sasongcalled “Rainbow”thatIloveandthechorusis,“Whendidmydarknessgetall ofthisconfidence?Iwasanoptimistholdingontohalffull Wheredid myhappinessgo?Ifyoufindit,letmeknowcauseIcouldusea rainbow”Thatsong'sjustmelookingoutthewindowandfeelingsad today Reflectonbeingsoyoucanbecome--youhavetodothebeing Ihopewhenpeopleheartheyalsowannafocusonbeing,evenifit's justforfiveminutesofjustsittingwiththemselves thenoisethatgoes oninyourheadwithoutthenoiseoftheworld,youknow?
It’sgonnabeapersonaljourneyforeverybodywholistens For example,thisyearI'vebeentakingcoldshowersforthefirsttimeand it'sbeenchangingmylife Iloveit Itgivesmeawholenewkickinthe morning Imademy,um,alarmonmyphone,“ThreeLittleBirds”by BobMarley Whenmyfiveminutesareover,itcomeson,andIstart dancing Idon'tknowwhatcombinationorcataclysmicorderofevents causedmetowannadothat Maybeitwasjusttherightamountof“10 thingsallBillionairesdo”onInstagramorwhateveritis,right?Taking timetomyself,beinginmymeditationpractice,andsaying,“Hey, somethingstillisn'tclickinghere”Then,bringingthecoldshowers
Thatmightonlyworkforaweek ButbecauseIwaspresentIwasable toaddanewthingtomyroutinetoexpandthehorizonformyself
Ontothenextarea,Iknowthatyouwereontournottoolongago Do youhaveanyplansfortouringagainoranyliveperformance?
Yeah,IwouldliketoplayonemoreshowinLAsoIdon'thavetogo veryfar IstartedalabelwithinthelastyearinpartnershipwithAtlantic, myfianceandmanagerRosabelleismybusinesspartneronit It's called“Overall”Wehavefouramazingartistsassignedtoit I'd probablyliketodoashortshowcasehybridgnashshowmoment wheretheyplayupstairsatavenueandthenI'mdownstairs Possibly laterintheyear Theconceptoftouringisabitantiquatedtomeatthis point,justbecauseIamcrossinginto30andhaveacat Iamopentoit dependingonthecalling,right?Thebestuseofmybrainishereat homedevelopingtheseprojects Creatingmusicandputtingthatoutin theworldasfastaspossible Noconcreteplans
Whatmadeyouwannastartyourlabel?
I'vealwaysbeensuperpassionateaboutartistdevelopment That's horriblyoverlookedinthemusicbusiness Wehaveacoupleofartists onthelabelthatareincredibleandhaveallstartedindifferent positions Overthelastsixtoeightyearsofthegnashproject,itreally kickedoffin2015/2016 MycreativedirectorMaxmakesallmyartand helpsmewithallmyvideosandthingslikethat He'sfantasticacrossall theseotherprojectstoo Ihaveagreatunderstandingandhavereally greattasteforthingsthatIlike MyvalueonthelabelisfindingthingsI likehelpingdevelop Rosabelleisanincrediblebusinessperson, extremelywellorganizedinawaythatmybrainwillneverbe Between thethreeofus,it’saniceteam Partnershipwithacompanyas incredibleasAtlantictohelpfundthathasbeenamazingandit's allowedformeandRosabelleandMaxtoserveasthisnicebufferzone betweenwhatcouldbeabigscarylabelandasmalldevelopingartist It helpedbridgethatgapandshowit’snotallthatscary Icareabout creatives I'vehadareallywonderfulexperienceinthemusicindustry andalotofpeopledon't SoI'mjusttryingtoshinethatlightonartists thatmaybeneedalittlebitofthatperspective
Doyouhaveanylargeinspirationsthatyouplantoworkwithin thefuture?Anyonethatyouwerereallyinspiredbyandnowyou gettomakeprojectswiththem?
IworkwithamazingpeoplethatIgrewupwithallthetime This MondayIworkedwiththisartist IgrewuplisteningtoDonovan Woods IgottomakeacoupleofsongswithmybuddyShwayze lastyear,andIgrewupworkingashisinternforhimandCisco Adler I'dlovetoworkwithBenGibbard I'dlovetodoasongwith GeorgeHarrison Uh,I'mahugeGeorgeHarrisonfan Hisfirst albumwashugelyinspirationalforme Ihaveawholeboxsetof“All ThingsMustPass”downhere Igotthecollectorsbox I'dloveto workwithJackJohnson ThereareamillionpeopleI'dlovetowork with Thenbeyondthat,I'mobsessedwithTaylorSwift Ithinkthe HarryStylesstuffthat'shappeningisamazing I'mahugefanofhis stuff I'dlovetowritewithEdSheeran Imethimonce He'sareally goodguy I'malwaysopentowhatever
Howdidyougetintosongwritingandbecomingamusician?
I'vealwayslovedmusicsinceIwasalittlekid IstartedDJingwhenI was13 Ifmygrandparentshadaweddinganniversary,Iwasthe performerwhenIwastwoorthreeyearsold I'vealwaysbeenlike thecenteroftheshow IendedupgoingtocollegeatUSCand startedputtingoutlittlecovers Iwasgoingthroughmyfirst breakup,soIhadthisideatomakethreeEPsaboutthejourney throughthatbreakup:findingsomeone,findingmyself,andthen findingsomethingnew Ontheotherendofthatprocess,Ithought Iwasjustgonnagotolawschool,butpeoplestartedtoreallylike themusicbythetime“ihateu,iloveu”cameout Ihadarecord dealwithAtlanticandIguessI'manartist That'swherethe universeputme Idealtwithinevitableimpostersyndromeandall thethingsthatcomefromthat I'mjustextremelyg endoftheday
HowdidyoumeetOliviaO'Brienwho'sfeaturedon“ihateu,i loveu”?
Oliviacoveredmyfirstsingle,andIhearditwaslike,wow,this person'svoiceisamazing Weconnectedoverthat Shestarted sendingmedemos Oneofthemwas“ihateu,iloveu” Ithoughtit wasincredible HerdadbroughtherdowntoLA,andwerecorded it IputmyverseonitandIdroppedithopingtodriveherabunch offanscauseIwasreadytothrowinthetowelonthegnash projectandjustkindofdevelopherasanartist Thenitdidreally wellandallofasuddeneverybodywaslookingatmeandher We metthroughmusic
Ilovedthatyouhelpedyouuseyourplatformtohelpasmall artistgrow Whatdoesyouridealstudiosessionlooklike?What doesyourwholecreativeprocesslooklike? Ithappenshereinthisroom Iwritemystuff Ihaveacoupleofkey collaboratorsthatItendtocyclebackto WhenIwriteforother people,Iusuallyliketoplayamiddlemanbetweentheartistand theproducer Iplayalittlebitofsongwriter,production,andkind ofjustgivingpointers Icanonlyreallyworkin-housesetups Ilike agoodstudiohangfromtimetotime Ifeelthemostcomfortable hereathome
Ifyoucouldchooseanywhereintheworldtoperform,wherewoulditbeandwhy? Usually,theplacesthatI'mmostexcitedtogoto,theshowsarenotthemostfun I haven'tdoneanyinSweden I'dbeopentothat Therehavebeenacouple[of]really coolvenuesthatIlove WhenwegotoBrussels,weplayinthisverycoolbotanical gardenvenuethat'sapartofthisgarden IloveplayingtheRoxy Myfavoriteplaceto performishereathome[with]mypets We makeupsongs allthetimeforthem They allhavenicknamesobviously It'salllikea momentofinspiration,funnysongs Those aremyfavoritevenues:kitchen,bedroom, frontyardwhileI'mwateringthe gardenisnice
Thatishilarious Whatisyourfavoritethingaboutbeingamusicianandwhat'syourfavoritethingaboutmusic?
Idon'tactuallyconsidermyselfamusician Iconsidermyselfsomeonewhohaslistenedtoalotof&lovessongs Beingamusician[allows me]tosharemyopinion Itkindofisthisselfishandselflessprocessatthesametimebecauseit'scatharticforme It’showmuchmusic canmeantopeopleandhowfarmusiccanreach Maybesomeonehasn’tusedtheinternetbefore,buttheyknowwhotheBeatlesare, youknow?That'sabeautifulthingaboutmusic It’soneoftheoldestformsofcreativeexpression Musichasbeenhereforever,anditwill behereforever I'mjustalittletinypartofthatstory I'magrainofsandonthebeachofmusic Also,Ijustwantedtosharethatthere'san amazinganimalorganizationthatwe'regonnabeworkingwithonthisprojectcalled“BestFriendsAnimalSanctuary”whichisleadingthe endofkillsheltersinAmericaby2025 TheyhaveawonderfulsanctuaryinUtahthatwewentandvisited We'reobsessedwiththem I'm abigsupporterofanimaladoptionandallofourpetsarerescues Justwantedtoputalittleseedinsomeone'sbrainthatmaybethey could Theplacefeelslikeanationalforestwhenyougo Therearesanctuariesfordifferenttypesofanimals:dogs,cats,pigeons,lizards, ferrets,etc Theyputtheminhabitatsthatarenaturalforthembecausebasically,thesanctuaryiswhereanimalsgowhentheycan'tbe adoptedandtheyneedspecialmedicalcare
Thisorganizationrefusestoputanimalsdownso theywillsendthemtothesanctuarytobecared forforever Thefoodiscompletelyveganandit's justawonderfulexperience Theyhavetoursyou candoandyoucanmeettheanimals Wehada greattime Awholeeraofmylifeisfindingwaysto givebackdirectlyandanimalsarehugeforme Eventually,mydreamwouldbetohaveastudioat theUtahlocation Artistscouldgoandtheyhave ahotel I'dlovetomakeoneoftheroomsastudio andnameitafterHazy Thenartistscangoand theycanhelpwiththeanimalsandcanrecord andthenkindofdoitasatrade
Amazing,I'mgonnalookthemup Thatisreally cool Itwassogreattomeetyou Thankyouso muchforyourtime! Yeah,ofcourse Thankyou!
Producer Ekaterina Lukovnikova @ne rodis hudozhnikom
Wardrobe Stylist/Model Daniela Morales Molina @daniela momo
Photographer/Retoucher Andrey Lukovnikov @lukovnikov photo
Model Adrianna Kaczmarek @ada kaczmarek96
Photographer Kamil Tust @analogowy swiat
