Q&A: GRACE. On The Journey Behind ‘Hourglass Plea’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY DANIELLE HOLIAN ☆
HOURGLASS PLEA IS THE DEBUT FULL-LENGTH ALBUM—from Singapore-based Indonesian artist GRACE., and it’s an introspective, heartfelt record.
GRACE. embarked on her musical journey in 2020, transforming a long-held passion into a creative refuge that quickly found resonance with listeners around the world. Blending the lush traditions of R&B, soul and jazz with a rising indie sensibility, she cultivates a sound that feels both vibrant and unmistakably her own. Her music moves gracefully through the complexities of life, love and heartbreak, creating a space for thoughtful introspection and gentle reflection. With expressive vocals, elegant melodies and a warmth that lingers, GRACE. invites listeners into an experience that is as deeply personal as it is quietly uplifting.
Hourglass Plea is an emotional passage through time and fleeting moments. This album was a process of channeling grief and love, finding closure during one of the most challenging years of her life. It marks a striking debut for GRACE., introducing an artist who transforms vulnerability into something luminous.
“I wrote Hourglass Plea during one of the hardest years of my life—a time when I was processing grief and heartbreaks that eventually gave birth to this album,” GRACE. notes. “It became my safe space to process grief, love, closure and everything in between. Each song feels like a page from my journal—vulnerable, gentle, honest and deeply personal.”
Across 11 tracks spanning just over 35 minutes, she constructs a world where impermanence becomes a central character, felt in every sigh of her vocals and every whisper of her arrangements. The album reads like a private journal rendered in melody: an intimate chronicle of loss, longing and quiet self-discovery. Ethereal soundscapes drift around her introspective lyricism, giving the record a cinematic softness that allows listeners to sink fully into its emotional terrain. From the delicate ache of “Brittle Emotions” to the reflective glow of “Hourglass Reverie,” the project continually returns to the notion that fragility, rather than diminishing beauty, often defines it.
Within this framework, GRACE. demonstrates a refined command of her influences while carving out a sonic identity that is distinctly her own. Her blend of R&B, soul, jazz and indie threads her into a lineage of artists who excel in emotional intimacy. She evokes the confessional warmth of Clairo, Olivia Dean and Cleo Sol while weaving in the atmospheric, cinematic textures of Bruno Major and Laufey. Yet, nothing about the album feels derivative. Instead, she filters these inspirations through her own sensibilities, creating music that is both contemporary and timeless. The ebb and flow between dreamy mid-tempo grooves, stripped-down ballads and gently unfolding interludes mirrors the way memories surface and recede, the way grief softens at its edges, and the way clarity sometimes emerges in moments of quiet.
What ultimately sets Hourglass Plea apart is GRACE.’s honesty and willingness to sit with discomfort, name tenderness and find meaning in the ephemeral. She approaches life’s most delicate moments not with grand declarations but with attentive stillness, letting small details and softly held emotions do the heavy lifting. Hourglass Plea is an album that lingers; one whose melodies stay suspended in the mind long after they fade from the speakers. As a debut, it reveals an artist unafraid to confront life’s fragility with openness and grace, offering a body of work that is not only beautifully crafted but profoundly human.
Through a tapestry of luminous soundscapes and quietly contemplative narratives, Hourglass Plea invites listeners to dwell in the presence of impermanence, to mourn what has slipped away, to cherish what endures, and to recognize the fragile beauty of moments destined to fade. Each composition serves as a gentle meditation on the bittersweet reality that nothing is made to last forever, and that this very transience may be what renders each fleeting experience so profoundly precious.
Read on for the rest of the conversation with GRACE.
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking with Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music. For any who aren't familiar yet, what inspires your artistic style and creative persona?
GRACE.: What inspires me most is life itself, really. I’ve always been someone who feels things deeply, so I’m naturally drawn to any art that carries layers of emotion and meaning, whether it’s poetry, paintings, films or music. My musical influences range from jazz and R&B/soul to modern indie sounds, and I’m inspired by artists across many different genres who blur boundaries to create something truly their own. In person, while I love diving into deep conversations, I’m also a pretty chill, bubbly, and easygoing person. That duality naturally shapes my whole creative persona.
LUNA: You describe Hourglass Plea as a deeply personal diary set to music. How did the act of creating this album help you navigate such a challenging year?
GRACE.: Most of the songs on Hourglass Plea grew out of my personal journal. I’ve always loved journaling my thoughts freely without judgment, just to express what I truly feel. Many of the songs were written as I processed my hardest breakup, so a lot of the tracks came directly from those raw journal entries [and] turned into songs. Some also came from moments when you’re starting to hope again for something new, only to have it end briefly—another “hourglass moment,” you could say. Creating this album was incredibly therapeutic for me in processing different kinds of “letting go” as it allowed me to fully sit with my feelings, process them honestly, and put everything in its right place. I can honestly say I’m not where I was back then (thank God!), and that’s also because I’ve given myself the space to truly feel and work through it all, rather than brushing it aside. This album is that space for me.
LUNA: The album grapples with impermanence and the fleeting nature of time. How did you translate such abstract emotions into concrete songs?
GRACE.: This is such a great question, and honestly, I’m not sure I could ever answer it perfectly. But I guess to put it simply, it comes back to how I see songwriting at its core as my honest journal and a way to process my feelings. I take those raw, unfiltered thoughts and shape them into a musical structure, letting the sound carry the emotion beyond words. Everyone communicates differently, and for me, art—whether music, lyrics, painting, film, or other creative forms,---has this unique power to hold the abstract, the fleeting, and make it tangible. For me, the essence lies in capturing the feeling, creating something listeners don’t just hear, but truly feel.
LUNA: Each track feels like a page from your journal. Were there moments when writing a song felt more like therapy than music-making?
GRACE.: You really got it—that’s exactly it. For me, songwriting is a form of therapy, and with this album I really combined the two. Especially with the sadder tracks, writing them honestly felt more like therapy first rather than music-making. Heartbreak and grief are deep, universal struggles most of us face, and in sharing what I’ve been working through, I hope it can help listeners process their own journeys too.
LUNA: Your music balances grief, love and closure. Did you approach these themes in a particular order, or did they emerge organically?
GRACE.: To me, life is a constant loop of loving and letting go. I’d say love comes first, then grief and finally closure, because you can only grieve something that once meant so much to you, and through that you eventually find closure. I also arranged the tracklist intentionally. The first part, from “Brittle Emotions” to “Can We Turn Back Time?,” I see as side A or Chapter 1: representing a cycle of loving and letting go. Side B, from “brittle emotions (interlude)” to “not today, but maybe someday.” is Chapter 2: where you begin to open up again, feel hopeful for something new and eventually have to let go once more while still quietly holding onto the lingering hope of “not today, but maybe someday.” To me, life keeps circling through these moments—of love, loss, and closure—not only in romantic relationships, but in all the ways we grow, move,and evolve through life.
LUNA: “A fraction of you” is a recurring motif in your poem and lyrics. How do you define the significance of holding onto fragments of moments or people?
GRACE.: “Fraction of You,” to me represents how we don’t always get to keep people or moments in their entirety, but parts of them stay with us. A memory, a feeling, a lesson. It’s also inspired by the word “morii,” which means the desire to capture a fleeting moment, like taking a picture of a sunset that only lingers for a while. I think that’s the beauty and ache of human connection: you move on, but traces remain, and those fragments shape who you become next.
LUNA: The album combines ethereal soundscapes with intimate lyricism. How do you decide when a song should lean toward dreamlike instrumentation versus direct emotional storytelling?
GRACE.: I love this question because it really reflects what I was imagining for the album. On this record, the dreamlike instrumentation tends to appear on the love songs, capturing airy, blissful and fleeting moments of happiness. The sadder songs, however, lean into direct emotional storytelling, where the lyrics take center stage and carry the weight of the emotions. The soundscape supports this, creating an atmosphere that deepens the impact of the lyrics. It’s this balance between ethereal sound and intimate expression that shapes the emotional journey of the album.
LUNA: Tracks like “Can We Turn Back Time?” and “Stay By My Side” explore longing and vulnerability. How do you balance honesty with preserving personal boundaries?
GRACE.: Balancing honesty with personal boundaries is something I think about a lot when writing. I want my songs to be emotionally truthful, yet I also deeply value privacy. Sometimes that means leaning on metaphor or abstraction, letting the feelings come through without revealing the details. Other times, it’s about choosing which moments to share and which to keep to myself. Ultimately, it’s about being vulnerable in a way that resonates with listeners, while still protecting my own emotional space. My lyricism aims to express emotions honestly and universally, more poetic than literal without exposing specific people or unique experiences.
LUNA: In your poem, you speak of cherishing “fractions” of people and moments. How do you personally reconcile attachment and letting go?
GRACE.: I think for me, holding onto fragments or fractions is actually a central part of the process—maybe even the first step in letting go. When something ends and you can’t fully accept it yet, all you can do is cling to the pieces that were once yours. It’s a way to honour those moments and be grateful they happened. Over time, you learn to let go fully; recognizing that the past belongs in the past, putting things back in their proper place and understanding that every fragment has shaped who you are today. By fully acknowledging their significance, you honour what they meant to you, but also allow yourself to move forward; respecting the memory without being held back by it, and holding onto the hope of what lies ahead.
LUNA: Nostalgia and fragile hope are central to your sound. Do you see music as a way of preserving memory?
GRACE.: That’s an interesting question. I’ve always thought of photos and videos as ways to preserve memories, but now that you mention it, I think music can do the same. For me, it’s less about capturing a moment exactly and more about documenting my journey: my growth, my feelings, and what was significant to me at that particular point in life. Music becomes a record of who I was and how I experienced life in that moment.
LUNA: Were there moments during the year you wrote this album when music felt like the only way to process your emotions?
GRACE.: Actually, not really. It was definitely one of the most significant ways I processed my emotions, but another big part was talking with my best friends who can help put words to what I’m feeling. They are my free therapists. Sometimes our conversations would go like this: me trauma-dumping, followed by, “Okay, I just wrote a song that might express this better than my rambling words,” and then sending them a raw voice note with the lyrics. I’m not great at expressing raw emotions verbally. It usually comes out as rambling. Music becomes a more polished way for me to express what I’m going through, and songwriting has been a truly healthy form of therapy. And those closest to me would usually understand me through my writing. Alongside my faith journey and hope in God, I see music as a gift He has given me—a way to process, reflect and find healing.
LUNA: You mention hoping the album reminds listeners to hold their loved ones tighter. How do you see music acting as a connector between people?
GRACE.: Music has always been such a powerful connector between people, though I think that’s true of any form of art. It creates space for conversation, reflection and shared emotion. Just like how my friends help me put words to what I’m feeling, music does that on a broader scale, it helps people feel seen and understood. What makes music unique is that you can sing it out loud, over and over again. From one corner of my room to another corner of someone else’s, it becomes a bridge—a reminder, a reflection and a quiet way of saying, “you’re not alone.”
LUNA: How do you anticipate sharing such personal songs in live performances? Does vulnerability feel different on stage?
GRACE.: It definitely feels different, but in a good, unique way. Performing live makes the songs feel new again because you get to share them in a moment that exists only between you and the people in that room. There’s something really intimate about that shared experience. It's like group therapy. I think I’d go more personal and conversational in smaller indoor settings, where I can tell the stories behind the songs. I haven’t performed on a large outdoor stage yet, but if I do, I’d probably let the lyrics carry the emotion and let the songs tell their own stories—sometimes that speaks louder than words.
LUNA: Do you hope listeners will find their own reflections and healing in Hourglass Plea, or do you see it more as a personal statement of your journey?
GRACE.: 100 percent. What started as writing to help me through my own difficult moments, I now hope can help others in their own seasons too, especially those experiencing similar feelings. I’ve always believed in serving others through everything I do. Grief and heartbreak take many forms, and if someone listens to this album and finds even a small sense of healing, comfort, or hope through it, that’s already a huge win for me. I’ll close this with a quote by Yayoi Kusama from 1989: “If there is a chance that in 100 years’ time, there will be just one person who will look at my work and be touched by it, then I must continue to create art for that person.” That’s exactly how I feel about making music: if my work can touch even just a single listener, it’s worth creating.
LUNA: Looking forward, how do you see your music evolving while still maintaining the intimacy and honesty that define your debut?
GRACE.: I think just like how we as humans continuously evolve, my music will naturally evolve as I grow too. There are still so many things I want to explore, for example more upbeat, soulful or joyful sounds, but it also really depends on what I’m reflecting in life at that moment. I’d love to find a balance where, even while creating something groovy and fun, I still hold onto the honesty and emotional truth that feels authentic to me, and tell the message I want to convey.
