Track-by-Track: Paul Grant Assesses His New EP ‘Forward’

Over these last few years, Paul Grant has been nothing short of prolific, and he’s keeping that train of momentum going with his latest EP, Forward. 2021 saw the release of Reflections, which was followed up last year by Sketches, and now it’s Forward, released earlier this month. Although it only consists of five songs, the EP still emphasizes how strong of a songwriter and producer Grant is, an artist who has clear musical intentions and knows how to get them to where he wants to go. Like Reflections and Sketches, Forward is also collaborative in nature, consisting of some new, very special guests, including Kiefer, Braxton Cook, Emmavie, and Will Jordan, the Grammy-nominated songwriter, for the song “Lights Off.”

A large part of Grant’s intention behind working with so many collaborators is to enable him to move his music in new, exciting, and certainly unconventional directions. He has specialized in it as a producer, helping jazz-hip-hop artists hone in on the sound they are looking to capture. For Forward, hip-hop is very much the backdrop, but Grant has looked to jazz, R&B, and Brazilian funk music to broaden and liven his sound.

With his impressive spat of releases ongoing, Grant joins us today for a special track-by-track rundown, in which he discusses the origins, ideas, and motivations behind each song on Forward.

1. “Rivers” (feat. Chris Keys)

“I started this track with some Bossa nova-influenced guitar layers; I think two or three guitars on there. I was influenced by Brazilian music of the 1970s for this one. I also created some subtle piano, and bass and drums backing, then sent the track to Chris Keys. Chris added the electric piano and the brilliant orchestral arrangement that really lifted the song to another level, in my opinion. I’m amazed that Chris created the whole arrangement digitally because the instruments sound so real!”

2. “Lights Off” (feat. Will Jordan)

“This song is more up-tempo than what I usually make, and I really like that about it. It was influenced by the duo Nico & Vinz, and features a guitar-based arrangement. I added a bit of keyboard and subtle strings for some parts, but it’s the drums and guitar that drive the beat. I sent the instrumental to Will Jordan, who wrote all the lyrics and sang ‘Lights Off.’ I was a fan of Will’s music from discovering his album with E. Jones, and I’m glad we got to collaborate on this one!”

3. “U” (ft. brayla)

“This one is influenced by Robert Glasper and D’Mile, with some guitar parts being a little more like indie rock, with some repeating/overlapping guitars. I sent this one to brayla, who wrote the lyrics and sang ‘U.’ There’s an incredible amount of layers and great harmonies on her vocal arrangement, which I think people will really enjoy.”

4. “Forward”

“Sometimes I’ll post beat ideas in short form on Instagram, and ‘Forward’ began as one of those. I had a nice chord progression and did a little solo over that. Later, I decided to extend the short idea into a song and added a second progression and arrangement. This one features a good amount of guitar solo, probably more than I usually do, but I really like it.”

Paul Grant ‘Forward’ EP album artwork

5. “Heat Wave”

“We experienced a heat wave in 2022 in Southern California that was really intense, and I think it got over 110 degrees in some areas around where I live. This track was made during that time, when we couldn’t really spend time outside because of the heat. I was just trying to make something that reflected that, and ended up with a chord progression and hook that resonated with me. The song is based around the main melody and features a little bit of soloing to round it out.”