As the EP release date gets closer, I thought I’d give you all a sneak peek of each song. The first song on the album is one of my more recent compositions, Tiptoe.

For this song, I did a slightly different instrumentation than I’m used to. When you listen to my music, you’ll notice I often use piano; that was my first instrument and will always be my first love. However, I knew I wanted a staccato sound in the chords, and pizzicato strings were just the way to achieve that. Of course, I have the usual bass and drum tracks, along with synth pads in the chorus. In the post-chorus, the hook is played by another unusual instrument; it’s actually a mix between a flute and pan pipe! Originally, this was written for a saxophone, but it never quite fit with the sound I imagined. The end result is an electronic pop tune that you all hopefully find interesting enough to play on repeat!

As for the lyrical content, this took a lot longer to finish. An interesting fun fact about my songwriting process is I almost always start with the chords, or at the very least, a simple melody. I’m much more music oriented, so writing lyrics is a big challenge. For this song, I knew I wanted to use the word “tiptoe” right away. With the pizzicato strings in the mix, I always imagined a little cat sneaking around, or a person tiptoeing around a corner to scare their friend. However, both of those images are more lighthearted, which didn’t quite fit with the minor chord progression I already had. I racked my brain for ideas on how to twist “tiptoe” into a darker subject, and after many hours lying awake, it hit me.

Everyday, we tiptoe around others, carefully trying to not make the wrong move. Our society has these preconceived expectations for how we should act, who we should be, what we should be doing, and so on. In return, we monitor our every step and adjust our behavior to fit those very expectations; and that’s exactly what we need to stop doing. Tiptoe’s lyrics tell the story of someone realizing that they don’t need to abide by society’s stereotypes or rules. Let’s face it; it’s exhausting to mold yourself into something you’re not just because others say so. I try to remind myself that it’s okay to have an individual personality and break free from the stereotype everyday, and I think it’s a lesson we could all learn, especially this day in age.

I hope this preview of “Tiptoe” and the behind the scenes info gets you excited for the release of the EP! Stay tuned for more posts about the other songs on the album!!

– merakki