While gearing up for the release of her upcoming EP, GRADIENCE, Canadian singer-songwriter Ralph is giving fans another taste for what to expect. Fresh from releasing the project’s lead single, “Tommy,” Ralph has dropped “Love Potion,” a disco-driven bop with real choir voices and live strings.
To accompany the song is a playful, futuristic music video directed by Renee Rodenkirchen. Inspired by the movies Earth Girls Are Easy and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Britney Spears’ iconic music video for “Oops I Did It Again,” and Gucci fashion campaigns — the video will no doubt leave you feeling nostalgic.
Due out on July 7, Ralph’s forthcoming EP, GRADIENCE, will be her first full-length body of work being released on her new label Rich Man Records, which she launched in 2020. And yes, it takes its name after Cher’s legendary quote “My mom said to me, ‘You know sweetheart, one day you should settle down and marry a rich man.’ And I said, ‘Mom, I am a rich man.'”
EUPHORIA. caught up with Ralph to discuss her new single and what she has in store for fans who are attending her tour later this year.
What inspired you to write your new single “Love Potion?”
I had just watched the movie Midsommar and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I went into my writing session. There was a scene that stood out because it reminded me of this pop culture trope of “love potions” that has appeared for years on screen, and how it’s often related to “witchy women” or “desperate” female characters. I wanted to play with the idea and kind of take back the power, while still creating a song that was very dance-y and fun and not overly complicated.
There is a disco vibe to the track. Has the recent wave of retro dance songs inspired you to write your own banger?
I’ve always been influenced by disco and retro sounds, I grew up listening to my parents’ vinyl and that definitely impacted my personal music and writing. That being said, I’m definitely loving this disco resurgence and the emphasis on bass-driven pop songs that we’re seeing from Dua Lipa, Charlie Puth, Harry Styles, etc. I’m a big fan of the ’70s sonically but also stylistically, so any excuse to shimmy in a glittery one-shouldered dress and platform is A-OK with me.
The music video is super fun. How was shooting it and who came up with all the futuristic concepts?
Thanks! Renee and I had already spent months working on the “Tommy” video together, so our creative juices were already flowing, and actually, our creative tastes are super similar, so it was really fun to come up with the “Love Potion” concept. We both love fashion, beautiful cinematography, and the absurd — I’m very obsessed with Nadia Lee Cohen. Renee pitched a couple of concepts and we settled on space, partly because there’s so much room to make it quirky and unique, but also because one of my favorite movies is Earth Girls Are Easy and I’ve always wanted to pay homage to it. The video was also largely inspired by Gucci campaigns, space TV shows from the ’60s, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids. My friend Michael Seater played my alien lover; he’s a real actor so his dedication to the character was just incredible and hilarious. The whole shoot was awesome, the crew was amazing and my parents even helped out by making and installing the planet scene.
Your upcoming EP is due this July. Is the plan to make a video for each song? If not, I recommend a visual for “Strawberry Meltdown!”
That’s my parents’ favorite song too! My mum said it reminds her of the Beatles…I guess because it’s a little psychedelic? I have a lot of ideas for the video actually, it would definitely be shot in the suburbs and everything would have this trippy melting effect. But for now, we’re just focusing on the EP release and getting ready to start performing LIVE again!
You’re embarking on a tour later this year. What will separate this tour from your previous ones?
Well, this will be my biggest headline tour to date, which is really exciting for me. Alex Porat is opening for me and she’s a personal friend, plus very talented, so I think the tour is going to be really fun and engaging and filled with positive energy and great outfits. I think it’s also going to feel different because we’ve all been so deprived of live music. It’s going to be emotional!!
