It started as a nerdy conversation about music over a long, boozy dinner.
Yet her friendship with Abrams has deep roots by now.
And their allegiance makes good sense: Much like Swift, Abrams is a songwriter first.
Gracie Abrams wears a Palomo Spain top. Agolde jeans. Brother Vellies shoes.
How did that come about?
Because nobodys doing that when theyre eight.
She wouldnt read what we wrote, but shed check the dates to see if we were consistent.
Abrams and Aaron Dessner in 2023.
I actually ultimately preferred expressing myself there as opposed to face-to-face with another person.
And then the music came because I was lucky enough to grow up in a house with a piano.
But I always stopped writing on the piano whenever I heard footsteps because it wasnt for anyone but myself.
Abrams, performing during the Eras Tour last year.
Thats the origin story.
Congratulations on the release of your latest single, Close to You.
I thought it would never see the light of day, period.
I loved the song but didnt want to do anything with it because it just didnt belong anywhere.
I wanted it to not be track 13, but a musical PS.
Its kind of like a deluxe track, and thematically and sonically it works in the world.
So everyone was right!
How did you cultivate your sound initially?
Did you always have an idea of your musical voice in your head?
It didnt feel like I was making anything wildly cohesive.
I feel like my sound is equally informed by my lived experiences, so that continuously evolves.
Aaron Dessner producedThe Secret of Us, which you recorded at his Long Pond Studios in upstate New York.
How did you meet, and how did he help facilitate your musical vision?
Hes been such an instrumental human being in my life.
Obviously musically, as a collaborator, but also someone as a mentor in all lanes.
I feel like hes such a rare human being who totally cuts through everything he makes.
Its actually very easy for me at this point to identify when hes been a part of a song.
So we started working together via FaceTime during COVID.
I immediately felt like,This is the safest space ever to make this.
This is someone whose instincts Ive trusted for years.
It has to be something to do with him being an artist as well, Id think?
Like how they say actors make the best directors.
Theres less ego too.
Significantly less, and that was a relief.
So weve been incredibly close ever since.
Were not boxed in.
Abrams and Aaron Dessner in 2023.
A certain singer-songwriter is featured on Us.
Its rare that Taylor Swift features on another artists song.
Can you give me some insight on how that came about?
Shes a dear friend who I can feel safe with.
So we were at dinner talking about our lives and albums.
Did she clue you into what she was making at the time?
Or was it a surprise for you, just like everybody else?
We were so truly thrilled and just having a nerdy, drunken conversation.
Eventually we sat down and were listening to snippets of things that Aaron had sent.
So it was totally spontaneous.
It wasnt like a planned thing, which is great.
I feel like thats how the best songs are written, when inspiration strikes.
She had said, Oh my God, this feels like a Nashville writing session.
Ive never known that, but fuck yeah!
That feels like the right way to explain whatever this was.
Abrams, performing during the Eras Tour last year.
How did you manage to get over those trepidations?
Its like reps of anything.
Touring has felt like exposure therapy in more ways than one.
And not just on the stage-fright front.
Automatically the music isnt about me anymore, which is such a fucking relief.
Its about them, and that breathes new life into what we do.
I think thats what made me fall in love with performing.
And to do it on Taylors stage…everyone is there for her, and so am I. I remember the first time we walked out for a show for the Eras Tour and I was shaking.
So for the second one, I was just like,I want to be as present as possible.
Does that make releasing it easier, because your fanbase is growing?
Or harder, because there might be more pressure?
So anything that comes after will feel just lucky.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
