New York, NY (Top40 Charts) LA-based songstress TRACE made quite the splash with her debut single of the year "All My Friends." Premiering on Consequence of Sound and later launching an exclusive profile with Harper's BAZAAR, the singer-songwriter is showing no signs of slowing down as she prepares to release her new EP in the fall. There's something about TRACE that makes you want to stop and listen, and it's just that allure that landed her Refinery29's list of artists to watch this year. Today she releases her new single "Make Me Laugh" via Ultra
Music across all streaming services. Under The Radar premiered the track yesterday, admiring TRACE's diverse array of influences, "...steady boom-bap beat with skittering electronics filling the backdrop. Equal parts PBR&B and vintage singer/songwriter, the track deftly mixes the elements of electronica and soul." Stream it now, here!
On the track, TRACE adds: "'Make Me Laugh' is an extension from 'All My Friends' in that intimacy is continually highlighted and questioned. When I wrote this song I actually came off the heels of a bummer of a date. It's not very nice, but it's the truth: there was no humor present in our conversation. To me, to laugh is to feel alive. To feel connected through a high that ties you to the person in front of you. To laugh with someone is to feel close to someone. I also think, when you're able to really find something funny, you're showing a side of yourself that might be hard to define in words and so it's only through sound that real emotion can be shared. I find it to be interesting that people say it's 'the best medicine' - it totally heals you, laughter... 'You make me laugh, but it's not funny' is definitely a bit smart alec-y but it's also a secret nervousness and blatant disappointment. I'm in disbelief I'm at this place again and I don't want another minute spent of my life, without truly laughing. Humor breeds the kind of joy I want to feel when I'm in the room with someone. Humor in ways, seals intimacy."
Leaving behind her days as a magazine editor to pursue music head on, she's racked up a total of 60 million streams with only one EP and a handful of standalone singles released to date. Championed by the likes of Highsnobiety, Hilly Dilly, Indie Shuffle, Nasty Gal, Pigeons & Planes, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, The 405, The Line Of Best Fit, and The Fader, it's no surprise she's working with some of the best players in the game. TRACE has been in the studio with producers and co-writers including Mike Derenzo (EXES, Yoshi Flower), Bram Inscore (Troye Sivan, Allie X, 88 Rising), Noah Breakfast (WET, Ellie Goulding,
Alina Baraz), Haley Gene Penner (Charlotte Lawrence, Lennon Stella) and Phoebe Ryan (literally everyone).
Growing up in
Orange County, California, the daughter of Carol Kim (known as "the
Tina Turner of Vietnam"), TRACE never planned to follow her mother's footsteps and pursue a career in music. She picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time as a teenager, but didn't begin writing songs until her freshman year of college. TRACE found her voice in writing songs, and since then, music has become a personal calling that she hasn't turned away from.
In 2016, TRACE brought her first EP Low to life through a Kickstarter campaign. The 4-track project earned her comparisons to the "west-coast cool of Lana Del Rey" and the "R&B-kissed ruminations of
James Blake," as well as over 20M streams and her first record deal.
In early 2018, TRACE made her Ultra
Music debut with her single "Blood and Bones," followed by the release of two more singles: "Side Eye" (which was featured on The Fader's fall list of 'Best New Pop Songs') and"Anxiety." For the latter, TRACE partnered with the California chapter of non-profit organization
National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) to raise awareness on anxiety in the entertainment industry. The partnership included limited-edition merch being sold through TRACE's site with proceeds benefiting NAMI.
What's next? The door is wide open for the rising artist but fans can expect a collection of singles to be revealed throughout the summer, all leading up to her sophomore EP due out later this year via Ultra Music.
