LA-based musician Hunter Blair Ambrose joins us on Close-Up Culture to chat about the release of her new single, Runaway.
Congratulations on the release of Runaway! How are you feeling now that the song is out there?
I’m thrilled to be back releasing music and to have “RUNAWAY” out there in the world. This marks my first release since my 2021 album, Scorpio Season. It feels cathartic to release a song that is so symbolic of the place I am in presently as an artist and emotionally.
Can you give us some insight into your creative process for Runaway?
The song came about from an idea I had during a songwriting session about two years ago. I held onto the core lyrics and melodies, knowing in the back of my mind that I might use them one day for a completed song. Sure enough, I brought it into a session last year and it became the song that you hear today. I wanted to create a song that represented a sonic and artistic shift for me as compared to my previously released music.
For the last few years, I have wanted to tap into a more synth-pop leaning sound with production inspired by the 1980s and 1970s disco sounds. I wanted to create a lighter, brighter, more dance-oriented pop sound on this release and I’m confident that we accomplished that.
The song refers to running away from one’s past. What does this song and its lyrics mean to you?
The song has multiple meanings within its lyrics. Obviously, the listener will filter it through their own experiences and interpretation. But for me, the song was in part meant to be about me leaving behind the scars of my past while hoping that those scars don’t inform my next experiences. It is about not allowing fear or your past mistakes to make you inhibited or scared to live your life to the fullest and to let yourself love again.
It was also written about me leaving New York City, my home, behind for Los Angeles to run towards my wildest dreams and running away from my past. It is also about me taking a chance on love again after healing from my past relationships and hoping I don’t repeat those same mistakes of running away from the person I want to pursue.
Can you tell us about some of the people you collaborated with on Runaway?
I collaborated with my frequent producer and co-writer, Jason Strong, to bring “RUNAWAY” to life. He and I really have found a great creative energy that has made every session a blast and has resulted in some fantastic music that I am so proud of. He really made use of his incredible talent on this track and I am so proud of his work on this. The song was mastered by Randy Merrill of Sterling Sound, who is an absolute legend in pop music.
In terms of the visuals, Andrew Morales brought the imagery of this song to life and helped create the universe of this new era of my art. He works frequently in high fashion spaces and since that is a huge component of my artistry and visual interests, I knew he would be the right person to be at the helm of the photography and creative direction of this rollout. We are also in the process of planning the music video for “RUNAWAY”, which he is set to direct.
What impact do you hope Runaway has on listeners?
I hope that “RUNAWAY” gives its listeners a sense of escape and bliss that I love to get from pop music that I listen to. I would love for them to be able to just let go, have fun and dance along to the song going into summer and beyond. I hope that they can get a sense of who I have always been artistically and where I am going in this next phase of my music.
What are your hopes and dreams for the future?
I just want to keep creating music as much as I can and keep sharing my art with the world. I’m hoping to grow my audience exponentially and to continue to have my music heard around the world. I want to perform across the country and internationally and to collaborate with musicians and artists who are passionate, creative and boundary-pushing. Specifically, I would love to be able to do a few features or collaborations with up and coming pop artists soon and perform at Coachella in the next couple of years.
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