KATIE BROWN - 19 APR 2024

Ōtautahi/Christchurch songstress Valere’s ‘Lily’s March’ is a powerful single with soul. Released mid-March, it hovers between minimal R&B and maximal synth pop, with steady marching drums forming the backdrop for swelling synths and glockenspiel accents. The track is a special ode to motherhood, its inspiration springing from a restless night with then-new daughter Lily, who was struggling to sleep. Reflecting on this, Valere’s Shana Graham says:

“I wrote the song shortly after having a daughter. I was up one night trying to put my Lily to sleep (she was probably about three months old at the time), and I started sway-walking to the rhythm of a march, and hummed the melody. The lyrics of the chorus came soon after that, also a middle-of-the-night excursion trying to put Lily down. I started to reflect on how my Mum raised me and how I was going to raise my own daughter. I had a lot of fear of messing it up, but took solace in the fact that maybe it boiled down to loving your kid through the good and the bad.”

Graham’s daughter Lily may be the track’s muse, but in the sense where she’s the centre of something that expands to include mother-daughter links between generations: behind Graham’s poignant lyrics shimmers the spirits of grandmothers, mothers, daughters and sisters, hands linked in support and reassurance. Fittingly, this idea is carried into the accompanying music video as an emotive expansion of the heart of the track into visual form. Directed by Graham’s husband and made with support from NZ on Air Music, the video is made up of a series of cameos of different mother-daughter relationships, all friends of Graham, interacting together in dynamic beauty as a kind of moving photo shoot.

“Each filming session was quite special and organic. With kids, you never really know what you'll get, so we just went with the flow and let the poses happen,” says Graham. “I'm pretty lucky to be surrounded by amazing wāhine who witness to this awesome vocation. My Mum and sister are in the video as well as my mother and sisters in law, and then my close mates and their Mums / Daughters. Finally, I have myself and my daughter Lily making an appearance too.The studio session with Lily and I was pretty special too - it was the first time I actually sang the song to Lily in full, and awake! I got pretty emotional there.”

With its lush, rich and warm production, ‘Lily’s March’ is an excellent addition to the repertoire of the award-winning artist, who has been releasing a steady stream of singles and EPs since 2014. Reassuring and uplifting in its heartfelt honesty, the single is a poignant way to honour the complicated facets of motherhood, and ultimately, to offer hope to the listener (mother or not!) in the midst of life’s highs and lows.

Watch the video for ‘Lily’s March’ and read our interview with Shana Graham (Valere) below.

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KATIE: FIRSTLY, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RELEASE OF ‘LILY’S MARCH’ - IT’S A BEAUTIFUL SINGLE, AND THE ACCOMPANYING MUSIC VIDEO IS ESPECIALLY MOVING. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE A NEW PIECE OF WORK OUT IN THE WORLD?

SHANA: Thanks so much for your kind words! It feels really great and even greater to have had the reception it’s gotten. It’s a song that means a lot to me and it’s been wonderful to hear other people’s stories and thoughts provoked by the song.

YOU SPEAK OF MUSIC AS YOUR VOCATION. HOW DID YOU GET INTO SONGWRITING IN THE FIRST PLACE? WAS YOUR OWN MOTHER PART OF THAT JOURNEY?

Yeah, I guess I just mean that I do it because I feel called to it, not because I want to do it for a living (although I’d love for those to coincide!). I loved to sing when I was very young, and then really got into writing in high school after encouragement from my music teachers throughout the years! My mum has been there with encouragement, and we grew up with heaps of music for fun in the house, but not necessarily songwriting.

I LOVE HOW THE INSPIRATION FOR THE TRACK AROSE FROM A DIFFICULT NIGHT TRYING TO GET LILY TO SLEEP: IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STRUGGLE YOU EXPERIENCED SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL RISING UP. HOW DID THAT FEEL? DID IT SURPRISE YOU?

It did! It was actually quite therapeutic haha being able to still do something creative in the midst of a difficult night felt like I still had a bit of creative control in something that was chaotic lol it felt like Lily was also writing the song with me too - she should probably get credits :P

I AM NOT A MOTHER PERSONALLY, BUT I KNOW HOW LIFE ALTERING IT IS TO HAVE A CHILD. HAS THAT PARTICULAR JOURNEY BEEN WHAT YOU EXPECTED? WAS THE CHANGE A SHOCK?

It has probably been the most life altering thing I’ve ever experienced! It was definitely a shock to the system - your whole life is now oriented to keeping this human alive. Your time is now their time. Even the way you respond to people asking how you are becomes something linked to their wellbeing (eg. ‘I’m good - she slept well last night) lol! In saying that, it has been the most wonderful thing in the world too. I can’t imagine myself not being a mum!

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN MAKING MUSIC NOW, AS OPPOSED TO PRE-LILY? WAS IT SOMETHING YOU THOUGHT YOU’D HAVE TO LAY DOWN?

100%. I totally thought I needed to give it up so I could be ‘responsible’. But in all honesty, it has given me more drive to actually continue doing music. I didn’t want to teach Lily that she had to give up her passions after starting a family, so it really put it into perspective for me - I had to lead by example! The biggest challenge is now figuring out when to do things, although it has actually been fun to think up solutions and to be creative about how to put things out. For example, I did an afternoon gig instead of an evening gig at a bar so I could accommodate my family and fellow parents!

HAS BEING A MOTHER CHANGED YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO YOU MUSIC, PERHAPS IN HOW YOU WRITE, OR IN THE WAY YOU VIEW YOUR MUSIC-MAKING?

I think it’s still evolving. I definitely have that pull still pre-kids and still think that I have to do things a certain way, but I think motherhood has taught me to be flexible and to be open to opportunities that disguise themselves as problems lol I’ve had to really prioritise my family and trust that by doing this, everything will fall into place. So far so good!

WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO SOMEONE WHO’S JUGGLING MOTHERHOOD WITH CREATIVE PURSUITS?

Keep doing it! It’s a challenge but it’s worth doing for your kids. They would love to see you thrive and pursue your passions, and they will benefit from seeing you do what you love. Don’t sweat the small stuff and it’s totally okay to go at your own pace, even if it seems like everyone else is moving faster than you. I think the world needs you, so that it can think differently about how the industry can run!

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST HOPE FOR LILY AS SHE GROWS?

Man. That’s a hard question! I hope that she keeps being herself and becoming herself.

CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO A FULL EP OR ALBUM IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

Yes! EP coming out 17th May, with a special show in Tāmaki Makaurau on the 18th! Come and celebrate :)