What’s the story behind “chinese finger trap”?
This song is about me hooking up with one of my closest friends. I think that all relationships (including friend-ships) exist on a spectrum between platonic and romantic or sexual. With this person, we’re super good friends, but our dynamic isn’t wholly on the platonic side of that spectrum and I don’t think it ever has been.
We hooked up one night and later had a conversation about how we shouldn’t do it anymore. Even after that talk and being platonic, the relationship still felt very intimate.
That intimacy is always going to be there, even if it’s no longer showing up as physical intimacy.
How did you come up with the title of the song?
I was thinking about when we said that we shouldn’t be physically intimate anymore, and immediately our dynamic felt so much more intimate because there was tension. The fact or the idea that we were pulling away from each other in that way made everything else feel so much closer and more vulnerable, like a Chinese finger trap.
How did the track come to life?
I wrote the chorus and some of the first verse by myself, and then I got together with my friend PJ Frantz, who I work with a lot. I wanted to collaborate with him on producing the song, and he suggested we bring in our friend Tristan to help write the rest since I didn’t have it finished yet. So the three of us ended up writing the song together and producing it, and Tristan also sang background vocals.
I honestly couldn’t have done it without them-they’re both so talented. I feel like they know me so well, it’s like they can read my mind.
What did you learn from this writing experience?
I think sometimes it can feel scary to write about something that is so real for me. Going back to songwriting, a lot of the time I like to just make up stories and write about things that aren’t fully real, and this one was so real to me. Bring ing it to one of my friends and being like, “Hey, can you help me with this?” and having to tell the whole story beyond the lyrics for them to understand is definitely scary. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such talented people and having such incredible friends that I admire and look up to. This whole process made me realize how much gratitude I have for that.
What would be the best way for someone to listen to “chinese finger trap” for the first time?
Walking home from a party at 11:45 PM on a Friday with your friends and staying behind.
What are some emerging artists everybody should be listening to?
Tom Siletto, Jacob Wright, Ruby Plume