Singled Out: Granite Chief's Hold It Down

Granite Chief recently released a new single "Hold It Down" from his debut EP "Welcome Back". To celebrate we asked mastermind Grant Benziger (Yelawolf) to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

The song "Hold It Down" came to me in a moment of clarity after a long bout with substance abuse and two year run on the road nationally/internationally. I was losing sight of what was important to me and my worst fears came true, I was becoming something I never wanted to be. Constantly frustrated, emotionally unavailable and unstable. It wasn't until i reached my limit that I knew it was time for a huge change.

After stepping off the road and getting myself together this song came to me as a voice to show that things were going to be ok. That I could succeed at becoming the person i want to be. "Please don't worry about me now, I'm holding it down" is the opening line written as a reassurance to loved ones that things are going to get on the right track. As the song came together and the mind and body were detoxed it was recorded in Hollywood, Ca with close friend and producer ATHRILL.

It was probably the easiest of all the songs we did together because it just flowed out of pure honesty and openness. Being such a personal song it was a bit nerve wracking to expose that side of myself a bit, but I'm extremely happy I did now that some time has past. I would hope that it could give at least one person the courage to break through hard times or ask for help.

I wanted the production fairly sparse but impactful so we didn't stack it with too much. Acoustic finger picking, a nice synth and deep drum beats were the base layer for some soothing harmonized vocals. I think it does a good job of being spacious and relaxed but also hitting heavy in the right areas while delivering a good finale chorus to wrap it up. Keeping it to the basics was the goal for this song.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself right here!