Genevieve Stokes Frees Your Inner Child in Her Dreamy EP 'Catching Rabbits'
Phoro by Abbie Pitre
Alt-pop singer songwriter Genevieve Stokes takes you through a dreamy and beautifully emotional world in her latest EP, Catching Rabbits. Released on April 7th, the sophomore EP is a six track project that explores an Alice in Wonderland inspired atmosphere, paralleling the desires of our inner child with our current realities. Genevieve shares that the EP delves into “Reconnection with childhood, looking back on old relationships and confronting unhealthy patterns in my life.” In a conversation with Unpublished Magazine, Genevieve took us behind the inspirations and creative process that brought Catching Rabbits to life.
Photo by Abbie Pitre
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for taking the time to talk with Unpublished Magazine! How have you been?
[GENEVIEVE]: Thanks for having me! I’ve been really good, I’m currently in Maine visiting my parents and writing music.
[UNPUBLISHED]: For those who haven’t listened to your music before, how would you describe your sound?
[GENEVIEVE]: Eerie folk/pop .
[UNPUBLISHED]: I really love the whimsical and dreamy look that you capture with your style and music. Who or what has been inspiring you lately?
[GENEVIEVE]: I moved to New Orleans a few months ago which has been very inspiring! I’ve watched a lot of parades, local performances and some puppet shows. There’s a darkness to New Orleans I find very intriguing.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I love the title of the new EP. Can you tell us more about what the phrase “catching rabbits” means to you?
[GENEVIEVE]: Thank you! I wanted the title to allude to Alice in Wonderland in some way. The phrase “chasing rabbits” came to mind, but I preferred “catching” phonetically. I like that it sounds more hopeful, like there may be a point to chasing them.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What did the creative process look like for Catching Rabbits?
[GENEVIEVE]: I wrote the songs over the span of a couple years, so there were many phases of high creativity and then long stretches of planning. The recording process only took a few weeks though.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are some of the themes and emotions that people can expect from Catching Rabbits?
[GENEVIEVE]: Reconnection with childhood, looking back on old relationships and confronting unhealthy patterns in my life.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You released a handful of singles prior to the official release of Catching Rabbits with “You & Me” being the most recent. This single is truly spooky and captivating, can you share your creative process behind this song?
[GENEVIEVE]: It started off as an intimate piano ballad, but it changed a lot once I was in the studio with Tony. I remember playing the song over and over again on a Rhodes piano while Matt Chamberlain messed around on drums. We took a bunch of live takes together until we got a good one all the way through. It was a very hypnotic process and it made me view the song in a whole new light.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What song from the project are you excited for people to dive into?
[GENEVIEVE]: I hope people connect with Mara. It’s one of my more experimental songs and I plan to make more like it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Catching Rabbits is described as “a dreamy exploration of what it means to heal and unlock your inner child.” Reflecting on childhood often brings feelings of nostalgia to the surface. What are some things that make you feel nostalgic or that you are nostalgic for?
[GENEVIEVE]: I feel nostalgic about my home in Maine. Whenever I leave, I think about the stream in my backyard and driving by the ocean with my siblings. It’s a very magical place.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Can you tell us about the vision behind the video for “Book of Memories?”
[GENEVIEVE]: I wanted the whole video to feel suspenseful and nostalgic. Hayoan, the director/videographer, came up with most of the interesting details though.
[UNPUBLISHED]: If there was a perfect scenery for someone to listen to Catching Rabbits for the first time, what would it be?
[GENEVIEVE]: Driving somewhere beautiful while drinking Dunkin. At least that’s my favorite way to listen to music.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Catching Rabbits was produced with Tony Berg, what was the creative process like between you two?
[GENEVIEVE]: Tony challenged me in a great way. He has worked with so many artists I look up to and he knows so much about music theory and the music industry in general. I was intimidated going into the recording process, but I left feeling more confident in my abilities and wanting to make more music.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Your debut EP Swimming Lessons was released over two years ago. What have you learned in the past two years as an artist?
[GENEVIEVE]: I’ve learned to tone down my perfectionism and connect more with my creativity. Sometimes I get swept up in my fear and self criticism, but then I remember that I’m doing something I love for a living. I feel very grateful.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I really love the cover art for Catching Rabbits. What was your vision when you were bringing this project to life visually with Colby R. Sadeghi?
[GENEVIEVE]: My creative director Abbie Pitre actually came up with the idea of doing a tintype portrait! We wanted to incorporate the rabbit mask somehow, and Colby helped come up with ideas. The cover ended up being one of the first photos Colby took.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Who have you been listening to lately?
[GENEVIEVE]: I’ve been listening to Pleasure by Feist a lot recently. I’ve been a fan of that album for a while now, but I crave listening to it when I’m back in Maine.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Finally, what does the future look like for you? Upcoming projects? Touring?
[GENEVIEVE]: I’m headlining my first tour this spring! I'm nervous but I think it’s the perfect time to start.
Photo by Abbie Pitre