How Does It Feel

Album: Californian Soil (2021)
Charted: 67
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Songfacts®:

  • This dance-pop take on London Grammar's usual sound started as an experiment when singer Hannah Reid was encouraged to do a writing session with Steve Mac. The British hitmaker is best known for working with mainstream pop acts such as Clean Bandit ("Symphony") Mabel ("Mad Love") and Ed Sheeran ("Shape Of You")." Reid admitted she was initially a bit nervous about the collaboration, but it ended up being one of her favorites on Californian Soil.
  • London Grammar premiered the song on the March 9, 2021 episode of BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac Show. Reid told the DJ she's always loved pop music and some of her favorite writers and singers are female pop artists. "Along with our alternative side, this creates a light and shade on our album that I've always wanted to achieve," she added.
  • Lyrically, the song finds Reid questioning how her former boyfriend feels about their breakup. She wonders how much he's hurting and whether he still thinks about her. Reid told Apple Music she loves the way the music is upbeat, though the lyrics are dark. "I hope people can one day sing along with it at a festival," she added. "It's the mixture of being happy and sad at the same time."
  • The London Grammar trio and Steve Mac penned the song with Londoner Al Shux, whose other songwriting credits include Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" and Lana Del Rey's "Young And Beautiful."
  • London portrait photographer Dave Bullivant, aka Bison, directed the visual that shows Reid locking a boyfriend in his car and burning down his cabin. She said: "We wanted to create a video that brought the lyrics in the song to life, plus I got to play with fire."

    Bison previously directed the videos for London Grammar's "Wasting My Young Years" and "Rooting For You."

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