The singer-songwriter and Grand Haven native released a much-buzzed-about single this week, two years after leaving West Michigan for New York, then settling in a ‘treetop sanctuary’ outside L.A.
Borns: ‘A lot of transitions and hard work’ paying off.
When promising young singer and multi-instrumentalist Garrett Borns left West Michigan for New York a couple of years ago after making a splash on the local music scene, he virtually disappeared into the ether – or at least, that’s the way it seemed to those who embraced the charismatic artist.
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But now, one could quite honestly say that Borns has been, well, re-born as a buzz-generating, West Coast pop artist living modestly but happily in “a treetop sanctuary” outside Los Angeles.
Now known simply as Borns, the singer-songwriter released his first major-label single earlier this week and “10,000 Emerald Pools” already has garnered attention on college radio as the 22-year-old Grand Haven native works toward releasing an EP on Interscope Records later this year.
“It’s been really inspirational living where I am,” Borns told Local Spins this week, noting he left New York for California in spring 2013 for “a little vacation” with just a suitcase and a guitar, and ended up staying. “It’s just a really beautiful place. It’s really conducive to songwriting. It’s a creative environment.”
So creative, in fact, that he quickly wrote “10,000 Emerald Pools” after meeting Jack Kennedy, a songwriter and producer, not long after relocating to California.
“It just happened. The song just wrote itself,” said Borns, noting the track got passed around to industry contacts, generating calls from managers and record labels interested in hearing more.
“I think it’s just because I was very inspired by my environment and I had a lot of intense emotions going through me at the time. The vocals on it were the first take.”
Borns, who graduated from Grand Haven High School, attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts and studied music theory at Grand Rapids Community College, said it helps that he has “an amazing management team out here and they’ve been nothing but loving and supporting and into my vision. Everything has just grown very organically and it’s a very cool experience.
“The last year-and-a-half out here I’ve been working really hard and writing and working on developing my sound and collaborations. It’s been a year of a lot of transitions and hard work, but it’s really paying off.”
PLAYING THE PRESTIGIOUS CMJ MUSIC MARATHON IN NEW YORK CITY
That hard work has included forming a new band and performing around Los Angeles, with some high-profile concerts slated for later this month: Borns will play the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, a prestigious, new music showcase staged in 80-plus nightclubs and theaters. After that, he’ll return to the West Coast for some California dates.
Borns’ treehouse oasis in California is a world away from his days growing up in West Michigan, playing in high school talent shows, recording his first album with Grand Haven’s Bill Chrysler, doing inspirational talks at area schools with drummer Scott Pellegrom and selling out intimate concerts at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up.
The move to California has even sparked changes to his musical approach and his image.
“It all happened the moment I landed here, I guess. I stopped getting haircuts and my hair grew out,” he said. “I guess that’s what happens in California. The sun influences you and the weather. Definitely my surroundings influenced my direction with music. It’s a very simple environment and I’ve been cooking a lot of my own meals and just living on what I need to live on. Even with just my last name. It’s just one syllable. And I like the idea of Borns being a metaphor for re-birth, almost like your inner child.”
It seems the perfect fit for a songwriter and musician who’s making his mark in an environment he loves. And his first single from those environs – a hook-filled, synthesizer- and guitar-propelled confection of a tune – should keep that momentum going.
‘AMAZING, REFRESHING, EXCITING’ REACTION TO ‘10,000 EMERALD POOLS’
“So far, the reaction’s been amazing,” Borns said of the single’s release earlier this week. “I didn’t expect it to get so much attention and have people so excited about it. It’s really refreshing and exciting to me because it is such a personal song. It’s a very honest song and people are connecting to that.”
CMJ calls the tune “a slinky little synth-pop number, alight with vocal hooks and chipper acoustic guitars,” while HillyDilly.com raves that it’s “a genre-mashing work that simply hits all the right notes.”
“It’s definitely a pop song, but there’s a lot of different influences,” Borns offered. “I’m influenced by so much music that I never think about what genre I’m writing in. I just think about what sounds cool.”
While Borns misses his family and friends in Grand Haven – and autumns in Michigan – he has returned for visits and hopes to eventually schedule some tour stops here.
“I have so much support from everyone in Michigan that it’s really cool to finally release music and see everyone so excited about it,” said Borns, who plans to spend the next year focused on more writing, completing a full-length album and touring with his band.
“I’m just trying to top my last song,” he said, “and write better and better songs.”
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music LLC
