NYC Scene Report – Liv Hanna, Ghost Funk Orchestra, & Rachel Grae

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Liv Hanna with a tale about a “Boy,” Ghost Funk Orchestra readying A New Kind of Love, and Rachel Grae exploring a major “what if.”

* For those of you stuck in an unhappy relationship, Liv Hanna’s latest single, “Boy,” is here to give you the push to move on.

The 19-year-old pop singer-songwriter brings out her R&B side on the song, sounding like seasoned veteran on the smooth track.

Discussing “Boy” in a statement, Liv said, “My inspiration for the song came about from observing bad behavior in my peer group, and how it relates to self-respect. It’s about not allowing a toxic relationship to dictate, or even ruin your life.”

She continued, adding, “I tried to convey a message which implies that whoever is listening is better off without their said ‘boy,’ or significant other. It encourages independence, and standing up for oneself.”

Get in the groove of personal freedom by clicking play on “Boy.”

* Ghost Funk Orchestra will be releasing their third album, A New Kind of Love, on October 28th via Karma Chief / Colemine Records, and it’s a love that sounds oh so good.

The 10-piece band is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum, who, as the head of the Voltron that is Ghost Funk Orchestra, composed, performed, arranged, and produced the entire album.

One of the recently released singles from A New Kind of Love is “Why?” and while the song’s title is a question, it’s also going to be the answer to what made you immediately fall in love with Ghost Funk Orchestra.

* With over 14 million likes on TikTok, many would be content with being a social media success. For Rachel Grae, however, it’s just a starting point, as the NYC-based pop artist has a bevy of music to share, including the gorgeous ballad “Right Person Right Time.”

An ultimate “what if” song, Grae says, “I wrote ‘Right Person Right Time’ about questioning what a past relationship could have been like had you met later down the road, when you were both older and more mature.”

Grae continued, adding, “I feel like people tend to think back on the relationships that ‘could’ve been the one’ after the fact, and an important stage of healing is going through all of the ‘what ifs’ of a relationship before moving on.”

Timing is certainly everything, and there’s no question this is the right time to be introduced to the music of Rachel Grae.

For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.