Daily Discovery: “Disconnected” by Brittany Davis

Kansas City, Missouri-born and Seattle, Washington-based songwriter and performer, Brittany Davis’ first song was called “Grandpa’s Song.” It was a tune, says Davis, who identifies as non-binary, that they just started playing one day on the piano. At the time, their grandmother’s friend, who people called Grandpa, began to cry. So, Davis named it after him.

Later, at 12 years old, Davis began writing songs with lyrics. First, the songs began as poems, then Davis put music behind them. Today, some two decades later, Davis is making a name in their hometown and abroad. And that effort continues with the release of Davis’ debut EP, I Choose To Live, which is out March 18 on Loosegroove Records.

To celebrate that forthcoming release, Davis has shared their latest single, “Disconnected.”

“The music that I create,” Davis says, “is very moment-based. Almost everything that I write is created there in the moment, very free-form, very emotionally-based.”

When it comes to “Disconnected,” Davis, who is blind, says they were trying to capture the feeling of desire, of wanting to be with someone, despite personal and even “toxic” differences.

“It’s like,” Davis says, “maybe this person isn’t as good for you as we think, but we choose who we choose and we’re going to ride this until the wheels fall off.”

For their new single, the beat came first. Davis, who also works with Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard in the group Painted Shield, says that thinking about how easy it was for some people to dismiss relationships as casual things inspired the single.

“I guess for me,” Davis says, “I just wanted a relationship at the time—so I was emotional about it.”

When considering the track now, Davis says their favorite lyric in the song is: Our hearts paid the cost.

“Because,” Davis says, “society has romanticized love, making it cheerful and beautiful, when actually it’s really painful. You can lose a part of yourself trying to develop intimacy with somebody. And sometimes there is a part of you and a part of the other person that gets lost in each other, too.”

Photo courtesy Shore Fire Media