Bianca James Dreams Up a Grace Kelly Inspired Fantasy on Debut Single “Monaco”
WITH THRIFT STORE CHIC ON THE RISE — and a growing fascination with the glitz and glam of the recent past, the vintage aesthetic has inevitably found its way into all facets of popular culture. Whether it's a hippie technicolor dream or an aloof mod energy, when looking at current trends it seems that, somehow, we all ended up old souls. On Bianca James’ debut single, “Monaco,” the singer-songwriter embraces this love of the past to create a sound that reflects this pop-cultural mix of modern and vintage.
James grew up singing along to her parents’ record player, which inspired her adoration for classic rock and pop music from a young age.
“I loved singing along to Dusty Springfield, Motown records, and classic Jazz like Ella Fitzgerald,” James explains.
While working on music for the past six years, James spent a lot of time finding the sound she was looking for. The track, inspired by classic surf rock with organ peppering through big band drums and horns, reflects the time she and co-writer and producer Thomas McKay took to make it perfect.
“It started with a voice memo that I sang during winter COVID lockdown in Montreal, as I was dreaming of throwing my high heels in a suitcase and going to vintage Monaco,” James says.
The process from there was long, but James and McKay wanted to ensure they were creating the right sound for the singer-songwriter.
“I sent it to Thomas and the next day he made a demo of the guitars and bass hooks, then we workshopped the melody and lyrics with Tony Rabalao, who is an amazing drummer currently on tour with Bedouin Soundclash,” she describes. “Next we hit the studio, figured out the tempo, and had drummer Davide Direnzo add an amazing groove, which really brought the song to life. The final step, the icing on the cake, was adding baritone saxophone performed by Gene Hardy — he’s an amazing musician.”
Reminiscent of ’60s dance hits but heightened for a modern audience, “Monaco” is catchy but not corny. It maintains a perfect homage to iconic rock groups and their muses and never becomes an overt impression of any particular artist.
“I was very inspired by ’60s band The Ventures for the drum parts and surf rock guitar style,” James says. “I was also inspired by singer Duffy and her album Rockferry, which I adore — she’s not from the ’60s, of course, but her sound was also very inspired by that era.”
The visuals for the album feature James in a checker-print long sleeve top pulled over a pale pink slip dress, giving it a miniskirt look. It’s as if James was ripped from the front cover of a mid ’60s issue of Petticoat Magazine.
“I was in the south of France on holiday and hired photographer Iulia Matei to do a shoot with me for the song,” she describes. “Initially, we were supposed to rent a classic car and take it up to a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean, but when we got to the car rental place, they wouldn’t let us take the car off the lot! So we had to shoot inside the garage, which ended up looking really cool. I did my own hair and makeup for the shoot and my own styling. Louis Vuitton has a collection of ’60s mod check pieces that I absolutely love, so that inspired me.”
James has two more singles coming before the release of her album on Aug. 4. She is ecstatic, and more than anything believes in the music that she and her team put so much time and effort into perfecting.
“This is just the start, so I can’t wait to see where things go from here,” she says. “I’m so grateful for the support of my small but growing fan base.”
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