Bedroom Indie-Soul Artist ABBY SAGE Shares “Force Of Habit”
March 25, 2022 BY Jason Currell
Today, LA-via-Toronto bedroom-pop R&B artist Abby Sage shares her dreamy new single, “Force Of Habit,” along with the artful official video. Abby notes, “I wrote about the desire for space & the push and pull a relationship brings. It’s centered around the idea of stretching yourself and your partner too thin (stretched you out like elastic, figured you out every last bit). You reach that point of stay or go & by ‘force of habit’ you stay. Ultimately you want to break the habit & free yourself from something repetitive and cyclical, but habits & comfort hold you back.”
Abby adds, “I planned out the video with my lovely friend Aidan. Aidan came to me with this incredible vision board referencing choreographer Pina Bausch whose work I feel is so humanistic, and jarring and who famously said, ‘I am not interested in how people move, but in what moves them.’ The video we created follows a journey of dependency and choice. I’m portrayed as someone who can’t hold themselves up without the help of another, hence the consistent falling and wavering. The other (Ryan) has to make the decision of whether to keep going back to catch me every time I fall, realizing that I need his support to stand. We found this concept fit the message of ‘Force of Habit’ since it plays heavily into choice, patterns, and dependency. ‘Fall right into my habits.’”
WATCH + SHARE “FORCE OF HABIT”
The new single is also the first in a series of merchandise and track pairings. Abby explains, “I’ve always had the idea of expanding the world of my music past words and performance. I began drawing these figures and saw it as an opportunity to blend my art, clothing, and music style into one. I plan to release a design along with every song I put out this year so this is the first. I’m releasing tote bags and one of one clothing pieces paired with a design I create that matches the feeling of the song. I’ve always had an issue with the wasteful aspect of merch distribution which is why I’m doing it fully sustainably. I thrift all of the pieces I add my designs to and make them in my own home. The designs for ‘Force of Habit’ are 2 different faces both seemingly complacent. It symbolizes the feeling of being in between something, sitting in the middle of a decision and falling into comfortable habits.”
Growing up watching her dad perform at various clubs around Toronto, Abby Sage was enchanted by the magic of the stage and crowd, and felt the pull towards creating something her own. She began writing and recording tracks with her musician dad, and by the start of high school, she was beginning to post her music to Soundcloud in secret —that is until she accidentally released a track publicly. The next morning, her phone was flooded with messages, and like an act of divine intervention, Abby says, “it’s what sparked the confidence to keep going.” A few years later, during one of her trips back to her hometown in Canada, she was connected to a group of producers through a mutual family friend. After a successful test run in the studio, Abby and producer Jeff Hazin continued their creative partnership through Abby’s first singles and debut project, 2021’s Fears of Yours & Mine EP.
