Olivia Morreale Takes off with Her Debut Single, "NO ANSWER"
Olivia Morreale’s “NO ANSWER” is a flawless introduction to her upcoming SPACE DREAMS EP. The song is grounded in Morreale’s thoughtful lyrics, while the production allows the song to soar. “NO ANSWER” feels cosmic and cool. It is the ultimate chill vibe song. Morreale is one to watch and I can’t wait to see her take off. I got the chance to ask Morreale a few questions about her latest release. Read our interview below.
WHAT WAS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU STARTED WRITING “NO ANSWER?”
I was in my last semester of college when I started writing this song with my friend Eli. He had just gotten a new synth, so we were messing around with it, and that’s when we found that fat synth sound that carries the whole song.
WHAT WERE YOU WATCHING/READING/LISTENING TO?
I honestly don’t remember what kind of stuff I was watching. I was mainly reading the course materials for my last few courses. It was a time in my life when a lot of things were changing. I remember feeling really liberated when we started writing the song only using synths—like we could really go anywhere with it lyrically and melodically. Beyond 80s classics, I haven’t listened to a whole lot of synth stuff. I had always been a jazz/singer-songwriter girl, so that simple discovery and learning process opened a lot of doors and gave Eli and me a lot of confidence to experiment. There was no pressure, which is always how the best music is made.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE WHEN YOU FIRST GOT THE IDEA FOR THE SONG?
Yeah. It was so vivid. I had just started teaching piano in the Palisades near Malibu. My drive to and from my students’ houses was up and down the Pacific Coast Highway—right along the beach at the most beautiful time of day, since the lessons were after school. On my way back from teaching, I looked at the ocean glittering and the lyric, “the reflection of the sky on the water” just popped into my head. I realized that the ocean is a massive mirror for the entire sky. It kind of blew me away. So that’s what I brought into the session when we started the song a week later.
IS THERE A REASON YOU CHOSE TO TITLE THE SONG “NO ANSWER?”
Honestly, it was our working title. Usually, I’m a huge stickler about lyrics and the logical flow of the story and imagery in a song, but the beauty of writing “NO ANSWER” was in the vibe and feeling of it. The lyrics float you from one idea to the next without necessarily providing a huge amount of context—it’s supposed to feel like a dream. Like, “Why am I in my grandma’s house eating a ham sandwich in this dream? Why am I now in a cave?” There are lots of questions with no answers. The point is how the song makes you feel, not what is said.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ABOUT THE SONG?
I’m really proud of the second verse lyrics. The second verse is the enemy of the songwriter, but I’m happy with the star imagery we came up with there.
WALK ME THROUGH YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS FOR THIS TRACK.
As I mentioned, most of the lyrics originated from that line about the ocean being a mirror. Instrumentally, we found that synth first and then went from there. Eli is an amazing producer and did most of the programming for this project. I also love that he’s also one of the best guitar players I know, but we didn’t even gravitate towards guitar in this song at all. I think he had a sense for exactly where the vibe was leading, which I’m super grateful for. My friend Cole Riddle also ended up tracking some awesome synths and a solo at the end of the song, which added so much life to the track.
CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE PRODUCTION PROCESS?
We kind of just went with the flow, and I love that it turned out the way it did completely by accident. I showed it to a bunch of people, and my friend Zach McDermott helped with some of the cleaning up of tracks and arranging, but I think once we had that synth and the idea to write it like a dream it was pretty clear where it would go on its own. It took us a long time to write these songs, so they’ve been through a lot of different versions. I’ve made three different boyfriends listen to them at this point and literally all of my friends. I added a bunch of synths and some additional vocals during quarantine, but this one has always stayed fairly simple, which I like.
HOW DOES “NO ANSWER” FIT INTO YOUR SPACE DREAMS EP AS A WHOLE?
All of the songs evoke a different kind of dream or dream-like experience. This song is supposed to feel like an easy, happy dream. It’s definitely one of the more electronic-sounding songs. I hope that people will add it to their night drive or road trip playlists. It’s supposed to help you just float away. I think it’s a great introduction to some of the more complicated sounds in the rest of the EP, so in the context of the rest of the project, it’s definitely an exciting first release.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE OVERALL SOUND OF THE PROJECT?
Each of the songs on this project is kind of a pop song and kind of a weird experiment in regards to song structure, vocal production, and overall sound. We wrote lots of the songs in little vignettes. As opposed to following a typical pop song structure, we have some weird bridges with no lyrics and some sections that are shorter—just because we wanted them that way.
WHAT DID I MISS? ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT THE SONG OR YOUR UPCOMING EP?
I don’t think so! I made some really cute bead bracelets that I’m really proud of with the lyrics on them. I’m doing a giveaway for my followers who presave the song and/or follow me on Spotify after the release—it’s a raffle and the rules are on my Instagram page. It’s really just so I can brag about the bracelets, but if anyone is interested, please feel free to check it out.
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