In an industry where it is easy to over produce and turn a once unstripped piece of art into a polished piece for the mainstream, indie-pop artist Victoria Bigelow fights back with a humble approach to her single “To Everyone I’ve Loved Before.” The single is the first release since her 2019 debut EP, ‘Going Blue.’
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The new track features Bigelow’s wispy vocals laid over wandering music like rolling hills. The song’s lyrics reveal honesty and inner reflection, representing human nature to look back and learn from mistakes. Bigelow explains while writing the song, she felt empathy for the younger version of herself and the entanglements she found herself in.
“This song is paying homage, while simultaneously apologizing to my past self and former lovers. It’s impossible to be sure of your love for another person when you’re unsure of the love you have for yourself,” said Bigelow. “Writing it for me was an acknowledgment of the pain I’ve caused others by being reckless with their hearts and vulnerability, and the pain I’ve caused myself by being reckless with my own.”
Matching the vulnerability and down-to-earth nature of the lyrics, Bigelow chose a DIY (Do it Yourself) approach when it came time to record. Of course, she had a little help, but the song was recorded in her home, which she described as a welcomed opportunity.
“The song was recorded, mixed and mastered by my boyfriend Devan Skaggs in our bedroom,” she said. “We co-produced it, which is a first for me, and because of that I feel like I’m approaching this next group of songs more intimately that I’ve been able to in the past. I’m taking full advantage of the opportunity to get to live inside of the music for days on end and finally bring my ideas to life.”
Reflecting on the song and her past life, Bigelow said she expects other people to relate to it and the idea that sometimes it is not always easy to fall in love and sometimes you’re not even good at it.
“I hope others can relate to the sentiment of not being very good at loving someone else when you’re not very good at loving yourself,” she said. “Cut them some slack for any missteps or pain they’ve inflicted. None of us know what we’re doing and we’re all just rubbing up against one another.”
