“Less is more”

For singer-songwriter Grace Cummings, playing guitar is all about serving the song...

- Ellie Rogers

Grace Cummings hails from Melbourne, and her sophomore record, Storm Queen, was conceived and recorded during the longest lockdown to happen anywhere in the world. The self-produced album has a raw, live feel with little in the way of accompanying instrumentation beyond Grace’s own acoustic guitar - and it’s all the richer for its simplicity and self-restraint. She explains, “I’ve got an album here that is quite sparse and has a lot of space, which was something that was kind of probably just forced on me a little bit because of the pandemic,” before ultimately concluding: “I think that maybe less is more.”

At the very beginning of our interview, Grace makes an interesting distinction: “I do play guitar, but I’m not a guitarist, if you know what I mean? I’m a guitar player.” She is, in fact, also many other things - a singer, a songwriter and an actress - but Grace’s relationship with the instrument is defined by its ability to serve her and her music, rather than the other way around. It’s a distinction that will resonate with many.