CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 151: SALTY ON TOUCHING GRASS AND TOURING WITH PEACH PRC
Interview by Brooke Gibbs.
In this candid conversation with Brooke Gibbs, rising artist Salty opens up about her latest single Touch Grass, the creative process behind it, and the personal struggles that inspired the song. From navigating the highs and lows of social media to finding moments of calm in a constantly connected world, Salty shares the joys, challenges, and unexpected humor that come with life as a modern musician.
FMM: I love the new single, Touch Grass. I feel like it's such a relatable concept, but it’s also really fun. Do you remember the exact moment that inspired this song?
Salty: Oh, thank you so much. I love this song as well. I'm so glad it's resonating with people. It's nice to see. I've always had the phrase, ‘touch grass,’ written down in my notes, and every time I go into a session, I pull out my notes and see how I'm feeling and what I want to write about. It’s just been this funny thing that me and my best friend say if I’m being really diabolical and need a reality check. I’ll always say I need to go outside and touch some grass, so it’s always been funny vibes. But, I think beneath that, it’s also quite emotional, deep, and it’s an actual thing I think about when it comes to social media and being on your phone. I was struggling with it at that time.
I love Chelsea and Cy, obviously. We're so comfortable working with each other. So when I said, hey, we should write song called Touch Grass. I want it to be happy and fun, but have that have that element of sadness in it too, that I'm battling with this addiction to my phone or whatever.
It sort of stemmed from that, and then it became its own thing, and I'm so proud of it. I love this song a lot.
FMM: Social media must be hard to balance as an artist because it’s an opportunity for you to reach new audiences, share your music and any tour announcements. How has your relationship with social media changed since writing Touch Grass?
Salty: I would definitely say it's still a relationship I'm working on. It's a very toxic relationship. I have really good days and really bad days. It just depends on what's going on in my life at that time, but I would say it's definitely given me freedom, and hearing that other people also battle with feelings like that with their phone has been nice to feel like I'm not alone in that. But, yeah, as you said, it’s really hard to find the balance and difference between ‘I’m an artist and this is my working platform’ and ‘this is really personal to me and I’m taking everything personally.’ So, it’s finding that balance and that happy medium of asking what the discipline is. How long am I allowed to be on my phone? Do I just post and leave? Like, what do I do? I’m still figuring that part out.
FMM: Do artists feel a pressure to be present on social media all the time?
Salty: Totally. I find if something goes well on there, it's kind of like you're chasing that constantly, and it’s the only sense of community you have. For me, with this tour I just did, seeing the fan base grow and people connect with me, that’s really addicting, and you want that to keep going. I think because we have access to doing that, and you want things to go viral, it can be really toxic. It can have take a hit on your self-identify and how you feel about yourself. I think it’s difficult for everyone - not just artists. I think when that business element comes into it, the lines blur.
FMM: What does touching grass personally mean for you? How do you switch off?
Salty: I recently discovered this place called Soak House. It's like a bath house and you get a massage and lock your phone in this little locker and you get an hour-and-a-half access to these mineral pools, sauna, steam room, and they have a tea station. I’ve been going there a lot because it really makes me feel like I can actually switch off and take care of my body. It’s been really nice. And, I think spending time with my family has been really beautiful - my sister, my partner. Going to the movies alone is one of my favourite things to do - the cliche things, but they really do make a difference with day-to-day stuff and being offline.
FMM: What’s your biggest guilty pleasure on social media?
Salty: I love like a deep TikTok scroll. One of my favorite things about that is finding funny videos and sending them to my sister and my best friend, and it only being funny to us. I actually think that's quite beautiful about social media. I spend a lot of my time editing and posting, or finding content ideas to do, but I would say finding funny videos and sending them to my family would be my pleasure.
FMM: If you could delete one app forever, which app would it be?
Salty: Well, this is the thing. I think they're also quite beautiful spaces to be a part of, you know, like having that community and access to fans, friends and family and being able to share creative things that you do, online is also so rewarding and fulfilling. So, as much as I say I struggle with it, I would also really miss it, because we’re so used to that and we make things and want people to see them. I’m sure there are some people that just make things to feel good, but you’re proud of it. You want people to see it, and that’s not anything to be ashamed of. I think I would miss it even if I deleted them. I have deleted everything before. I did like two weeks at the end of last year. I was in a writing camp and two weeks, deleted everything, and it was awesome. It was so good, so sometimes I’ll do that for one week every month - nothing. No scrolling. That’s the goal.
FMM: You wrote and recorded Touch Grass in under six hours, which is incredibly fast. What was the energy like in the room?
Salty: Really high. I feel like once you find something that the room is all agreed on, it's really quick. Things happen really fast. It's usually finding the idea that everyone feels really good about in the room, and once you've locked that in, everything kind of just happens in like an hour and a half. It was definitely high, high energy, really fun. We have fun in the studio. I didn't really feel pressure or like I was trying to make something for the sake of making something. It was just fun.
FMM: You’ve been supporting Peach PRC on tour. What’s it been like bringing Touch Grass to new audiences.
Salty: It's been so fun. I'm literally having the time of my life. I don't want it to end. It's made me just fall in love with touring and being on stage. I learned something new every show about myself, about the audience, about my show, about the songs that are resonating with everyone. It’s been really cool to have a song come out and then welcome it into the world. This song just came out, and I feel like everyone’s really loving it. That’s been really nice too. I do'n’t want it to end. I’m like, please don’t.
FMM: How do you approach supporting other artists such as Peach PRC compared to your headline shows?
Salty: Selfishly, there is an element or less pressure in a way because when it’s your own headline show, you’re worrying about everything - how many tickets you’re selling, if this person knows what they’re doing. So, it’s been nice working on a bigger-scale project where it’s a huge agency and promoter. That’s been really cool to be a part of. It feels very professional and it just feels more fun because there’s less pressure. That’s how it feels, especially with my dancers - we’re having the best time up there. We live to be on stage. We live and breathe that. So, it’s been nice. Low pressure and just fun.
FMM: The music video for Touch Grass is so fun! Can you run as through the visuals?
Salty: The video was shot at my cousin's farm three hours away. We knew my Creative Director - she directs all my videos. Long-time friend, Bianca Georgievska I always show her the songs and I'm like, hey, I want to do this song next, let's brainstorm what we think it should be. And again, dancing is number one priority with videos, but we wanted it to feel more so like an ensemble dancing rather than I'm the star and the artist. That's why we've got the four boys, which they're amazing. We just wanted to feel like cults in the farm dancing together. No one's a star. Everyone's just like woo. We feel like we did a really good job and it feels like the video matches the song, in a way that you don't really expect it to. I think that's quite beautiful. We’re very proud of it.
FMM: What’s next for you?
Salty: I'm definitely writing a lot more. I'd love to work on my album. That's my next big goal. I'll probably do another song soon, and I have a lot of travel plans. I’m spending a lot of this year not in Australia, which is exciting, but I’ll be back for shows. I’d love to do another headline. I’m always planning what’s next, but it’s been nice to just enjoy the momentum of this song. It feels like people are starting to notice me more and that feels nice.