‘‘Borderlines’ is the first release from Cara Hammond in almost three years, and her first self-produced multitrack song.
Written with artist FAYYE at the beginning of 2021 and spurred on by a shared fondness of Lana Del Rey and London Grammar, ‘Borderlines’ opens with sophisticated piano and soulful vocals, building with electronic beats and ghostly harmonies, Cara’s heartfelt singing rising and falling. She views Borderlines as a recovery of sorts following a split with former label and management; Cara appeared at SXSW last year courtesy of FOCUS Wales and as a now independent artist, the song represents both the journey she’s been on – and the future ahead. ‘‘Borderlines’ is the first release from Cara Hammond in almost three years, and her first self-produced multitrack song.
Written with artist FAYYE at the beginning of 2021 and spurred on by a shared fondness of Lana Del Rey and London Grammar, Borderlines opens with sophisticated piano and soulful vocals, building with electronic beats and ghostly harmonies, Cara’s heartfelt singing rising and falling. She views Borderlines as a recovery of sorts following a split with former label and management; Cara appeared at SXSW last year courtesy of FOCUS Wales and as a now independent artist, the song represents both the journey she’s been on – and the future ahead.
For the song’s video, which we are delighted to premiere today, Wrexham-born Cara wanted to create a character who was obsessed with planning a trip but never actually going on it. ‘I had an idea of creating a classic detective scene, but instead of using red string to join suspects, it would join bucket lists and places to visit. The ‘Borderlines’ music video starts with this character happily creating a travel map which is then stuck onto the wall. More pictures, notes and string get added as lyrics are sung of ‘watching the days go by.’ As we move into verse 2, the character’s mental state begins to decline, as we start to see the red string criss-cross from wall to wall. This is intercut with still shots of me in an armchair surrounded with string, singing of ‘never seeing myself in full.’ Moving into the second chorus, the character begins dancing within these lines of string, made dramatic from the use of contrasting lightning and smoke. As the song builds to a crescendo in the bridge, the character becomes entwined with the string as they try to struggle their way free. This cuts to a scene of frenzy, where I charge the room, ripping
down the maps, notes and plans. The final scene sees me pulling the string free as I sing of ‘passing my borderlines.’
