During the start of the pandemic, L.A-based artist Jesse Palter parted ways with her record label to start anew and focus on the next evolution of her music and sound. Out of that dynamic came Better Days – an ode to quarantine and lockdown.
One of Palter’s earliest memories takes her back to when she was four years old in nursery school, answering the teacher’s question: ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ Without missing a beat, “a singer” she replied, promptly belting out the chorus of Tomorrow from Annie.
Chuckling at her determination and certainty at such a young age, Palter says that knowing what she wanted to do from this age has been both a blessing and a curse.
“There was never a doubt in my mind,” she asserts over Zoom. “To be completely honest, the doubt in my mind came not too long ago when I was locked into a contract, surrounded by a team of people that just weren't right for my brand or for my specific project. I started thinking, ‘man, I've been fighting for this all these years and making a lot of sacrifices; moving away from my family... this isn't cute anymore’.
“When I was four years old, I knew that it was what I wanted to do. It was a cute little hobby. Then it became more than that when I really started writing music, telling my own stories and composing. Then you realise, ‘gosh – it's a business, it's not just a passion’.”
During the start of the pandemic, Palter parted ways with her record label, and free to write from the heart, she released the aptly named Better Days. Reflective and optimistic, this tune is co-created and produced with Jake Bass and features notable musicians Jeff Babko (music director for Jimmy Kimmel, James Taylor) and Ben Williams on the keys and bass, respectively.
The song was written over Zoom and each segment of it was recorded in everyone’s individual living spaces; a fitting tribute considering Better Days was written in and is about the quarantine lockdown.
As Palter puts it herself, “now, more than ever, I trust you understand, just as I trust that there are better days to come. When quarantine hit, I had gone several months without feeling creative, and that's such a frustrating feeling for a songwriter who places a lot of self worth on their latest song,” she admits.
“I was just looking for some fresh energy and I remember Jake being so positive at my show when he came to see me. The song fell out of me, which doesn't happen every single time, sometimes you have to chase the song, and then sometimes it's just sitting there, ripe for the picking.”
