Skipping across the pond for today’s Daily Spinn, we check in with London-based artist and producer Grace Gillespie.

Gillespie just released After the Harvest Moon, an introspective five-track volume informed by folk, alternative, and dream pop. Featured on the EP is “Song for Nick Drake,” a ballad about the British folk songwriter who gained posthumous fame, following his untimely death from an overdose at age 26.

“My parents bought me a book about Nick Drake for Christmas, and for some reason, I started reading it from the back,” Gillespie told UMC. “I already knew the outline of his story, having grown up listening to his music. However, this book really delved into the details of his last days: his parents patiently documenting Nick’s (few) words and moods, and his failed trips into London to record. It is an absolutely tragic story, and one that moves me every time I hear it — every time I think about it. It breaks my heart to think that the majority of people didn’t manage to hear the beauty of his music whilst he was alive to play it to them.”

For Drake, the beauty of his music was indeed in its delicate details — something Gillespie fears is lost in a society often constantly moving at a breakneck pace.

“The whole thing seemed very metaphoric to me and got under my skin. The idea that we, as a human race, can be too loud, too uncaring to notice the real beauty of things,” Gillespie said. “It makes me fearful — as things get brighter and louder and faster — that we will lose the slow, intricate quietness of raw craft. I didn’t plan to write the song for him. The words came out very quickly: An homage to a beautiful man who was too delicate, too quiet, too aware for this world.”

Enjoy the beauty of “Song for Nick Drake” as today’s Daily Spinn!

The Daily Spinn is presented by The Quinn Spinn, UMC’s official podcast. The Quinn Spinn features conversations with musicians, producers, content creators, and industry professionals, providing insight into what it takes to succeed as a creative entrepreneur in today’s industry. Follow the show and listen to the latest on Spotify, Anchor, Apple Podcasts, and more!