by Heather Williams (@heatermeow)
Keta Ester - aka Keegan Graziane of Bruiser and Bicycle - releases his debut full length, Love Apple today. Graziane joins me in my cozy Troy, NY apartment on a cold Saturday afternoon in January to talk about their musical beginnings, recording separate from Bruiser and Bicycle, and the making of their first full length LP.
Keta Ester, courtesy of the artist
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Heather Williams: “Big Stomp, Big Stomp” is the first single from Love Apple. How did you pick that one out of all of the songs?
Keegan Graziane: “Big Stomp, Big Stomp” is one of the highest energy songs, or maybe the most maximal. It has full of layers and maybe the most melodic elements in it. For this one I was like, “How much melody can I fit in here without it overstepping?” There is a part of me that wanted to showcase a part of that side of my writing. I felt that this being the introduction to the record and first album of Keta Ester, I wanted it to feel explosive.
I also wanted to feature all the elements that are on the record, like flute, group vocals, Molly Meehan [of Vega], who sings on a couple other songs, and obviously the rhythm section. That was sort of my thinking around the first single.
HW: I’m not going to say what it is, but there is a little easter egg at the end of one of the songs with Molly. You gotta listen all the way to the last second of the songs. You don’t want to miss it because it is very funny.
KG: When you hear it, you’ll know. I sent this to someone that I played a show with, and their first thing was, “That part was so funny.” I was like, “hell yea, I’m glad that you picked up on that.” Scoops [Dardaris] would try to throw in a little, too. They would yell stuff out at the end of the takes, but I was like “no.” There were a few others that were almost in.
HW: What formats will this record be out on?
KG: I’ll probably do CDs and cassettes for now. Unless a mysterious benefactor would like to do vinyl.
HW: Ok so tapes and CDs. Bandcamp.
KG: Yeah. Streaming. YouTube. Self-releasing it on February 20, 2026.
HW: It’s a Friday.
KG: Yes, it’s a Friday… and it is also my 30th birthday.
HW: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
KG: This album is giving Pisces.
HW: Ok, LOVE APPLE.
KG: YES.
HW: I feel like everyone should listen and decide what Love Apple represents to them. This line sums up what the album means to me: "I tripped and fell/and stumbled through hell/but I still came out laughing." I don't know if you want to share what Love Apple means to you or not, everyone can come up with what it means to them.
KG: I do agree that people should listen and come up with their own interpretation, I'm always for that. I'm always for not disturbing the mystery of art for certain aspects of it. I think that line that stuck out to you, or that made you think of what the record is about, I think there is truth in that, at least part of it. Going through grief, losing connection with people you thought you wouldn't, making new connections, love, not knowing how life will turn out, it all comes into this, in a sense.
I tend to think of records, or at least my songs on this record, as rather than "this is what the record is," it is a portal into this window of time. What you get from it is sort of what it could be, rather than, "Oh Love Apple is this," because even I will go through it and there will be a song I wrote a couple years ago, something happens, and now I am relating to it in a different way. And I love that with music. I think that in trying to pin it down, something would be lost. So I agree, it is sort of like, you listen to it and see how it lands for you and what it means, even if I have my own experience of it that could be completely different than someone else's.
I did have one other thought about it. There are some albums where each song feels like a little slice of the apple, and together the whole album is like one big, juicy apple. On this record I wanted every song to be the big juicy apple. That was just a thought I had writing this. I think the title just came at some point while I was writing and originally the title that came to mind was, Love Apple and the Commitment to Dance, but I was like this isn't really a dance record. I think that at some point I was like ok.. Love Apple. That's it.
HW: I love Love Apple! Sabrina Nichols made the cover. Did they make it after they found out the name of the album or did this exist already?
KG: A long time ago, I made a flyer for a show, and I really liked how it came out. So I always kept the image without any of the text. I was like, “this is the album cover.” As the album got closer, I wanted it to look like the flyer, but I wanted it to be drawn, and to be something that added to the whimsical nature. I feel like Sabrina's work has that. She did one with colored pencil, then pastel oil paints, and then spray paint.
The second single is "Ruby Dog Strikes Red," and there will be a B-side which will be an autotune version of one of the songs, but it has a different title and no drums or bass, just acoustic guitar and singing. That will have the pencil drawing as the cover. "Big Stomp, Big Stomp" has the spray paint one. The album one will be the pastel oil one.
HW: What is a favorite memory from recording with Scoops Dardaris?
KE: Scoops is really into basketball. Throughout the recording process, we watched the finals, and then, also, he would compare music to basketball. I texted Dan LaFave about this and I was like, "You're both into this." Dan said his favorite musicians are like his favorite basketball players, I can't remember exactly what he said, but he said they know how to kill it when they need to and when to defer to the collective. I was like, this is awesome. I think Scoops said that basketball is like jazz, it is free form within structure.
HW: Where did you record?
KE: We actually recorded at my friend Addy's house. It is a beautiful house and we recorded in the music room where they practice. Whenever we would play in Burlington, we would stay there, and I just love the vibe of this room and house. I was just like, "Hey.... Can I do a record here?" They were super down.
Scoops came up from Philly and then we had some of our Burlington friends come over and do group vocals. Katy Helman of Emerald Ground Water, Bo Malcolm, and Molly Meehan came over to sing harmonies on a few tracks. In the music room there are a bunch of different instruments that are all over the record like little bells. On "Big Stomp, Big Stomp," there is a harmonium that they had in that room. They had a Fender Rhodes, and that is all over this record, and their piano. We did the drums and bass tracks at Tummy Rub Records with Z and Joe. The bulk of the record was in Burlington, VT.
HW: Stone Filipczak (of @) playing flute on this album is so good. The vibrato coming out from the guts is so good.
KE: Yes! They absolutely killed it. I saw them play with @ and they were ripping on the flute and I was like, "Alright, I gotta hit them up and see if they want to play flute on some of the tracks" and they were down with it and they thought it was cool.
HW: The first time I was listening to this record in headphones, I heard the flute come in on “Big Stomp, Big Stomp,” and when it phases out and your vocals come in with similar vibrato, it was so cool - going through the song like a wavy thread. The way you sing, it is like it comes and goes like waves, coming and going from the gut.
KE: Thank you, that is cool.
HW: How long ago did you do this recording?
KE: It was in June [2025]. Some of the songs were written during the time period of [Bruiser and Bicycle's] Deep Country. I don't want to say it is a companion record, but I think there are some elements from it, because I was in a specific mode and style of songwriting. Some of the songs are shorter and focused on melody on this record and some of the songs on Deep Country followed that. "Ruby Dog Strikes Red" was a song that I sent to be on Deep Country originally, and it was maybe not being received as the vibe, but I really liked that song so I saved it for this record. It makes sense because this song fits more with Love Apple's production style.
HW: Over the years I've watched you perform solo and then you started having guest players. Do you think you will continue doing solo shows or are you going to play these songs live with a full band?
KE: I want to do a full band going forward. I am going to do a tour in April. Molly is going to play keys and sing and I will also have a band. I am open to doing solo if it makes sense, or duo, but I think I like writing songs for multiple instruments and having a full band. So I am trying to keep it more so in that avenue. At least for now.
HW: Bruiser and Bicycle is your other band. What is it like for you working on your own, vs working in the band?
KE: It’s been really interesting because I feel like even though I’ve been making music for awhile, I’ve been doing it for so long in the context of other people and other creative ideas, so part of the reason that there haven’t been Keta Ester releases for so long is because I was putting a lot of my writing toward Bruiser and Bicycle. Here and there, I'd have some songs that fit my personal vibe.
Writing on your own, you get to have a body of work that is so personal, it is completely your vibe, and I love that feeling. I get to say this is a thing that I did. It almost feels a little bit like there is less restriction and more of a flow when you are writing on your own because you know what the thing is going to look like. As long as you like it and it feels good, the songs can just happen.
When writing with other people, you write a song and you love the song, and the other person is like, “well, I don't know if this fits their idea of the record.” That is part of collaboration and you get to make something that is unique because it is not just one person. Not to bring up the Beatles, but, you look at the Beatles and when the four of them were doing their thing, there is something singular to that group, or just any rock group that has multiple songwriters. There is something in both ways that is worthwhile to explore. And you can kind of take them into each other, you know? So it’s like writing my own private thing and then bringing that into Bruiser and Bicycle, and I can have another understanding about myself or what I want to do. I think writing in your own project is more freedom and flow, less people deciding what thing is what.
HW: When did you start playing music and what instruments did you start with?
KE: My first instrument was the cello. I played it for a long time, like ten years. That was before guitar. I played cello all throughout school. When I was 15-ish, I was getting the urge to rock out. So I got a guitar around then, and for two years, I hated it. I couldn't figure out how to play the guitar, but at some point, I broke through and was able to play simple power chords, and some songs like that. I would just do that and eventually, throughout the end of high school and into college, transitioned to playing guitar more. That was my beginning of how music was.
My mom was a music teacher so there were piano lessons and a piano in the house. I would sit down and play melodies and noodle. I'm like, “melodies on keys, great. Chords, don't ask me that. Inversion, don't ask me that. I have no idea what's going on.” It would take me so long to pick out C. That is how I started.
HW: Do you still play cello?
KE: I haven't really played the cello since I graduated. Every now and then I go into a music store and I have the itch to play cello and try it out. It is retained in my brain, the notes and placement of things, but I think if I practiced more, I could build back up to it. I'm actively trying to manifest a cello situation for myself. I do want to get back into it. I would be stoked to play classical music. But when I was younger I was like, "I want to play rock and roll." Now I'm like, "Let me play Bach."
HW: Do you have any closing thoughts for this Post-Trash Interview?
KE: When I was writing the press release for the album, I found myself not describing what the record is about, but more what the record is doing, or more what I'm doing. On the way here, I was thinking what is this album about and what do I want to say about it and it is like... the record speaks for itself, let the music talk. This is more about the production style, but the way that we wanted to track this was as if I was just recording it myself. So everything was pretty much one microphone, except for the drums, to give it the feeling that someone is recording this in their home.
Andy Schauf is an influence for sure and I think he has recorded a lot on his own or in a little studio. I wanted to have that feeling in this record, so that it feels cozy. I want it to feel like a comfortable or familiar sounding album.
HW: It does feel like that, I've been listening to it a lot while driving around and it is cold right now. And it is just like it feels warm and good. Like a love apple.
KE: Yeaaaaaaaaaah. Let's go, there it is.
HW: Hell yeah.