Risa Binder, ‘Easy to Remember’ [Listen]

Risa Binder has just released a new EP, 'Nashville,' and she's sharing one of the new tracks with readers of The Boot.

'Easy to Remember' was co-written by Matraca Berg. Binder feels it was serendipity that she recorded the song.

"Matraca is one of my heroes," she says. "I've been singing 'Strawberry Wine' with my band for the last five or six years. I had never met her, but I went into a store that I'd never been in before, and I was the only one in it, and then she walked in. It was just us in the store. I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I've got to get the courage.' The song is in my phone, and she hasn't heard it!"

Binder approached the songwriter at the cash register and introduced herself, and explained that she had cut the song. "And she was like, 'Let's listen to it right now!'" she recalls. "So I got to play it for my hero, and she said to me, 'If I could have cut it any way, it would have been just like this. I love it.' It was so cool, and to me it was a sign that we're moving in the right direction here."

The track is somewhat of a musical departure for Binder. "I love doing doing the upbeat, fun, happy songs, and when this was given to me, I thought, 'I really want to do this, too,' because there is a part of me that wants to talk about maybe the harder parts of love, the sadder parts of a breakup," she relates. "To me, when I sing this song, I think about my past relationships and I wonder, 'Do they think about me and want to remember how we were together, or would they rather not?' So this song is a bit heavier, and I love performing it."

The singer also worked with Nashville super-producer Luke Wooten on the new EP. "It was such an amazing time working with him," she says. "I came in and sang a couple of my songs, and then Luke sent me songs, and what was so amazing was, he just got me so quickly. He understood who I was as an artist, and the songs that he sent me were so great. It was an awesome collaboration, for sure."

Binder has gained some traction at Sirius XM's The Highway. "I want to thank them for putting my first song on the radio, 'Gotta Have You,'" she notes. "That was huge this past summer, to hear my song on the radio for the first time was incredible, and gaining all those new fans. It's been the most exciting summer to date, and I know the journey's just begun here."

She is also planning to tour behind the EP. "I have a phenomenal band, and that's one of my favorite things to do, is perform live," she says. "That's kind of the next step, is taking the show on the road. I can't wait."

'Nashville' is available at iTunes. Keep up with Binder's upcoming dates at her website, or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Listen to Risa Binder, 'Easy to Remember'