Q&A: Talia Rae Shows Her Maturity with “Blind in Love” and “Blue” Off Her Upcoming Project
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY IVONA HOMICIANU ☆
TALIA RAE HOLDS THE PROMISE OF AN OUTSTANDING PROJECT—The artist unveiled her lead single “Blind in Love” last month, a courageous track that observes a friend lose themselves in a toxic relationship. Her new single “Blue” tells a tale of love and heartache in a dreamy atmosphere, along with a haunting and emotional dimension.
Rae was born and raised in Essex, UK. Her musical training includes her education at Sylvia Young Theatre School as well as her self-taught skills. She released her debut EP Shadows last year which introduced her to the UK music scene, and she’s releasing her upcoming EP next year. While Shadows allowed her to explore who she could be, this new project is a declaration of who she is.
The lead single off her new project, “Blind in Love” observes the delicate situation of witnessing a friend lose their spark while in an unhealthy relationship. Her vocals serve as a powerhouse while the honest lyrics show the necessity of the song. The soulful and jazzy production adds onto the message of the track, while her newest single “Blue” takes a slower approach which allows Rae’s vocal interpretation to take the front seat.
Luna spoke to the artist about her new project, including her single “Blue,” out today.
LUNA: How did you realize that you wanted to be a singer?
RAE: Oh, good question. I was singing around the house from when I was really young. My dad introduced me to a lot of old ‘90s music and early 2000s some ‘80s stuff like R.E.M., Sting, Goo Goo Dolls, Oasis. I was brought up on that. I was singing since I was about four or five, I think I started singing before talking and that was all I knew. I started musical theater, then I started writing songs, and as soon as I started writing songs, I knew that's how I wanted to share my story with people.
LUNA: What inspires the sound in “Blind in Love”?
RAE: The song was inspired by someone in my life who is in a relationship, and from looking at it from the outside, I don't think she's treated in the best way. It’s inspired by conversations and stuff like that. The sound I was inspired by at the time… I was listening to and still listening to a lot of Paolo Nutini, Michael Kiwanuka, and then some older soul stuff from the ‘60s, but it’s got that modern twist to it. I was listening to a lot of Leon Bridges.
LUNA: Talking about the subject of the song, which is inspired by watching a friend lose themselves in this toxic relationship. Did you feel worried about how the song would be received, not necessarily like when it comes to your own friend, but when it comes to other people?
RAE: Yeah, totally. I was playing it the other night live in Birmingham, and I saw this girl in the front row. She was just bawling her eyes. She was really crying, I could clearly tell, and she was hugging her friend who was next to her. I had explained the story of the song, and clearly she was feeling… it was quite sad to watch that. It made me think, “Oh, she's probably been in a relationship, or is in a relationship where she's not treated in the best way.” Hopefully it will make people hear it and realize that there's something better.
LUNA: You have an upcoming EP. What can we expect from it?
RAE: I've got a song coming out on the 26th of November called “Blue,” and I'm really excited about that one. It's probably one of my favorite songs I've ever written, and it's really inspired by Lana del Rey's Ultraviolence. That whole aesthetic. The EP is actually inspired by films, not necessarily music, a lot of Tarantino films and films from the ‘90s. It feels very cinematic and grand, but not trying to be, in an effortless way that is just like, “Here are my stories. I hope you like them and can relate to them.” Every song is basically a story, every song represents a moment in my life. It feels like an amalgamation of my life in the past year and a half. There's lots to expect.
LUNA: What other themes are you exploring on the project?
RAE: A lot of it is about my family. I've got a song which is the title track. I haven't really announced it, but that song is written from my dad's perspective about me. It's him saying to me that he's letting me go as I'm getting older. It's him letting his daughter go become an adult and whatnot. Then another song on the EP is about my mum, and it's written from this perspective if I was her mother. How would I treat her and what advice would I give her? It's about me wishing that she would love herself the way that I love her. A lot of it is about family and looking at your past and looking at the future but living now.
LUNA: How does the songwriting process look like for you?
RAE: It changes so much. My songwriting is non-linear. I could be sat in this interview or in this car right now and I just have a lyric idea and I have to write it on my phone, and then maybe three weeks later I'll go sit at the piano and I'll write a verse, or I'll write a chorus around that. Maybe six months later I'll take it into the studio with someone that I work with and we'll finish it together. A lot of times, I usually have concepts that I want to write about, like with the songs I was just talking about my family. Before the song was written. I knew what I wanted it to be about and I had a title for it as well. I try and live as much as possible and see as much, have as many conversations, read stuff, listen to different podcasts and whatnot, then I'll just try to take it all in and write about it. Sometimes it comes and sometimes it doesn't. I just need to ride the wave.
LUNA: You released your debut EP last year and you have this new EP coming up. How do you feel you've evolved since then?
RAE: So much. I feel like I'm a different person now.I'm still quite young, I'm 22. I started writing [the first EP] when I was 17. In my head, I was still a kid and I was writing about things that had happened when I was 15 and 16, so it's all pretty crazy. The EP came out when I was 20, but now this EP that's coming out next year definitely feels a lot more like a young adult, lessons that I've learned and that I'm still learning. With Shadows, it was me exploring what I could be. With this EP, it's definitely more of, this is who I am. It's me wanting to share my story with you. This is who I am and this is what I'm trying to say. This is what I want people to hear and hopefully take something from.
LUNA: You've been touring across the UK and Ireland. Is there a specific venue or city that you'd love to perform in someday?
RAE: Yeah, I have a dream venue. I'm into football and I'm an Arsenal fan. Their stadium is Emirates Stadium and they started doing gigs there. That's my dream. That's the trajectory. That's top of the list. Maybe a few more EPs down the line and a couple albums.
LUNA: Where do you hope you'll be in a year?
RAE: I don't like to write any materialistic goals or anything around numbers and stuff like that. I've written these songs from a place of happiness and all sorts of different emotions, and I just want people to hear it. My goal is that it connects to people and that I can play the songs to people at shows and that it can soundtrack their lives. I've been working on this music for the past year and a half. It's been my life and soundtracked it whilst I've created it, and I want to now soundtrack people's lives. That's really my only goal, that people hear it and it finds its audience as well.
