Song – Page 27 – RCRD LBL

March 9, 2020November 25, 2020 Mew Zikwryder

Q&A with singer and composer Valeska Rautenberg

Berlin-based singer and composer Valeska Rautenberg has worked as a musician, producer, teacher, composer and voice-over actress for many years now and has started releasing her own music again in 2017, after taking a few years off for her private life.

She paints with sounds. Her voice creates colours. Images come alive in your mind, you wander through them, discover them, feel them. Valeska Rautenberg takes you with her – she doesn’t give you a choice other than to follow her into her cosmos of music.

See our exclusive interview with her below:

What are some of your earliest memories of music?

Ha! Me going crazy to ‘Jump’ by Van Halen in the living room after kindergarten. It was awesome, I loved that song! I guess, I must have been around 4 – 5 years old.

Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?

Not at all. Each song has its own life and it is my task to accept that and to nourish its growth. The music I’m releasing at the moment is instrumental – neoclassical, ambient piano music – like the first single‚ ’Twilight’, off the upcoming EP‚ “Into The Still White – Songs For Piano, Wind & Water”.

My piano pieces usually start with a melody that suddenly comes popping up from my subconscious, which sparks a certain mood. Then I’ll go from there and see what happens. Or if I’m somewhere outside and I hear a sound that interests me, I’ll record it on my phone and use that field-recording as the base and play along to it on the piano.

My vocal music lives more in the realm of Trip Hop, Downbeat, and Indietronica. The starting point for me is mostly with the voice or a lyrical theme, and from there I’ll start to develop the song further. Sometimes it’s the other way around and I’ll build the beat first and let that inspire me. I guess there are no rules and no “right way”. Whatever works for you is the best way. Your job is to accept that there are a million different ways and to be open to letting the song come to you ;-).

Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?

I used to be on stages a lot and loved it … it’s exhausting as well, but back in the day, it was totally my thing. These days I’m more of a sound nerd. I love composing and creating sounds. It has become my language. Maybe one day I’ll be drawn back to the stage but for now, I’m geeking out over my newest plug-ins and love to create music, whether it be with the piano, my voice or any instrument under the sun.

What is the most memorable response you have had to your music?

Oh, I was fortunate to have had a few memorable responses so far and it always warms my heart. To hear people say how much a song touched them or how they could identify with the lyrics, or how one of my songs inspired them to be creative themselves is such an enriching and powerful experience. Getting a message from a stranger from the other side of the globe letting you know they enjoy your music honours me.

One very memorable moment was when one of my songs was compared to the feeling of the cherry blossom scene at the end of the Last Samurai movie … that was quite something.

If you could put together a radio show, what kind of music would you play?

It’d span a lot of genres – from Tori Amos, A Perfect Circle, and Hozier, to Godspeed You! Black Emperor … music has to touch me, make me feel, be meaningful … no matter the genre.

Name five artists and their albums who would appear on your radio show

Only five? Oh, dear …

Fiona Apple – Tidal

Pj Harvey – Rid of me

Tool – Ænima

Radiohead – Amnesiac

Portishead – Dummy

What would you like to achieve with your music? What does success look like to you?

Of course, every musician wants their music to be heard … and I want that, too. I just don’t want to compromise or to step down from my musical convictions in the process.

I love being an indie artist these days … it’s a crazy jungle but it enables you to do everything by yourself, which is a lot of work, but you get to do everything the way you want to do it. That’s amazing.

Success to me is being able to create the music I want to create.

I make my living with music, I get to write my music on my own terms, and have a couple of thousand monthly listeners – that to me is already a success and I’m very grateful for that. If I were able to reach and maybe touch even more people, that would, of course, be wonderful. But in the end, success to me is simply to be happy.

One last thought to leave your fans with?

Love what you do and do what you love and support indie musicians 😉 That’s where the passion is. And thanks to everyone who’s shared, supported or bought a song from an indie artist.

Follow Valeska Rautenberg online

Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | SoundCloud

March 6, 2020 Mew Zikwryder

Singer/songwriter Hannah Grace releases a new song ‘Blue’

Hannah Grace has released her brand new single ‘Blue’ via Never Fade Records. The new song finds Hannah bounding into 2020 with a bright new twist on her soulful sound. She enlists funky keys and horns alongside a bright pop sensibility as her jaw-dropping vocals fly high with feel-good assurance.

The single has been released to great support from Radio 2, with plays coming from both Graham Norton and Dermot O’Leary. Michael Ball is also a big fan at the station and has invited Hannah in to perform a live session on the show.

Regarding the single Hannah says, “I am beyond excited to share my new song ‘Blue,’ which was one of the first songs I wrote for my album and was quite different to anything I’d written before. I wanted to write something that made me feel good, something I could dance to and really enjoy performing live.”

“I wrote it about being tired of feeling blue all the time! I wanted to put all of my energy into feeling positive. It’s been very helpful for me to sometimes just be distracted from the stresses of life and surround myself with kind people and music to dance to! Everybody gets down with the pressures and sadness of the real world but sometimes you just have to let your hair down and let it go.”

Hannah is gearing up to release her debut album in 2020. The album will feature ‘Blue’, as well as her previous single ‘With You’ and also her gorgeous cover of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’.

Released last year ‘With You’ was added to the Radio 2 playlist and saw Hannah make her debut TV performance on the Sara Cox show. Her cover of ‘Praise You’ also proved a huge success and was used to soundtrack a Lloyds Bank advert before going on to sell over 60,000 copies in the UK.

Hannah Grace has also made an impressive mark on the UK live scene. Last year she played her largest show in support of Barbra Streisand at Hyde Park, while she has also supported the likes of Jess Glynne, Gabrielle Aplin and Hozier. Hannah has also previously caught the attention of Lady Gaga who tweeted a video of Hannah singing on YouTube and called her “a superstar”.

Follow Hannah Grace online

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

March 2, 2020May 14, 2020 Mew Zikwryder

Interview with singer/songwriter Ang Low

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Ang Low defies easy categorisation, with the exception of one, effortless talent. With a golden voice, his is a story of constant discovery and change. From military brat and choir boy to petty thug and rejuvenated all-soul icon du jour, Ang Low has seen it all and bought the outrageous t-shirt.

See our exclusive interview with him below

What are some of your earliest memories of music?

I always have had music present. From hearing my mom sing at church or trying to create a rock band at 12. I was always interested in how music gave you feelings.

Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?

My songwriting process is always different. It could start from a nagging melody in my head.. a few chords on the piano.. or just a lyric I’m trying to find the right mood for. I do like to always get other producers to help me arrange after the template is laid down so I can primarily focus on songwriting and recording.

Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?

Great question. Both have areas I’m addicted to. Studio work gets me lit because it’s like you’re lost trying to find your way out and the song is the exit. You’re always searching for a vibe or lyric or melody… it’s intoxicating like a drug or as a puzzle. Performing tho is like good familiar sex. I already put the work in to make the song… it’s practised and tuned. The only thing I’ve got to do is come lay down with it and marinate in it.

What is the most memorable response you have had to your music?

I got a response on a video the other day from this young girl saying that one of my songs had really helped through some tough situations in the past. She wrote she had been a longtime fan and always used my song to get over stuff. I’ve never thought about my work helping people like that. I mean it’s just a song I thought. But it’s so much more for others sometimes. It’s a great feeling to know that I am part of something artistic that’s bigger than me.

If you could put together a radio show, what kind of music would you play?

pop, r&b and jazz all zzay

Name five artists and their albums who would appear on your radio show

Well first of all… I’d have myself as the first guest lol cause I’m dope… Ang Low (UP), then maybe… Frank ocean (orange), Jazmine Sullivan (lions tigers and bears, Robyn (Konichiwa) and Adele (19).

What would you like to achieve with your music? What does success look like to you?

My goal with my music is to consistently connect with the everyday person. Being an artist means I’ve chosen to sacrifice my regular life for art and eventually I hope to get a little time back. Success means better connections with family and friends and most of all understanding myself better.

One last thought to leave your fans with?

It’s ok to fall down… you always get back UP.

Follow Ang Low online

January 31, 2020 Mew Zikwryder

Donna Lugassy releases her new solo R&B song, ‘Moonrise’

Meet dynamic Donna Lugassy, the featured vocalist who has just released her solo single, ‘Moonrise’. The song is aimed to share the introductory phase of a relationship, the smooth romantic vocals providing the perfect soundtrack to any listener who may be sitting beside their lover with a glass of wine.

The singer-songwriter was picked up for an interview earlier this week by Exit Through The Sound. In it, she reveals her own favourite aspects about the “getting to know you phase”

“Butterflies can be motivation to wake up in the morning, learning more about someone you’re interested in and spending time together can be such bliss. I have never had a relationship that lasted longer than 9 months so I have never even gone into the ‘relax’ state of a relationship. Therefore when I meet someone, I enjoy the moments we have fun together and try not to expect anything else but that moment and the joy I feel in just being together. I don’t take anything for granted and enjoy all little pieces and moments of love I receive and get to give.”

However, ‘Moonrise’ is just the start of the releasing coming from Donna Lugassy. On the 13th of March, the full Love and Breakups EP will be made available to the public. In it will be tracks like “Nobody (loves like I do)” and “I Wish”, which will cover their own respective portions of Lugassy’s love life pattern.