The force of emotions: Brit-Sensation Raye on Liberation and Self-empowerment
As a songwriter for superstars like Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Little Mix or Mabel, Rachel Agatha Keen aka Raye has already amassed over a billion streams for herself. On her debut album "My 21st Century Blues", which will be released on 3rd of February 2023, the 25-year-old Londoner now tells her own story - and relentlessly takes aim at toxic masculinity, misogyny and distorted beauty ideals.
Located in South London, Tooting is what you might call a typical working-class neighbourhood. A bustling melting pot of different cultures, where Asian shops and Indian restaurants dominate the scene, while the glitz and glam of the British capital seem worlds away.
An unaffected, down-to-earth community whose down-to-earth mentality has also shaped Raye. Her father was a keyboardist in a pop band; through her grandfather she learned the magic of blues and soul - stylistic influences that can be found today in the sound of the four-time Brit Award nominee.
Inspired by black music icons such as Ella Fitzgerald, Rihanna and Jill Scott, the daughter of a Ghanaian-Swiss mother and a British father released her first self-composed track in 2014. After a total of six mini-albums, countless singles and high-profile collaborations with David Guetta, Major Lazer, Rita Ora and many others, Raye is now releasing her first full-time long-player. On "My 21st Century Blues", she talks about oppression as a female act in the music industry, about false ideals, addiction and sexualised violence. But also about the fight against patriarchal structures and toxic masculinity, about self-love and newfound strength.
"This album is the conclusion of a chaotic, dark time in my life." - Raye
After more than eight years, your debut album is now released. Why so late?
Raye: "My first song came out when I was 15. I signed my first record deal when I was 17 and from then on I let other people decide about my career. They never allowed me to put out a proper album, even though I proved my talent with time and again. But apparently I wasn't good enough for them despite everything. Now I finally have full creative control over my art. And it feels indescribably good! Especially as a woman, you still have a much harder time in the music business. But as they say: What doesn't kill you, makes you harder!"
Raye, you process extremely intimate experiences on songs like "Hard Out There" or "Oscar Winning Tears" and make yourself very vulnerable ...
Raye: "On the one hand it was very painful, but also relieving to be able to talk about my experiences. At the moment I find it a very empowering feeling. But that's what music is ultimately good for: it's a remedy and has a therapeutic effect. Even the ugliest thing in the world can be transformed into something beautiful through music. No matter what it is. Whether it's negative emotions or worrying about what's happening to this planet right now. I can process all that in the songs and find my own personal way of dealing with these things. The songs are my own personal safe space to open up. This album is the conclusion of a chaotic, dark time in my life. A time when so much happened and when I was often just trying to survive as best I could."
What drives you? Where do you draw your strength from?
Raye: "I think I have managed to keep my inner child. She is a convinced optimist who loves life, who often walks through the world in wonder and who is enchanted and inspired by the beautiful sides. At the same time, you have to remain a realist and always question yourself whether you are really the person you want to be. It is also important to have the will to forgive others who have treated me badly. Otherwise, at some point you become a bitter and pitiful person. My music gives me strength to look these people in the eye and forgive them for what they have done to me. Even if some of them absolutely don't deserve it. But it's my way of putting certain things behind me and looking forward."
The album is conceived like a musical, including an introduction and credits. What inspired this unusual idea?
Raye: "It should have something very head cinema-like. The audience is supposed to sit down, it gets dark in the auditorium and then the show starts. I'm absolutely obsessed with the Fifties and Sixties. And old Hollywood from that era. The great hairstyles, the elegant way people dressed back then. And of course the jazz and blues. My father and grandfather were both musicians; when I was 14, I discovered the blues for myself on a trip to America together. We drove all over the South in a rented car and visited all these legendary record studios where artists like Aretha Franklin, Etta James or Billie Holiday recorded. I love the blues, which combines great stories with soul and a lot of feeling. That's why the record title 'My 21st Century Blues'."
"Lyrically and musically, I like to play with breaks and contradictions." - Raye
"My 21st Century Blues" sounds like the soundtrack to your life!
Raye: "That's what it is! I have a soft spot for big dramas and big feelings. When I feel something, I feel it wholeheartedly and with the full force of emotion. The song 'Oscar Winning Tears' is one of those opulent pieces that sound like big Hollywood cinema on the surface. In fact, the lyrics are about a guy who treated me really badly and hurt me. Later he cried his eyes out with crocodile tears ... Lyrically and musically, I like to play with breaks and contradictions. A lot of the album is the exact opposite of the lyrics in terms of sound: on 'Body Dysmorphia' I talk about hating my own body to a smooth R'n'B beat, while the sexy vibe is broken up by these eerie, scratchy strings."
The songs "Black Mascara" and "Ice Cream Man", on which you address sexualised violence, also have a different serious background.
Raye: "'Black Mascara' is about an experience where someone put something in my drink. When I woke up later, I had a panic attack that lasted for hours and had to wait quietly until the guy fell asleep to slowly sneak out. In 'Ice Cream Man' I talk about the baggage you get as a woman from such an experience. About feeling dirty and wondering if those stains will ever wash off. And about the same, recurring questions: Why me? What am I supposed to do now? When will this stop? Sexual violence is a trauma that stays forever."
How do you deal with it today?
Raye: "I talk about it. Tears come to my eyes every time I play the song live. Life is a very tender and fragile thing that can completely change from one moment to the next. Sometimes in just a few moments. I am proud to have made this album and not be silent on these issues. I am aware that I am not the only woman in the world who has to experience these terrible things. On this record I tell what I have experienced. My story, my perspective, my blues. And I want to encourage and inspire other women to tell their story."
