The Green Room: Raye at Coachella

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone interviews Raye backstage ahead of her Coachella set.

Transcript

00:00Okay, Rae, let's just get into it, shall we?

00:07Yes.

00:08On the stage, you were like, three years ago, the artist that I was didn't even think that

00:11this was possible.

00:13Were you speaking about that experience from feeling like you were in that songwriter force

00:18to be in that kind of like, the hustle and the grit that was really compromising the

00:24story of you and what you were trying to say?

00:28I think, you know, I think that it's both.

00:36Being a songwriter, separately to being an artist, it's a hustle.

00:39That's the only way I can describe it is coming to LA for three weeks and doing three sessions

00:45a day and experiencing what we call the burnout where you have nothing left to give and you're

00:49like, who am I?

00:52Yeah, the songwriting side of my life has always been a hustle, but it's always been

00:56something I just adore and I'm so passionate about and I've always wanted to be.

01:01I think artistry, separately, is, I've always wanted to be an artist and I've always wanted

01:08to, I know what I'm inspired by and what I want to say and I hate being told what to

01:15do and what people are like, I think you need to, well, not even I think you need to do

01:18this.

01:19If you don't do this, you ain't got no budget.

01:20I'm like, this is not working.

01:22This isn't it, you know?

01:25And obviously it's a very tough but also beautiful place to be in, to be able to be in the independent

01:34scenario I find myself in now because, you know, you do have, money is a real thing,

01:39do you know what I'm saying?

01:40But at the same time, being able to be in control of your artistry and your life is

01:45worth so much more than being financially stable.

01:50That's not what art is, do you know what I mean?

01:55But yeah, it's an interesting thing when it's like, you know, create something accessible,

02:01create something easily digestible so you have to put an interesting songwriting hat

02:07on for your artistry and then you don't want to do that.

02:09That's where it gets ugly and not right, you know?

02:16Do you feel like you were there three years ago and then now do you feel like on the inverse

02:20side?

02:21Oh, 100%.

02:23Yeah, I was quite vocal about a song I'd put out, it was called Call On Me and I'm not

02:27saying that, don't go and listen to it.

02:29Some people really liked that song, right, but it was, that song is the epitome of, yeah,

02:37that was, that was the, that was, yeah, it was just like, the purpose of that song was

02:42created to sell, it wasn't created because I loved it or because that's what I wanted

02:47to put my name to.

02:48Even though I really loved the music video we did, that was really cute.

02:51But yeah, you know, so that's really tough and I know there's a lot of artists in that

02:56position, you know, where you're governed by people who are just looking to make money

03:02off of you.

03:03I understand if you zoom out it's all a business, but in my opinion, the artists that I'm obsessed

03:08with and communicate with and even stood the test of time are those who, it feels like

03:12they're speaking with their own voice, they've created their own sound, they're leading their

03:16own path, they're doing it and you just believe it, you know, it doesn't feel forced or contrived.

03:22Yeah, deep.

03:24So I think 21st Century Blues, if we think about it, to be recognized in the way that

03:28you have been for this album, I mean, you touch, it's, I think to me as a listener,

03:33it is the realest you can get.

03:35Like you have this existential reflection on escapism, you have the, you know, reflection

03:41on the sexual violence that can happen with Ice Cream Man.

03:45You have the kind of like, still those little flirty, crushy moments of love.

03:49It's you, it's Ray through and through.

03:52How does it feel to be recognized for you?

03:57You know, it's just the most beautifullest feeling to step back at the end of the day

04:01and be like, look, if I died right now, so deep, I know, but if I died right now, to

04:07my name, I have an album, it is an album I'm so proud of, it is an album I love and like

04:16at the end of the day, that's what it's about, you know, getting to make something that,

04:23you know, was for me, but then is also connecting to others and it's finding the right ears

04:28and the ears that he needs to find.

04:31She's a humble queen.

04:32Do you know what I mean?

04:33I'm not doing too much, but, you know, I received this message yesterday from this lady.

04:40She said she was about 50 something years old and she was just pouring her heart out

04:44to me and I think two of the songs on the album had really moved her and I was just

04:50sat in my hotel room with a tear in my eye like, wow, like, you don't know the power

04:55of music.

04:56The power of music is just, and I'm just so honoured that I get to even create something

05:03that is moving.

05:04If it was only that one woman in that way, wow, that is the greatest honour a musician

05:12can hear, you know, it's deep.

05:15It's big, it's because it's bigger than you, right?

05:17It's like we were talking, we spoke last year in New Orleans, I caught you while you were

05:22opening for Cagliucci's, and we were talking about escapism and at that point we were

05:28at mega streams, like it was big, it was big, we were talking and it was big.

05:32And a year later, almost to the day, we're here now and it's bigger.

05:37It's bigger than, all of this is bigger than you.

05:39That woman, 50 years old, telling you how she felt, that's bigger than the conversation

05:43we had.

05:44You know, it's like all of these things keep getting bigger and bigger.

05:47How do you reflect on the fact that it's growing and it's bigger and it's always going to

05:52be bigger than what it was in you?

05:56I think that's, you know, it can be, I think it's obviously overwhelming in the best way.

06:06And I also think it's kind of a thing of, you know, that I'll love to view it as a chapter,

06:12you know, and I'm an artist who really hopes to be able to share so many albums with the

06:17world.

06:18And at the beginning of this campaign, literally about two years ago now, when we released

06:24Hard Out Here, which was the first song, thanks for the support on that, by the way, I saw

06:27the article, I was like, come on.

06:31The goal was to just build a group of listeners who gave a shit, who cared enough to listen

06:37to the songs and to buy a ticket to come and see a show.

06:41And that has happened to a degree that I couldn't have even imagined.

06:47And I'm so grateful for that, you know, and that was the goal.

06:51So mad.

06:52You did that!

06:53Well, I don't even, it's just, yeah, I'm really proud of what we've achieved and my team and

07:03everyone who's worked so hard, you know, and I'm proud of this music and I'm excited to

07:08also have some time to figure out what, I feel like we set the bar really high.

07:14But I mean, which is quite, which isn't, I don't want you to think of it as like daunting,

07:18right?

07:19Like not in that way.

07:20It's like you proved it to yourself.

07:21Like, this is my bar.

07:22This is my standard.

07:23That's cool.

07:24Yeah.

07:25Forget what everybody else says.

07:26Fuck them.

07:27Fuck us.

07:28Why?

07:29It's you.

07:30You did that for you.

07:31Why?

07:32Why?

07:33That's what we're, that's what we're going to feel.

07:34We did that for us.

07:35Yes.

07:36Now, before we get out of here, I just have to ask, obviously you are extremely daring

07:40when you're on stage.

07:41Your voice, you do things that I'm like, damn, how did she know that she was going to go

07:45there?

07:46And she followed it.

07:47Is there something that you've thought about doing musically that maybe you haven't done

07:51or you would like to do as you take this time and create more music?

07:56I think honestly, nothing is probably off the cards.

08:00My priorities is just everything, it has to feel authentic and has to feel correct.

08:03And if I'm ever going to dive into a genre or a sound that I am not familiar with, then

08:10I better damn go do my research, go and visit, go and study the greats, you know.

08:16But it's exciting because I really, for the first time, just feel like there are no musical

08:23boundaries.

08:24I don't feel any restraints on what I can create, which is a feeling that I didn't used

08:30to feel a lot.

08:31So it's like, wow, anything's possible.

08:34And I'm excited to bask in that when I'm back in my writing space.

08:39And I think we're ready for it.

08:40I think we're ready.

08:41No pressure.

08:42But we are.

08:43OK.

08:44But thank you so much.

08:45I really appreciate the time.

08:46I'm glad we got to do this a year later.

08:48I know.

08:49That's mad, isn't it?

08:50That's really scary.

08:51I know.

08:52It's very.

08:53I'm shocked.

08:54But yeah, we're good.

08:55Thank you.

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