Interview with RENAE

Written By: Amanda Policastro

Check out our interview with pop-singer RENAE!

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Photo Credit: Matt Naylor

upfrontNY: Tell us about your background. How did you get involved with music?
RENAE: Well, my first memories of music were me at age 5 singing made up songs to an audience of Barbies in my room, haha. I was super shy about it for a long time, but it was my happy place, to be singing and performing. My mom is a voice teacher, so once I started breaking out of my shell, I started taking lessons from her. Soon after I picked up piano, guitar, went to a performing arts high school, and moved across the country from Ohio to LA to study music at USC. This lead to working at record labels, publishing companies, and then getting my own publishing deal as a songwriter.

upfrontNY: What inspires you personally as well as musically?
RENAE: Life. Love. My husband. My friends. My family. Kittens. Puppies. Nature. Crystals. Long baths. Amazing books. Amazing movies. Amazing music. Dancing. Amazing food. Laughing. Crying. Reflecting. Telling stories. All of these things seem to light up my soul and make me feel vibrant and alive inside. I can get really caught up in my head sometimes with the noise of the world, and it pulls me away from this vibrant heart space. But I guess it’s in this contrast that comes my art. So yeah. It’s all good.

upfrontNY: You’ve worked with several popular artists in terms of writing. Was there any particular experience working with them that stood out?
RENAE: Yeah for sure. I had a session with Meghan Trainor awhile back. It was a few months before she got a record deal as an artist, and she was working as a songwriter for other artists. I think the session stands out to me because it was amazing to see how quickly she transitioned from songwriter to superstar so quickly. I remember we were stuck in traffic on the way home from the session for like 2 hours and were just chatting and playing each other our music. She played “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” and said they were trying to get Kelly Clarkson to cut it, I thought it was the best uncut song I had ever heard. She said she sort of had an artist project in mind but seemed shy about it and played me a few rough ideas. Just a few months later I saw her post the music video for “All About That Bass” and was like woahhhh WHAT! It was unexpected and amazing.

I also worked with 5 Seconds of Summer and what stood out about those sessions is we worked from a super private, unlisted, studio in LA, and somehow every time we had a session, there were 20-50 fangirls standing outside waiting for autographs! I still have NO idea how they even found the studio!! 5SOS fangirls know whats up.

upfrontNY: What’s the biggest piece of advice you have received that has stayed with you?
RENAE: “The we that we are has no limitation…so challenge yourself to laugh every moment, to laugh every day, to sing your own songs, to know your own passions, not the passions of another, but the passions that arise within you, the ones that lead you to higher and higher awareness in everything you do”

This is a quote from a mystic healer named Victor that my husband and I randomly met in Sedona Arizona a few years ago. I love it because it makes me feel lighter, more relaxed, sure of myself, and inspired all at the same time.

upfrontNY: What can you tell us about your new album, “Align”?
RENAE: Oh so much! “Align” is my first album as an artist. It’s a pop, concept album based on the framework of the 7 chakras. It’s my artistic expression of what it feels like to align with my true self. I started creating the album after going through my own sort of Eat, Pray, Lovepersonal journey. It was a time where I started feeling really anxious, unfulfilled, and searching for purpose and truth. Through that journey I learned a lot about myself, shifted my perspective of life, and found a deep connection with unconditional love. Also on that journey I came across this idea of the chakras, and thought it was a really unique, creative expression of this unconditional love and alignment with who you really are.

The chakras represent 7 qualities of a person’s true nature, for example — being confident, grounded, loving, intuitive, etc. So on our album, I decided to write a song inspired by each of the chakras, sharing my own story about how I’ve struggled in these areas and how I’ve found alignment again. I love how it all turned out, when I listen to the whole album, I’m reminded of how strong, fun, and loving I truly am and it just feels so good! I hope that others feel that spark of authenticity light up within themselves and feel inspired to dance, sing, and celebrate how beautiful and strong they truly are!

upfrontNY: For those who aren’t familiar with chakras each having a musical key, how would you describe it?

RENAE: In the chakra theory, each chakra corresponds with a musical note, the first chakra — C, the second—D, the third—E, and it continues up the scale to the 7th chakra. To me it’s not an exact science, but more so just another layer of the chakra’s creative metaphor for wholeness and to help develop a deeper mind/body connection with ourselves. On our album “Align,” we decided to write each song in the chakra’s respective key to enhance the listeners experience of coming home to themselves.

upfrontNY: You’ve released “Wild” and “Ripples”. What special meaning do they hold to you? What’s your process of picking out songs to release?

RENAE: Yes I love these two songs! All of the songs on this album are special to me because they’re each a little story of how I’ve healed my darkness through love and light. And that’s a message that I think is so needed in the world right now.“Wild,” the root chakra song, is special to me because it makes me feel free and grounded in my deep connection with nature, which is a great balance to our anxious, technology obsessed culture. “Ripples,” the crown chakra song, is special to me because it makes me feel like I’m not isolated and on my own in the world, I’m a part of a collective, and my actions no matter how big or small, really do make a difference.

I have a lot of songs in my songwriting library, and I picked these 7 because they each give me the feeling of wholeness and unconditional love.

upfrontNY: You designed the whole album based on metaphors of each chakra, was it difficult writing these lyrics or does it flow naturally for you?

RENAE: All of the lyrics for this album flowed really easily. I didn’t always feel this freedom of flow when I was working as a songwriter a few years ago, I often put unnecessary pressure on myself and was sometimes overwhelmed in co-writing sessions. So for this project, I went in with the intention to feel relaxed, comfortable, and to freely express myself, which felt amazing.

I wrote a few of the songs on the album before I had the idea of the chakra concept album. Once I came up with the idea, I realized these songs fit perfectly into the concept, and they even lined up with the musical keys! For the other songs, I went in with the intention of writing a song for that chakra. I’m really enjoying creating and writing music for this project — it feels authentic, free-flowing, and that’s really the message and vibration I want to send out as an artist!

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