Tag: Rachel Angel

WATCH: Rachel Angel, “Closer to Myself”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Rachel Angel
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Single: “Closer to Myself”
Album: Midnite Heart Attack
Release Date: September 9, 2022
Label: Ruzafa Records

In Their Words: “‘Closer to Myself’ is a song about stripping away the distractions to get closer to yourself. My upcoming album, Midnite Heart Attack, features songs about getting through a difficult time and coming out on the other side, stronger and more free. ‘Closer to Myself’ is about a recovery of mind and spirit from a place of denial, addiction, and longing. Ultimately, it’s a song of hope. It is the second single to be released from the album, which was recorded in Philadelphia and features players from The War On Drugs. I made the music video while living abroad in Valencia, Spain, for a year while getting a masters at Berklee College of Music’s Valencia campus. I teamed up with a Portuguese director, Martim Braz Teixeira, who had the creative idea to make a video about me trying to find a missing person, who in fact is myself. The idea plays on the messaging of the song following me on the streets of Valencia as I make that desperate search, and ultimately, to a place of freedom when I make the discovery and ‘find’ myself.” — Rachel Angel

Photo Credit: Martim Braz Teixeira

LISTEN: Rachel Angel, “Bring Me Down”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Rachel Angel
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Song: “Bring Me Down”
Album: Highway Songs
Release Date: August 21, 2020
Label: Public Works

In Their Words: “‘Bring Me Down’ is a personal song about looking internally to find the inner strength to deal with life’s vagrancies. I wrote the song after extensive touring on the road. I was paranoid and feeling like an outcast as I adjusted to a slower pace back home. I isolated myself in my apartment, using music as a bulwark to shield me from the uneasiness I was feeling.

“The first song that I wrote for the EP was ‘Mexico.’ At the time, I was experiencing a lot of catastrophic anxiety and chronic health problems. I was mentally and physically all out of sorts. I embarked on a family trip to Mexico, and before I left began writing the song: ‘I had enough of that windy ocean road/But I packed up my car and I drove/and I drove.’ My feeling at the time was that something bad was going to happen but I couldn’t determine if it was anxiety or a premonition. Within the first week of being there, we experienced a 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City, many buildings around us fell, power lines down, power was lost throughout the city, everything closed. I was so frightened and immediately wanted to leave, but decided that pushing myself through the discomfort would ultimately make me stronger.

“I spent the remainder of the year touring different cities on the East Coast, in the UK, and traveling around for various events. I was listening to a lot of Outlaw country and the spirit of the music made me feel alive and brave. I wrote and recorded the content of Highway Songs during a breaking point and crisis period in my life, right before I made it out to the other side. I ultimately left New York City for Miami in need of great healing, and have since been on a spiritual journey. I am in pre-production on a new album that finds me in a grounded place and writing lots of songs!” — Rachel Angel

Photo credit: Yasser Marte