Project Description

Interview with

RACHEL MARIA COX

Interviewer – Vicky Hebbs

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Press Quotes

“Combines mature and honest songwriting and lyricism with soft indie and pop sensibilities that together, create songs – such as last year's Time – that feels good on the ears while pulling at your heartstrings at the same time. They're a wonderful artist and one of the most important out there” – Pilerats

“Singer-songwriter Rachel Maria Cox’s powerful emo pop feels confessional, while still remaining dynamic and hopeful.” – FBi Radio

“as though the music of Courtney Barnett and Carly Rae Jepsen had a baby. Rachel Maria Cox is truly an artist on the come-up.” – Pilerats
“a self-confessed former emo kid that now presents themselves as a confident born entertainer, throwing themselves into every line of each jazzy, dancefloor-ready pop number.” – Volume Media

“Uplifting vibes and crowd engaging stories were immediately thrown into the night and transformed into some of the most intimate songs I’ve ever heard from a local band.” – AMNPlify

“stunningly honest songwriter… Musically Rachel Maria Cox sits somewhere between Suzi Quatro and Britney Spears; a glorious and completely unforgiving crossroads of classic rock and pop diva sensibility hung off the accent of someone who lives in Newcastle” – Laundry Echo

“Rachel Maria Cox is a talented young singer, songwriter from Newcastle who breaks your heart with songs about their life… beautiful and honest in its delicate detailing of personal struggles” – i-D

“It’s nothing short of a stunning debut LP from a very important new voice in the Australian Music Industry, and my favourite release (so far) of 2017. Although it comes across as effortless, the intricacies of the songwriting – a mix of trivial anecdotes and gut-wrenching realities – make this album incredibly unique & highly memorable” – The Brag

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Have you always been interested in making music? When did that become a serious concern for you?
Yeah pretty much. I think I was maybe 5 years old when I started writing little songs, loving pop stars and I just knew that was something I wanted to do. I probably started pursuing it seriously around age 12, when I first got into high school. I was lucky that I had a great music teacher who pushed me to work really hard at piano and singing, as well as music theory and composition, so by the time I hit year 11 and 12 I was spending lots of time working on becoming a better player, singer and writer to prepare me for university.

What kind of music did you grow up on? What artists inspired you early on?
My mum listened to lots of different stuff – Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, The Dandy Warhols, Eels, PJ Harvey, and my dad really liked Paul Simon and Dire Straits, so I grew up listening to a lot of those artists which I think influenced particularly my early sound. I equally loved my own pop music. A lot of the 2000s pop stars I grew up on have influenced my newer music, so people like Hilary Duff, Destiny’s Child, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, basically anything that was on a So Fresh CD I love.

What was it like starting out as a music artist in Newcastle? 
It was great in a lot of ways, it was easy to start playing cause it’s a small place, and I knew a few people and they helped me out. It was also pretty easy starting out to find gigs because there are lots of venues that support live original music, which was great for me to start building up a following. There are a lot of great artists here and I think while it’s easy to be cynical about live music in Australia at the moment, Newcastle still is a really good place to be.

How would you describe your sound?
I think Australian Guitar best summed it up as “the perfect blend of panic and disco”.

For anyone who has yet to listen to your music, what would you suggest they listened to first?
Listen to Prosecco because it will give you the best idea of where I’m going sonically and what’s yet to come from me!

What inspired you to write “Prosecco”?
I got a bottle of Prosecco as a gift for Christmas one year and I am sober, so I was like “this is a nice gift but I have no use for it and it’d probably be really bad for me if I drank it” so I realised that the “love drunk but sober” metaphor was a good summary of where my love life was at at that point and it grew from there. It’s a bit of a light song to be honest, probably the least ‘serious’ thing I’ve ever done, so there’s not really much more to it than a song about having a crush on someone you shouldn’t really like.

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What was it like to DJ at the Mardi Gras party? Can you share any highlights of Mardi Gras this year? 
I believe the kids call it Turnt? It was TURNT AF. I love DJing or playing at LGBT events, I feel really at home there and us gays know how to party! It was also actually super stressful because none of my music worked so I was just lucky I had a back up, but because I couldn’t mix as I normally would have it meant I had to compensate by just having more fun!

What else have you got planned for 2019? 
An EP out later in the year which I’m so excited for! I’m also playing at Heaps Gay’s Rainbow Mountain at Thredbo in September which is super exciting as well!

What motivated you to work with Sad Grrrls Club? What does that work mean to you?
It’s such hard work now, because it is a massive undertaking and I started it when I had way more free time than I do now. But that said, it’s really important to me because I think it is still an important cause, and creating opportunities for people is something that I think will always be important.

Where do you see yourself in two years time?
Hopefully playing Coachella.

If you could pick absolutely anyone to bring on tour with you, whom would you pick and why? (Dead or Alive)
So I have been promising my Personal Trainer Cat and my best mate Madi that when I get the Ariana Grande Support tour next time she’s in Australia, I will take them both, so they’re the obvious answer.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVORITE:
Album – So hard! I want to say either The Fame by Lady Gaga or maybe 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia by the Dandy Warhols.
Artist – Depending on what day you ask me, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lizzo, Kesha or DNCE. Or Charli XCX. Or Tori Amos. That’s so hard to choose.
Movie – Submarine
Place to visit – This little place on the south coast called Mossy Point. We used to go there every year as a kid and it’s where I feel most at peace.
Venue to play – The Red Rattler in Sydney. Or festivals.
Food – Vegetarian Lasagne
Drink – Mother Sugarfree Energy Drink (If anyone knows how to get me a sponsorship with them let me know!)
Person in History – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the mother of Rock n Roll
Tattoo –  My “I Bring You Love” Mr burns tattoo is easily my favourite

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“The idea for Prosecco came about first when I was gifted a bottle of prosecco for Xmas from someone who didn’t realise that I was a few years sober. I thought it was a nice gift, but one that I ultimately had no use for and would probably be incredibly bad for me if I tried. As I thought about that I thought it was a hilarious (and also kind of bleak) statement on my love life at the time – having a crush on someone who I knew was really no good for me.

I think it’s good to look at sobriety as something that’s normal and not a big deal. The song’s supposed to be a bit of fun, a bit silly and toe the line a bit between sexy and awkward as hell.

I think the [reason why I write more pop now is] I got sick of being sad all the time. I’ve been really open always about struggling with my mental health, and I still do struggle, but since releasing I Just Have A Lot Of Feelings back in 2016, I’ve worked super hard at becoming a better person, taking better care of myself, and putting a lot of energy into recovery. I’ve actually always wanted to be a pop songwriter, probably since I was about five or six years old. I think when I first started releasing music I wasn’t necessarily in a place where I wanted to write pop songs because it didn’t feel authentic, I just wanted to write what was real for me. The last few years I think I’m just doing better, I want to be a person that five year old me would be proud of and writing pop is part of that.“ – RMC

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Check out RACHEL MARIA COX below
Facebook  | Bandcamp  | Triple J Unearthed 

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AMNPLIFY – DB