Project Description
Interview with
Rachael Leahcar
Interviewer: Connor Gutteridge
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Give me a brief run down into your introduction into music.
I’ve always loved singing, especially when I was younger, I really connected to it because being legally blind I used my ears a lot. So, I would just sing along to anything, imitate anything, I also did a lot of impersonations. I then started joining choirs in my school had a few singing lessons, then I went to a music school, Brighton secondary school which has a special interest music program there.
From there I entered a couple of competitions and saved up some money for recordings. I brought out a couple of albums when I was in high school, I suppose the main competition I had was when I was 15, I had a trip to Italy to singer over there. When I came back, I was performing part time at weddings and charities, a lot of Italian events. From there I continued with school and finished school, then took a gap year. This was because even through all this time singing, I never thought I could make a career out of music, I am still sort of thinking is it going to die down which it hasn’t. So, I took a gap year between school and uni just to see how far I could get in music so I would have no regrets. This was the year that I was on the voice in which I came third and was performing all around the country for mostly corporate events. Following that it’s just been steady releasing albums, touring, doing shows. I picked up a couple of other things like a little bit of acting, radio school. Just been trying a lot of different things and keeping myself very very busy, it’s been a bit of a journey.
What was it about music that made you want to pursue a career in it?
It’s just something that I loved, they say that if you are doing something you love for a living that you never work a day in your life. So, I’ve just picked up every opportunity that I could to perform and to get out there. I didn’t have any expectations what so ever, so it wasn’t so much a decision to make it a career, I’ve just always had a go and seen where it has taken me. Fortunately for me it was meant to be.
In your words how would you describe the change in you as a performer since the voice?
Back then I think I was quite young and had just turned eighteen and was inexperienced even though I had been performing for all those years I was inexperienced in the business side of the industry. So, I’ve learnt a lot more about who does what and what is involved with everything really.
It’s been such a long time, almost seven years and there is a lot to learn in seven years. A lot of different things about myself as a creative person and a performer. It has been up and down all the time like where you told one thing and its proven to be other things. You’re just learning all the time about yourself and every opportunity brings a new lesson.
What would you say is your most pivotal point in your career so far?
I guess it would be the voice because that was the year, I decided to make a career out of music. I would have to say if that didn’t come along, I don’t know what I would be, maybe I would have gone on to do my uni degree in speech pathology which I did actually do for six months which was a lot of fun. Ultimately music is my passion as cliché as that is and it’s what I want to do forever. The voice really secured my personal role of becoming a musician.
What made you decide to do a Christmas album?
Well I have always loved Christmas and I have so many happy memories of Christmas. Ever since I was little every year, I would get so excited, and then growing up being a performer this time of year I would start learning Christmas songs and performing them around. Its just a really special time of year and everyone knows the songs so everyone can sing along. Its just so much happiness and that is what I love about music and Christmas and they have both of those things in common with each other. Together for Christmas!
How has the reception been so far?
It’s been really well received and I haven’t got any negative comments which is a bonus. Everyone seems to have a different favourite song which is always nice to hear. I always wanted to cater to different tastes, there’s lots of different genres on their from all different times and languages. I feel like there is something for everyone on there so if you don’t like it then I feel like I’ve done something really wrong. Its been really nice I’ve had lovely comments so far and that’s what its all about to me, about making people happy and giving people some lovely memories of these songs like I have.
What is your favorite track from the new record?
I think my favourite has to be “O Holy Night”, however my mums favourite is “Mary, did you know?”. “O Holy Night” has got everything I like in the one song. It’s got a lovely guitar intro and then its got a verse in French in the middle which apparently the original is actually in French. Its got a saxophone solo, its got a key change and plus its got that big note at the end, its just one of the biggest songs at Christmas time. I feel like everyone just stops as soon as it starts because they think “Are they going to get that note at the end?”
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What made you decide to record it in six different languages?
Well I didn’t really decide like that, because I had been performing in different languages pretty much my entire career, I wanted to add a couple of languages in there. I did a little bit of research on the songs and their origins and listened to lots of different versions in lots of different languages cause its pretty much translated into each language. I did whatever I felt was right at the time, so if I heard a song in Italian, I would put a bit of Italian in there because I loved that. If I heard a song that I really loved in French, then I would add that in there for a verse or something. Then Spanish and so on. Of course, Ave Maria is traditionally in Latin anyway, I really loved Celine Dion’s version of it so I kind of based my version off that. The lyrics are pretty much the same as hers but a little bit different in the key changes and the duet. It really just built itself and the idea of wanting to do these songs with different cultures included in them was great.
So, would you say that you’ve taken songs and made them your own?
I hope so I mean a couple of them are similar to ones that I have heard prior to the release just because I loved those versions of the songs. They are essentially all Rachael songs now, my Rachaelism’s and my creative choices as well as the producers who worked on them as well and have given their own little spark in them. There are some duets as well so there is something different about these songs that you probably won’t hear anywhere else.
In your words how would you describe your sound?
It’s a bit of a mystery to me to be honest I sometimes never know what’s going to come out. I think I pretty much have a classic sound naturally. I like mixing in the old and the new to get that collision of worlds. It sounds funny but I have a bit of nostalgia for the classic music and I just think it was so beautiful and I want to bring it into the now.
Funniest moment on the road?
I had a bit of a laugh within myself recently, I was doing a Beatles cover show a couple of months ago. This particular show my guide dog Ella, I wasn’t sure how she would react to a live band because I usually just perform with backing tracks. So, this particular night I did, and she must just be so used to it by now because put her bed on the side of the stage and she was just lying down with me. Half way through the show she must have got bored cause she just got up and wondered over to her bed and just laid down with a look of boredom on her face. I was like aww is this show boring you Ella. That was really funny to me because that is just so her character to be so blasé about me performing. She has been to so many shows so she is so used to it, so she was just like oh its just
another show ill just go and lie down and take this one off.
There was also one time when I was fifteen, there was a microphone I was using with a wire attached. Now as I started the song the wire came out and I just ducked down quickly picked up the wire and started singing as quickly as I could.
If you could tour with any artist dead or alive, who would it be?
There is so many, I would love to tour with Eva Cassidy, she is unfortunately passed so it can’t be a reality. I have loved her voice for many many years, and she has got something really special about her. Lady Gaga I’ve been listening to for a very long time and she has just popped up again with A star is Born and she sang La Vie En Rose on that to. I feel that we have a lot of things in common as performers, we both focus a lot on emotion.
If you could give any advice to a young aspiring artist looking to pursue a career in music, what would it be?
I’m pretty set on this one, practice as much as possible, if its singing then sing as much as possible, if you play an instrument, learn about the craft first. They say it takes something like ten thousand hours to become professional at something, so if you are passionate about it do it all the time. The next step is getting out into the community, keep up with the lessons because its easy to get a little bit slack on the little things that may turn up as bad habits later in life. Make connections, just go out to gigs and meet people, meet other musicians, connect with people, write songs. There are so many things you can do to support your path and what you want your path to be, but I feel the most important things are to practice and to make connections because you never know where they are going to lead you. I’ve met some amazing people and I’ve gone on to do some amazing things with these people. Everyone has a story or a tip to give in the music industry. Sometimes it is who you know.
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BIO
Singer/songwriter Rachael Leahcar’s dynamic range, explosive vocals and powerful performances have stunned audiences across the globe.
Rachael smashed Australian television records when 4.1 million people tuned in to watch her Blind Audition on the first season of The Voice (2012). With a career that has seen her release three Top 10 ARIA charting albums, tour her live show to sold out crowds and travel to Italy to sing with Andrea Bocelli’s orchestra, Rachael has shown that she is capable of achieving anything despite being legally blind.
Rachael’s latest album, Shadows, was released on April 7 and debuted at #5 on the Australian Album ARIA Chart. Shadows marks Rachael’s transformation from a shy teen to a strong young woman. It will allow audiences a glimpse behind the curtain – an intimate look into the world of a true artist. Bolder than ever, Rachael is ready to expose not only her vulnerabilities, her fears and regrets but also to share her message of resilience and determination to face the world head on. With her signature, hauntingly-beautiful vocals, Rachael will reveal more of her story previously hidden in the shadows.
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