Rachael Coltrona Complicated Interview

How would you describe your music?

My music is a mix of pop artists like Selena Gomez, Lana Del Ray and Griff, with other works sounding like a ballad in the genre of Delta Goodrem or Adele. It's truthful and relatable but also something that you can dance to.

Can you tell us about (your new song/upcoming gig/video), what was the inspiration?

Complicated is about a song about being in a situationship (a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established) and about releasing and maintaining control of your situation, before completely falling for someone who you know is not right for you.

The inspiration came from personal experience with someone who was flirting with the idea of keeping me around while not really committing to anything. Kind of going nowhere fast but not wanting to accept it. Relationships are complicated after all!

What are your musical influences?

I grew up listening to an eclectic array of music, with my parents playing the likes of Barbara Streisand and Cold Chisel, tempered by Paul Kelly, ABBA and Dire Straits, so that's why I don't (or can't) define myself into one single genre or sound. I fell in love with Musical Theatre from high school on the way to WAAPA and love so many different type of music for various reasons. I'll be listening to classical music one day, pop and rock the next, just depends on my mood.

I treasure my Italian-Irish-English roots, and the passion and culture they all come with. My parents took me to see Les Miserables in London in my teens, and my Dad loved playing his collection of Italian music from the 80s and 90s, so I guess this has all left a lasting mark on my music.

Do you prefer performing live or recording?

I've come from a live theatre background, so I have more experience performing live than recording but I like each for different reasons. Performing live you get the thrill and energy from a crowd that you don't get from recording in a studio, but in a studio you get to add in extra elements like harmonies which is surreal and you can keeping going until you feel like you have really nailed it.

What should we expect from your upcoming tour? Yet to be confirmed (nothing planned at this stage)

What is the story behind the band name?

I decided to go with my actual name as I think its unique and didn't want to change persona, there is no difference in my persona as an artist or as an induvial. In saying that I know how to differentiate and separate myself artist and as an individual.

What motivates you most when writing music?

I'd say the biggest motivating factors are the emotions that are running through me when I sit down at the piano to write. Emotions and situations that I am in, I want to create something that is personal to me but also hopefully relatable to others, that they connect with the lyrics and instrumental. I'm writing something that I enjoy singing and listening to first and foremost, creating something that I find motivating to feel a particular emotion, and if others enjoy listening to it as well, that is an added bonus!

Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

I listen to a variety of artists but I'm really enjoying the music from Blake Rose, Charley, Aiyana-Lee Griff, Taylor Swift, Sasha Alex Sloan and Julia Michaels, they make the lyrics so relatable even if you haven't been in that situation.

What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

My inspiration to go into the mainstream music industry was driven by my love of music and the performing arts in general. After some early success in the music theatre industry (and as much as I loved and still love doing music theatre shows), I felt a need to diversify my skill set, and being a creative person, I wanted to create my own work to share with others and expand my career opportunities at the same time. After getting through some emotional times in the past couple of years and writing them into song, I discovered this cathartic and liberating process could actually make some great songs! There is a famous proverb saying that "..when the emotion becomes too strong for speech you sing.." and that's how I felt writing, when I am feeling such strong emotions and feelings towards something I just transfer it into a song!

If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

There are honestly so many, the artists I mentioned before, Alicia Keys, Nina Nesbitt, Madison Ryann Ward, but if I had to pick one I would probably say Julia Michaels. She started out as a songwriter for other artists and then after many years became an artist in her own right and her writing and voice is so powerful.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in the music industry?

The biggest challenge is the fear unknown, starting out, there is no guide book on how to become a successful artist and how to grow a following (amongst the endless barrage of social media). It takes quite some courage putting in all your time, effort and money in doing something that you love, irrespective of whether you will have a successful outcome or not (and all the part time jobs you need to take on just to get you through – I have even driven to a kids birthday party dressed as a mermaid to entertain 6 year olds to bring money in!). I guess you have to define what you deem as success and avoid thinking of it as the mainstream world does, because if you live by others expectations of what success is (mainly money and job security), you will never be happy.

What's next, for you?

I've got more single release in the pipeline and I'm currently writing an EP which I'm excitedly working on, to have a whole new body of work that is cohesive and I could tour with is thrilling.

Can you share your socials? (links please)

My Linktree connects everything, here are the individual links as well!

https://www.rachaelcoltrona.com/
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Spotify
Tiktok