FEATURE: Spotlight: Rainsford — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Rainsford

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AN artist who has especially caught my eye lately…

I am spending some time with Rainsford. The moniker of L.A. actress Rainey Qualley, her music is sensational. There are a couple of interviews that I want to introduce. An artist who is definitely one to watch, her 2022 will be a lot busier than the previous couple of years. I think that her experience in T.V. and film has gone into the music. In the sense she has this emotional impact. Not to say the songs are like performances, but one can definitely feel Rainsford inhabit songs and transform them. I want to start off by looking at interview NOTION ran in 2020. An artist, at that point, on the rise, we discover more about a multi-talented treasure:

“LA-based singer-songwriter, Rainsford has carved out her own space amongst the musical landscape. Rainsford has shown her impressive versatility across a variety of projects rooted in film, television, and music. Multi-hyphenate in every sense, she’s a musician, actress, model, writer, and creative director.

Not only has Rainsford topped a variety of ‘Ones to Watch’ lists she’s also garnered critically acclaimed notice from her EP “Emotional Support Animal” in 2018, she also toured both the US and UK, ending with a sold-out show in London.

Rainsford made her acting debut on AMC’s award-winning drama Mad Man, opposite Jon Hamm, in 2015. Upcoming film projects include The Shuroo Project, alongside Fiona Dourif and Tommy Dorfman, The Daylong Brothers, a Southern Gothic tale where she stars opposite Keith Carradine, and Ultrasound with Vincent Kartheiser.

Most recently, Rainsford starred in the Freeform television miniseries ‘Love In The Time Of Corona’ alongside Leslie Odom Jr., Nicolette Robinson and Tommy Dorfman. Out on Freeform, the romantic comedy follows the lives of people who are looking for love, sex and connection during the COVID-19 pandemic while social distancing.

Her influences range from indie, pop, R&B and soul and share the qualities that are most evident in her own material – honesty and authenticity.

If you could summarize it, what would be the story of how you became a musician?

I started dancing when I was really young, which exposed me to a lot of music. It allowed me to experience music in a much more present way. Plus, I just always loved to sing and write songs. It’s one of the few things I feel confident in my abilities about.

What would you say the most important things are that you’ve learned about yourself as an artist?

To trust my instincts and not to value someone else’s opinion over mine, just because they are older or more powerful than I am.

What are the main themes and messages you want to portray in your music?

I don’t really think about my music in that way. I write lyrics on my phone and on my laptop all the time. I record little voice notes of melody ideas, write songs on my guitar at night when my day is done, and write with my friends in the studio. I just don’t have an overarching theme besides sharing pieces of myself.

“Oh My God”, “Crying In The Mirror” and “2 Cents” have all captivated a growing fan base both in the US and overseas with your entrancing music videos. How does it feel to have your music out in the world and to be receiving global recognition and support?

Well, that’s a very generous way to describe my career! I hope that’s true! I care so much about the songs I write and music videos I create. And It really all comes from me. I write every song. I think of every video idea. I don’t have a label or some larger thing pushing for me. I’m so flattered by everyone who cares or connects to what I’m doing. It’s so cool to me and fills my heart up thinking about someone choosing to listen to a song I wrote.

Can you talk us through what your creative process when creating new music? Has that been altered due to lockdown?

Not a whole lot has changed in my creative process since quarantine. It’s only ever me and one other person in the studio. So lucky I’ve been able to keep on going pretty well”.

If you have not followed and listen to Rainsford, then spend some time today checking out her music. A very promising artist who will certainty make strides this year, she is someone I am tipping for very big things. With the release of her new single, Brutal, last month, HUNGER were keen to speak with a brilliant artist:

“HUNGER caught up with Rainsford about her new track, ‘Brutal’, her musical evolution and why she’s not going to bow to pressure to choose between acting and singing. This is an artist who is determined to create what she wants, when she wants — even if it means putting up a middle finger to industry expectations…

Congrats on the new track! It seems like a little bit of a break from form. In the past, you’ve spoken about how a lot of your songs have been driven by heartache, but in ‘Brutal’, there seems to be this narrative of women taking control of their love lives in a way that’s more beneficial for them emotionally.

That’s totally spot on. For me, it’s always been easier to be a warrior for my friends and to stand up for them, rather than myself. It’s easier to see what the healthy thing to do is when you’re an outsider, you know? In my own life, in every relationship I’ve had, it’s hard to work out how I’ve really felt about someone, and whether it’s beneficial to me. Sometimes we try to gain someone’s love in an unhealthy way, and that can become a pattern. I guess we were reflecting on that in ‘Brutal’.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Lee Parry

Do you think talking about heartbreak in your songwriting is a way for you to explore your own emotional parameters and boundaries?

Definitely, I’ve always used songwriting as a form of therapy and as a way to express myself. Music is a great outlet for me. It’s also interesting how songs take on new meanings over the years. Like when I’ve talked about someone, and one particular experience I’ve had with them, it becomes something else entirely when I look back on it.

Have you ever come to regret writing about a particular scenario or a person in a song? Sometimes, it can feel quite exposing and vulnerable to put parts of our personal lives out into the world.

Definitely a lot of vulnerability for sure. But not really regret. Sometimes, I’ve written songs about guys that I’ve been seeing or been having a problem with, and then I’ll send it to them and be like… “I wrote this about you”. And I’ve regretted THAT. But not really writing or releasing it in a public way, because I think being vulnerable is essential in any art-form where you have to express your humanity.

Out of interest, how do these boys tend to respond when you go all Taylor Swift and send them a song you’ve written about them?

There have been a lot of different reactions, but when me and one of my exes were breaking up, I wrote a song about it and sent it to him. He literally blocked me.

Woah. And I’m assuming you regretted that?

Now, I don’t care, whatever, but I was heartbroken at the time.

You’re obviously in a really happy relationship at the moment. How has that impacted your songwriting? When people are in love, they tend to have a ‘rose-tinted’ view of the world.

Yeah, I’ve written sooo many songs about my boyfriend. It was one of those things too, like early on, I said everything I was feeling in my songs, and then I’d be embarrassed for him to listen because I was so gushy and so in love, and just not playing it cool at all. But now, we’ve been together for a long time and we live together, so he knows how much I love him. I don’t really have to write about him all the time now. But he’s a big source of inspiration, definitely.

I’m guessing, right now, acting is more of a day job and music is more of a way for you to express yourself artistically and emotionally?

I really love them both. With acting, you have to wait for someone to cast you. So you are essentially not allowed to work unless you are chosen — it’s not self-motivated. But with music, I can write a song and just do it. That’s great for me. When I’m not doing one thing, I like to do the other, and that way I’m always occupied. I really like to be busy and productive. Just firing, and not like, trapped.

What are your next moves for 2022?

I was really looking forward to performing, but now with Omicron… I don’t know. But hopefully, I’ll be back in the next few months. Especially with new music, having the audience’s reaction and hearing them sing the words back to you is such a compelling experience. I mean, I just love to sing, so that’s always on the plan for sure”.

An artist who definitely stands out from the crowd, I do hope that Rainsford puts an album out this year and can come to the U.K. I think that her fanbase here will definitely grow. Maybe not played as much on U.K. radio as in the U.S., that will soon all change. Keep your eyes open for the…