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Recently, I got a chance to sit down and talk with the talented Rachael Indigo, a soulful contemporary musician. She has been in Joshua Tree recording her new CD, Written in Stone, and performing occasional
acoustic sets at Pappy and Harriet’s with fiddle player extraordinaire, Boby Furgo.
SR: What inspired you to become a songwriter?
RI:
A lot inspires me. Definitely I am very passionate, and at the same time I am overwhelmed by the dissidence I feel inside. I wanted to take that emotion and transform it into something beautiful. Songwriting is a way to communicate, to connect with others in a place of mutual experience. It’s also a craft, to be studied and refined. To evoke and invoke from within you.
SR: What brought you to Joshua Tree to record?
RI:
Specifically my dear friend and amazing producer Bingo. I really wanted to work with him, he is a visionary artist. Also the quality of space, not only in the landscape, but in the way people respect each other, the feeling of community and freedom that’s here. It’s a very nurturing place for artists.
SR: Where are you from originally?
RI:
I grew up in Amish country Pennsylvania. I was raised by hippies, not by the Amish, on a farm in the middle of nowhere. I spent a lot of time walking in the Appalachian foothills, alone, thinking. I was not a favorite of the local children. This ended up being a true blessing. I was exposed to classical music from an early age, and when I was about 14, I experienced ’60s and ’70s rock, then of course the whole Kurt Cobain revolution launched me into more popular music and moved my attention away from exclusively listening to Mozart, Beethoven, and obscure classical pieces.
SR: What are you working on musically now?
RI: Finishing up my record, putting together a group, putting out a DVD that represents what I do.
SR: What inspired the title of your new CD Written in Stone?
RI:
A multitude of things—number one, a feeling of finally having arrived at a place where I am comfortable in my art, a place of vision and solidarity. Secondly, my wish that my music could avoid some of the entropy of time, remaining meaningful and compelling in an ever-shifting world. Come what may. Either way, “written in stone” is cool, poetic invocation.
SR: You seem to take a lot of interest in the music side of the business. Do you think things have changed for women in the business?
RI:
I think things have changed for everyone in the business. I think the art of music is more accessible to everyone, but there is still a big jump between struggling and having it pay your bills. I take part in the business side of things because only then can you make decisions that have your ultimate vision in mind. Before I can hire someone to manage my affairs, I have to understand how to do it myself. That way I keep things finely tuned and groovy.
SR: Who were your influences?
RI:
Really everyone I listened to has been an influence. I spent four years studying North Indian Raga singing, so that style shows up a lot in my vocal approach, but everyone from Simon and Garfunkle to Joni Mitchell, Brad Paisley, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Jeff Buckley, the list continues on.
SR: What topics do you draw on for your lyrics?
RI:
I listen to people’s stories, the world around me, what’s going on in my personal life and what’s occurring in the personal life of our country and the world. Then I try to color that with feelings, linguistics, and textures that bring it home to the listener and make the words accessible and meaningful.
SR: What sets you apart from everyone else?
RI:
One thing that I am really clear about is the intention of my music. I intend to illicit a point of reflection for people who are really caught up in the drama of life. Many folks are so immersed in their all-consuming personal drama that they actually don’t appreciate the texture, the sensual experience of life. I would like my listeners to pause and look around, and come to a point, if just for a moment, of conscious experience without being constantly distracted. I think everything is influenced by vibration, thus I work with music. Maybe I can ease some troubled minds.
SR: How about that old cliché, “What’s in your CD player right now?”
RI:
Most of what I have been listening to lately has been a study of production and sound, it doesn’t really give me a lot of personal pleasure. But that’s the biz. I drive in silence a lot, I listen to the way the wind sounds through the windows, the desert sounds at night, quiet, stealthy, it clears my head.
SR: What would you like your listeners to get from your music?
RI: A sense of themselves, that life is really brief, and to understand peace. To do what I call “tending their own garden” not to worry about what your neighbor is doing, to “take it home.”
SR: Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with or tour with?
RI:
I would love to open up a tour for someone like Sara McLaughlin, someone who writes compelling and artistic songs, has powerful stage presence, and that I can learn from. I love to write with experienced musicians. The understanding within their approach takes me higher. I have been blessed with many such gems arriving into my life right now.
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