We got to know Rachel Curtis back in February when she released her dream pop single, “Strobe Lights”.
It reminded me so much of one of my favorite bands, Eisley. I couldn’t stop listening. The music video was fantastic; serving vivid imagery to match Curtis’ soothing tone.
Her new release “I Don’t Like It” is fairly different from it’s predecessor. This track has more of an indie rock vibe and I sense a bit of Tame Impala influence in these guitar tones.
The instrumental is subdued, letting Curtis’ powerful vocals take control of the track.
To celebrate the release of “I Don’t Like It”, she took the time to breakdown her songwriting process in 5 easy steps. Hopefully this can help someone who’s new to writing or even a seasoned vet with writer’s block:
Step 1: Get in Tune with Yourself
“The road map to writing a song is always a different process for me depending on how the idea forms or if someone comes to me with a chord progression for guitar lick. But, typically when I go to write a song, I like to get in tune with my own emotions, dreams or ideas that have been locked up inside. In order to get in that mindset I usually start writing what they call a “Poop Journal”. Which means you sit down with a piece of paper or a google doc & start writing literally anything that comes to mind, even if it doesn’t make sense to you. This way, you can look back & see what stands out to you most.”
Step 2: Pick up an Instrument or DAW
“After getting some creative juices flowing from journaling, I pick up the guitar, piano, mandolin or Logic Pro X & start fiddling around till I get a feeling that the sound is fitting to the mood or idea I have in mind. Once I get a general idea of what I want to write about & a chord progression to go with that mood, I am ready for the next step.”
Step 3: Are you Naturally Starting to Write a Verse or Chorus?
“Now that I would have an idea/main lyric in place with a melody to go with it, I move on to deciding whether that main part I just came up with would fit best as a chorus or a verse. I think this is really important because it sets me up for success in completing the song, rather than having this short 10sec idea that I hold on to & can’t flesh out.”
Step 4: Make Your “Half Song” a “Whole Song”
“Once I have differentiated weather that first idea is chorus or verse worthy. I move on to writing either a verse to my chorus or chorus to my verse. I start by taking that main idea & going back to journaling. What is the story I am trying to tell? What are keywords or phrases that represent that main idea?”
Step 5: Visualize the Whole Picture
“By this point, I have a demo of a song & start thinking about what other instruments would fit. I select a tempo that matches the vibe & start trying to produce a “draft” recording with vocals, instruments I can play & more software instruments in my DAW. Then finally, I get a producer to flesh out the song & bring it to life. Then, I get in the studio & record final recording. I also love to get opinions from close friends, family & band mates during the whole draft process. Outside ears are very valuable.”
Check out the music video for Rachel Curtis’ new single “I Don’t Like It”
FOLLOW RACHEL CURTIS
INSTAGRAM
TIKTOK
FACEBOOK
SPOTIFY
APPLE MUSIC
YOUTUBE