Photo provided by REY
UCLA Radio’s Rising Artist Spotlight aims to highlight upcoming artists who have demonstrated unique creativity and talent through their music. Through interviews and features, we delve into their journey, influences, and aspirations, giving listeners a glimpse into the future of music.
As I sat down at my kitchen table, I opened up my zoom to someone with a glowing aura. Similar to her stage name, REY has this shine about her from the moment you met her to discussing favorite snacks and musical inspirations. UCLA Radio had the pleasure to talk to Rachel Young, also known as REY this winter, delving into her discography and more.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes
Interviewed by Chloe Gonzales
Chloe: How did you come up with the name REY?
REY: Those are my initials. My full name is Rachel Elizabeth Young, and when I was growing up, all through elementary school, I went by Rey, and it was because there was another Rachel in my class, and I didn’t want to go by “Rachel Y” because it sounded like “Rachel, why?” I ended up going by Ray, and my whole family, especially my dad, still calls me that to this day. Around the holidays, when I get a handwritten card from them, it always says, “Dear Rey” from my family, so it just feels very like me. With my music, I was getting to a place where it was getting very personal, and it was causing me to think about my music too hard before I released it, since it was under Rachel Young. Sometimes, as an artist, there’s a disconnect between how vulnerable you want to be, so I felt like having that name allowed me to create a little bit of a character, so that I could put out really vulnerable music, and not feel like it was me personally, but it was more like REY, this character.
Chloe: So almost like a persona?
REY: Yeah, almost like a persona. I could write songs about my personal experience, but also about characters from TV shows. The song I just released is based off Meredith Gray from Gray’s Anatomy because she had that line “That was such a high, I don’t know why anyone does drugs.” I feel like having that persona lets me create art that’s not as tied to who I am as Rachel Young.
Chloe: Does that artist person you have present a different visual aesthetic than your personal life as well?
REY: Yeah, I think not a different aesthetic, but what I present in my music is very raw and real and heightened. I talk about this with my roommate, who’s also a songwriter. We’ve talked about how we will have an interaction that is no big deal, but to write a song about it, you kind of have to heighten everything to a ten. If you had an interaction and your feelings about it were at two, you have to kind of pretend it’s at ten to be able to put that into a song. Everything kind of goes along with tha, so the visuals are heightened, and the lyrics are heightened, and the videos and everything. It’s just kind of like very expressive visuals of a feeling,
Chloe: What does your process for songwriting look like? I’m sure it’s different from song to song, but, in general, what does it look like?
REY: I’m definitely a lyrics person, so my favorite way to write a song is to sit down at the piano. I’ve played piano my whole life. I just started learning guitar a couple years ago as well, but I feel like my happy place is the piano. I sit down and I usually have an idea of what I want to write. I have a lyrics page in my notes app, of starting ideas that I update whenever I think of something cool, and I think maybe I could use the idea later. Generally, I’ll take from that, or I’ll have an idea in mind, and I’ll just write the song, start to finish, writing it as if it’s a story. I feel like that’s very much my influence growing up doing musical theater, because every song in theater is a story. You have this exposition and you have this climax and this resolution. I think subconsciously that’s kind of where my songwriting process comes from, because I’ll start out with the exposition to let you know what the song is about, and then get into the climax, that’s the chorus. I love an alternate chorus with different lyrics but the same melody, so kind of having that be an add on at the end too, but yeah, I like to write it like a story.
Chloe: Wow, that’s super cool. And I totally get with the Notes app. I kind of do that too. You can have something pop up in your head and be like, “Oh, let me hold on to that real quick.”
REY: I saw this tweet that said “the most sacred place is a girl’s notes app,” and it’s so true, because I’ll have a really deep lyric, and then I’ll have “I need toothpaste and makeup wipes.” One or the other.
Chloe: Jumping from more lyrical to more musical, how did you develop into your sound?
REY: I feel like I’ve always been drawn to upbeat music and rock, so I love a song that you can dance to, but the lyrics make you want to cry. I feel like this indie pop rock sound that I’m going for has been very inspired by artists that I’ve really recently loved in these past couple years. I love Upsahl and Devon Again and KiNG MALA and a lot of indie pop girls. I just love women, and I feel like they make such good music, and I take so much inspiration from other young females in the industry. I think my sound ever since I changed my persona is also leaning way more rock, so I’m really hoping to keep diving into that.
Chloe: You mentioned before that you started out making music as a college student. I’m curious, how were you able to balance being a student while also pursuing your musical passions?
REY: At school, I was very lucky and very spoiled by the people that I was surrounded by because pretty much all of my friends at USC were music industry or music people. That just kind of allowed me to connect with people that were passionate about the same things and listen to their stuff and show them my stuff. I would have these days with my first roommate at school, we were randomly assigned. Her name is Lauren. We would lock ourselves in the practice room for like, an hour, two hours, and we would both separately write a song, then come together to do a show and tell of the songs with each other. We would do this like two or three times a week. We roped in a lot of our other friends too. I was very spoiled, being in a friend group and being in an environment with people who also love to create and also love to write. I feel like that definitely shaped me as an artist. I wouldn’t be as confident in my sound or writing without them.
Chloe: Wow, that’s so cool! Did you ever have any issues with writer’s block?
REY: Yeah, I’ve definitely had writer’s block. I like to joke that, because I write so much from personal experience, when things in my life are going really well, I don’t get anything done, and then when I crash out is when I write my best music. I’m working on trying to take inspiration from TV shows, like the Grey’s Anatomy song I just put out, and from movies, because those characters are made to be interesting. The writer’s blocks have definitely come and gone. Gotta pray that they go away.
Chloe: What’s been your favorite moment of your musical career thus far?
REY: Live shows definitely are my favorite. As I mentioned, I grew up doing theater, so dancing and acting and singing and everything. I’ve just always loved to be on stage. It brings me so much joy to entertain and to make people smile, helping them not think about their problems for 30 minutes while they’re singing along to a song. When I see a concert, I always have a good night, so that’s probably my favorite thing to do. I also love my band, we all get along so well, so it’s always a really, really fun time. I just had a show a couple days ago that was a backyard concert with a bunch of other rising songwriters. That one was especially special, since everybody there was an aspiring artist, everybody was singing along to each other’s stuff and being super supportive. It’s funny, because people say the reputation is that LA is so fake, but I’ve genuinely met the most genuine, sweet, uplifting people here, especially in the music industry.
Chloe: That’s amazing. Do you tend to prefer performing live or in the studio more?
REY: Oh, that’s like choosing my favorite kid. Performing live is a cool experience, so I definitely love that, but I love the studio in a different way, because that’s where you can add all the really cool production, which always makes or breaks the song. It’s cool to build the song from the ground up and make it what it is, and then that’s the building block. Once we have that, then we can take the song to a new place with the live band.
Chloe: Yeah, that’s interesting because they’re definitely pros and cons to both of them, with the excitement of being live versus being able to tweak everything.
REY: Totally, in the studio you get to build a song exactly how you want it, and then the live show has the adrenaline of not really knowing what to expect.
Chloe: You also mentioned growing up with piano, but you have more of a rock sound. How do those two influences work together?
REY: That’s so funny because if you heard my voice memos, which are what I build my songs from, they always sound nothing like the finished product. While I’m writing the song on piano, I have a vision for the production in my head. I’ll have full notes below the chords and the lyrics. For example: I want this for the intro, I want these types of drums, I want this type of background vocal. The voice memo is mostly for melody and chords. Then I have those ideas that I can take to my producer, his production style is crazy. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s the genius behind all the production stuff. I kind of have the vision for it, and then he helps me build it how it is in my head.
Chloe: That sounds like such a special relationship to have!
REY: I’m so lucky. I met him at this event, Grammy U, which was like a networking mixer. Usually, you meet so many people, but don’t think you’re actually gonna connect with somebody, but we just understood each other musically.
Chloe: That’s amazing. We touched on this a little bit, but I just wanted to dive into it a little bit more. What are musical inspirations, fellow rock artists or not?
REY: For rock inspiration, the live feel is always something I keep in mind. As much as I love everything to do with production, I still love to keep a live feel in mind. The 1975 are a huge inspiration to me, so are The Backseat Lovers. From the non rock side, growing up I listened to a lot of soul and jazz. I learned to sing through those types of voices. When I was little, all I wanted was to sing like Etta James, with the soul that she has in her voice and the vulnerability that you can feel through just listening to her voice. I think that helps tell the story too.
Chloe: Totally, you have good music taste. Speaking of which, I just remembered that Spotify Wrapped came out. Could you tell us your top five artists?
REY: Oh, my gosh, yes. I absolutely love Chappell Roan. I have been a Chappell Roan girl from day one. My biggest flex is that we booked her for USC FEM Fest in 2022 when nobody knew who she was. It was a free concert on campus, and only about 20 people came. I have been a fan of her for forever, and so I’m so happy that she’s finally getting her flowers. She is so talented. She’s my top artist. I’ve also been very much into Olivia Dean recently, she has her big song “Dive,” and she has that soul type of voice that RnB makes. Olivia Dean’s lyrics are crazy, like her lyrics, and her voice is just goals.I was also really into Role Model’s new album this year. I was very surprised that he took a lot of country inspiration, which I feel like a lot of artists did this year, but he did it so well. I kind of just listen to everything. I know everybody says that.
Chloe: I just have one more question for you. Since we are UCLA radio, everyone who has a radio show on air has a DJ name. I was just wondering what your DJ name would be.
REY: I’m gonna go with DJ Young Snacks because my last name is Young and I love snacks. My current obsession are these Scandinavian swimmers. Chef’s kiss.
Check out REY’s music below!
