It’s been five years since we first witnessed Rachael Leahcar step out on stage with her magical voice on hit TV show ‘The Voice Australia’ and since then she’s done a whole lot of growing up. Shadows, Rachael’s fourth studio album, beautifully showcases how she’s matured—which means it’s time for a new tour; the Shadows tour no-less! Glam Adelaide took time out to find out how the preparation is going and what she’s been up to since Here Comes The Sun.
Lately—when not writing music—Rachael keeps herself busy in her ‘spare’ time by preparing for the upcoming tour, ‘I just want it to be the best tour it can be. So I’ve been busy rehearsing and organising promotion and it’s the season coming up…I’ve got some new Christmas songs coming out too’. Rachael admits she loves Christmas, ‘it’s my favourite time of year, but I’ve just realised I don’t know when I’ll be doing my Christmas shopping! Everyone is so happy and excited, I get to give presents to everyone. I love it.’
We discussed how mature she sounds on Shadows, particularly in comparison to her debut on ‘The Voice’ all those years ago. ‘I listen back to when I performed and I sound so little, so squeaky. I cringe listening to myself in general, but back then… ugh! Now, I try to sound a bit more adult and try to get my music across that way. Back then I was portrayed as a little girl, with cute little dresses, and with music you have to evolve. I feel older so I sound older,’ she reminisces.
But has writing music got any easier with age? Apparently not—‘I think it’s the same. I’ve done a lot of covers in the past, but one of the songs on Shadows I wrote while on ‘The Voice’. I could never find anything that fit me, with the wardrobe team searching far and wide for anything. In the end they always had to pinch and pin me into everything. I just wanted an outfit that would fit me! But I realised it didn’t matter what I was wearing, I just had to be me. ‘Shadows’ was probably the song I finished last. I reconstructed that one, it used to be longer and messier so I rewrote it to be punchy. I didn’t think it was powerful enough.’ Listening to the album, you’d never tell those songs were written so far apart.
Rachael explains that she never knows when inspiration will hit, ‘I can’t write a song on the spot. It takes ages and it never turns out well. I have to wait for it to come from anything that gives me that spark—I have to find a piano or a guitar straight away. The best songs I find are written in about 10 minutes!’ Does she write music or lyrics first though? ‘I used to think it was lyrics first, but it’s changed over time… each song is different. You can be inspired by a word or inspired by a tune. I think it’s simultaneous now’.
We talk about how she’s opened up on Shadows, allowing audiences to hear a new, deeper side to Rachael. ‘I don’t find it hard to write these things because that’s how I express myself, but it is a lot harder to share it with the world. I don’t like people hearing me write a song, it makes me feel vulnerable. But, I did a live video the other day because in a previous one I had said if I sell this many tickets, I would write a song and they could help. We reached the target, and I ended up writing a song live on video—it took 2 hours!’ Rachael laughs. ‘I don’t think I’ll be releasing that one anytime soon, but it was a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.’
It turns out that Rachael loves nothing more than to hit the stage, even over recording her music. ‘I love performing because you get that atmosphere,’ she explains. ‘People are reacting to it and that is where the magic happens. You get adrenaline—you don’t get adrenaline in a studio!’ And of course, when she hits the stage, guide dog Ella joins in on the fun, ‘she does, she’s used to it now and goes to sleep straight away.’ Unfortunately Ella wont be starring in the Shadows tour, it’s too much for a young pup.
Speaking of Ella, the beautiful guide pup was the inspiration behind Rachael’s chocolate bar that she released through Bracegirdle’s. ‘It’s called Rachael’s Choc-Orange Caramel Bar, it’s pretty good… it’s got gold dusting over the top which represents Ella, the golden retriever. It’s to raise money for the Royal Society for the Blind, which is the inspiration!’ I strongly suggest everyone get on this bandwagon before they sell out (if they haven’t already—see Glam Adelaide’s write up here https://glamadelaide.com.au/bracegirdles-collab-with-the-voice-star-rachael-leahcar-for-great-cause/).
To any budding musicians and songbird’s out there thinking of following in her ‘Voice’ footsteps, Rachael has some advice for you too; ‘find out about the industry as much as you can, find out what a manager is, what an agent is, what a label is and join APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association)’ Basically, know who does what in the world of music. It’s a lot to think about. Get some experience performing, get involved on social media and build a following. When you go on a show like that you might end up coming first—and you don’t want to be in the deep end. I had experience performing before ‘The Voice’, but knew nothing about the industry, so I had to learn whilst dealing with the crazy from show. I was lucky I kept going, it’s hard work, because it IS a TV show. You never know how it’ll go and you have to take advantage of it.’
Check out Rachael’s latest album Shadows before heading to The Gov on Sunday the 19th of November for an eye-opening, emotional experience. Tickets are available at https://tickets.oztix.com.au/default.aspx?Event=72306.
BY Zoe Butler
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