Rachel Margaret

Artist Information

Biography

Deep longing has a new voice.

Imagine a gene lab accident. Beakers holding the DNA of Bob Mould, Elisabeth Fraser and Morrissey crash to the floor, their contents mixing and recombining as they drip down the wall toward an electrical outlet. Days after the cleanup, the technicians lean over their benches. In a corner, behind a seam in the flesh-colored linoleum baseboard where the mops couldn't reach, is a still-damp spot...

In the bustling world of indie pop, acts come and go. But Rachel Margaret's refreshing sound is carving out a niche all its own—at once both cutting edge and timeless. Passionate vocals floating over dreamy synths and hyper-hooky guitars, coupled with amazing songwriting, have garnered Rachel serious buzz in the underground.

Her debut EP, the critically acclaimed Buena Vista Park (July 2007), was a surprise hit last summer with Canadian/International fans as Rachel's EP, and her new single "Prisoner" held the top 7 spots in the popular vote (out of over 6000 songs) in the Sirius Fan Choice Awards. More recently, Rachel's song, "Someday Soon", was Julian Lennon's Pick of the Week (for the week of November 16, 2008) on Energy 92.7's Below Zero.

"Simply put, Rachel Margaret is an artist whose stock can only go up from here. Pick this EP up." —Neufutur.com

With the impending release of her sophomore album, Temporary Sanity, Rachel is making a name for herself on the new songwriter circuit.

A product of the University of Texas and the Ecole Normale Superieur de Musique in Paris (the one not in Texas), Rachel is currently in graduate school in the Bay Area. "More and more, I just want to sing my songs live. Sometimes when the band's locked in, I feel almost like crying, but great at the same time. I haven't had that feeling doing anything else professionally, and I doubt I ever will."

There is a tangible element of sadness and longing to the work that is evocative of love gone wrong. Is it true to life? "Well, basically, I am pretty cynical about love at the moment, but that doesn't mean I'll stay that way. I guess maybe right now it's more fun to write about love with perspective. It's like a tightrope act. It's only interesting if it's way off the ground and there isn't a net."

Music for acrobats.


Honors/Awards:

"Plans" Honorable Mention in 2010 West Coast Songwriters Song Contest.

Runner Up, 2009 We Are Listening Singer/Songwriter Awards

"Someday Soon" has been selected for KFOG's upcoming "Local Scene, Vol. 6" (Due out August 2009). Proceeds from the CD benefit MUST (Music in Schools Today).

"Julia" Honorable Mention in the Pop Category in the 2009 West Coast Songwriters International Songwriting Competition

"Someday Soon" is Julian Lennon's Frigid Pick of the Week on Energy 92.7's Below Zero show for the week of November 16th, 2008

"Landfill" Honorable Mention in the Pop Category in the 2008 West Coast Songwriters International Songwriting Competition

"Landfill" Honorable Mention in the 2007 We Are Listening Singer/Songwriter Awards

Instrumentation

Rachel Margaret - Acoustic Guitar, Keys & Vocals
Various Contributors - Bass, Drums, Acoustic Guitar, Electric, and Strings

Discography

Rachel's EP Buena Vista Park is streaming online at http://www.myspace.com/rachelmargaretmusic and is available for sale at iTunes and other major online retailers.

Buena Vista Park received radio play in the U.S. on San Francisco's SOMA FM's Indie Pop Rocks! program. Prisoner, the first single of Rachel's forthcoming album was played on May 12th by DJ A.J. Curtis at the University of San Francisco's KUSF 90.3. Rachel's song , Snowglobe has also been featured on New Jersey's own Homegrown Radio. In Europe, Rachel's songs have been featured on stations in Amsterdam and Brussels.

November 2008: Rachel's tracks were featured on Below Zero on Energy 92.7. Rachel's song Someday Soon was Julian Lennon's Pick of the Week for November 16th, 2008. For more details, including air dates for Someday Soon, check out http://www.belowzerobeats.com.

Audio

• Restless
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• Honesty
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• Plans
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• Julia
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• Western
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• Sad Cafe
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• Someday Soon
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• Buena Vista Park
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Lyrics

• Someday Soon
• Landfill
• Buena Vista Park
• Fade
• Snowglobe
• Solitude
• Prisoner
• Sketchy
• Julia
• Plans
• Western
• Temporary Sanity
• Honesty
• Restless
• Mill Valley Matinee

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Rachel Margaret [+ Show ]
  

  With a sweetness and maturity frosted over production perfection, female vocalist, Rachel Margaret, ...With a sweetness and maturity frosted over production perfection, female vocalist, Rachel Margaret, releases her 6-gem record, "Buena Vista Park". She combines modern noisy overdriven staticy patches with clean and penetrating grooves and lyrics. Her verses are nearly art-rock ala Bush with the intimate subject matter of Vega. Her choruses are another animal altogether - they reflect deft understanding of hook as every track, including the toxic-landscape above your soul's "Landfill" (you're thinking you're sitting high on a hill, but you're sitting on a landfill), veers into radio-ready land of sugar-tinged harmonies and melodic journeys. "Snowglobe" begins with a vibe and hollow metallic percussive sound that penetrates anew. The metaphorical imagery here is obvious but delightful - life in a snowglobe. .'is this a life or just a 2-bit souvenir?' The guitar arpeggiated work paints a circular quality that adds to the merry-go-round nowhere life it describes nicely. Lighters in the air give us a Sarah M feel in the title track, "Buena Vista Park" with another beautiful lyric and performance. "Fade" starts with a right-panned mono acoustic piano that modulates into a slow-jazz groove. Margaret sings, 'faded hope and promises with wings, well love means different things. .you fade to black again'. We hear influences, surprisingly, from Beck - and the mix is compelling. One of the more commercial tracks is 'Solitude' - the techno sense in the verses moves into a gorgeous chorus that blends Maragret's voice with harmonies that are lush. Overall, the record is a perfect taste of what we hope is a sign of much more to come. Influences can be heard, however the singular voice is clearly emerging in the overall approach to her music. Expect good things from this artist who has made a professionally excellent sampling of a half-dozen treats.

• Julian Lennon's Pick of the Week for November 16th, 2008 (on Energy 92.7's Below Zero Radio Program) [+ Show ]
  

  Julian Lennon's Pick of the Week for November 16th, 2008. Rachel Margaret has been influenced by...Julian Lennon's Pick of the Week for November 16th, 2008.
  
  Rachel Margaret has been influenced by the sounds of Tracey Thorne, Morrissey, and Elisabeth Fraser. Her sound floats within the Indie Pop and Chill Out flavors with passionate vocals, dreamy synths and hyper-hooky guitars.
  
  Her debut EP released in July 2007, "Buena Vista Park", has gained global attention.
  
  She is currently working on her follow-up album "Temporary Sanity". We will be ready to share that with you as soon as Rachel shares it with us.

• Rachel Margaret - Buena Vista Park [+ Show ]
  

  “Landfill” is one of the focal points on “Buena Vista Park”, and while the instrumentation is softly...“Landfill” is one of the focal points on “Buena Vista Park”, and while the instrumentation is softly-stated and meanders around the vocals, Margaret here comes correct and creates a brand of modern pop-rock that is just as honest and impressive as anything released by Fiona Apple or others of her ilk. “Someday Soon” is a slightly faster song than “Landfill”, and brings Margaret into the space created by Annie Lennox and Enya, albeit with a more marketable sound. This more radio friendly sound is what links this track to “Landfill”, and ensures that listeners will keep focused in to “Buena Vista Park“. The title track for this EP uses more of the wide-open compositions that presented themselves on “Someday Soon”. “Buena Vista Park” is interesting due to the trend during the track for the instrumentation to rival the vocals in regards to the emotional content in each.
  
  It takes a rare brand of musician to be able to create such a high level of emotional content on a track, but this trend is present throughout all of “Buena Vista Park“. “Solitude” may have a more inorganic sound to the instrumentation on the track, but this does not mean that the compositions on the track are sterile. Actually, the electronic, cold sound of the track feels to me to be a second set of vocals, the negative to the weary positive that Margaret puts forth on this track. “Buena Vista Group” may only be an EP, but individuals will understand quite well where Margaret is coming from by the time that this album spins to an end.
  
  During the entirety of “Buena Vista Group”, Margaret handles eirself quite well. This gives me hope that the successes achieved here could easily be transferred to an album that is twice or thrice the time of “Buena Vista Park“. There is significant variation to the tracks on this EP, while still crafting a common thread of current pop-rock that runs through the songs here. Given the success of “Buena Vista Park“, it would not be a surprise to see Margaret receive rotation on contemporary and pop/rock format radio stations. All that ey needs is a video, and this could easily make it to the Good Life network or VH1 (if VH1 still plays videos, that is). Simply put, Rachel Margaret is an artist whose stock can only go up from here. Pick this EP up.
  
  Top Track: Someday Soon
  
  

• 3-Minute Interview: Rachel Margaret [+ Show ]
  

  3-minute interview: Rachel Margaret Michael Aldax, The Examiner 2008-07-31 SAN FRANCISCO - ...3-minute interview: Rachel Margaret
  
  
  Michael Aldax, The Examiner
  2008-07-31
  SAN FRANCISCO -
  
  The singer-songwriter from the Fillmore district has become the surprise favorite of the PopMontreal/Sirius Satellite Radio Fan Choice Awards contest, having had the top two ranked songs out of 800 bands and 6,000 songs.
  
  You've had some strange jobs to support your music career. Can you share some of them? I briefly took a job where I was working for a company that was trying to get people to have their chimneys swept. I also worked as a dog walker [in San Francisco] and taught ESL to postal workers in France.
  
  Has living in the jazz district of San Francisco inspired you? Oh yeah, every time I go to the little corner grocery on Oak and Fillmore, the Key Food Market, I know all the guys, and they're always listening to great stuff. Some of it is jazz and some of it hip-hop. It's a lot of this mish-mash stuff from all over the world. It's cool. And it's kind of what I like to really like in my own music, a mix.
  
  What's it like to see your songs maturing into hits? I worked my butt off over the past years to try to do this. It's really sweet because I've put a lot of effort into it, and it is the reason why I do those crazy little jobs.
  
  If you could see your career go anywhere, where would that be? I had a couple of calls from record labels so I might choose to do that. I'd like to go on an international tour. Once I get the pop thing going, I want to go back to write a score for a film.
  
  --Michael Aldax
  Examiner

Setlist

45 minute set (my songs are generally between 3-4 minutes)
1. Julia (Forthcoming Album)
2. Someday Soon
3. Western (Forthcoming Album)
4. Restless (Forthcoming Album)
5. Temporary Sanity (Forthcoming Album)
6. Buena Vista Park
7. Landfill
8. Honesty (Forthcoming Album)
9. Plans (Forthcoming Album)
10. Sketchy (Forthcoming Album)
11. Mill Valley Matinee (Forthcoming Album)
12. Right Between the Eyes (Forthcoming Album)

Basic Requirements

Calendar