Q&A: Dive into Talia Rae's Dreamscape with New Single “Rocket Woman”
INVITING LISTENERS INTO A MESMERIZING WORLD OF FANTASY AND INTROSPECTION – London singer-songwriter and the UK’s fast-rising powerhouse talent, Talia Rae, has released her newest single, "Rocket Woman." Accompanied by a visually stunning music video, the visual sees Rae dreaming of an underwater escape, breaking free from the constraints of the real world and diving deep into a realm of boundless imagination, introspection and the thrill of unknown danger.
“I wanted to create two opposing worlds, one which you can relate to and one which you can escape into,” Rae says. “When I wrote ‘Rocket Woman,’ I always knew I wanted the visuals to reflect both the weirdness and the reality of the song, and being underwater to me felt like it was the perfect way of showing what escapism looks like in a masochistic way.”
“Rocket Woman” is Rae’s second release, following her debut offering, ‘Not A Heartbreak’, which saw her burst onto the scene with her vocal prowess. “Rocket Woman” was unveiled as a piece of auditory cinema. With a hypnotizing piano hook and Bond-esque strings, the track descends into a sonic dreamscape, where Rae transitions from careful whispers to full-belt powerhouse vocals. A fiercely empowering anthem, big drum-crash moments combine with warped space-inspired production, making “Rocket Woman” feel as expansive as the cosmos itself.
“Rocket Woman is a conversation with yourself about dreams versus reality, empowerment versus escapism and the person you are and the person you’re yet to be,” Rae says. “The song's nature takes you on a journey of intrigue in a world of your own.”
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
TALIA: Everyday life I'd say. I wouldn't say one specific thing. I get inspired by a lot of things, different conversations that I have with people, movies, songs that I listen to and books. Everything. A lot of my songs are written about real life situations either about myself or with other people, so a lot of the inspiration comes from human interaction.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
TALIA: I'd like people to feel like they aren't alone when listening to my music and it's a safe space for them to dive into and feel understood and heard in quite a dark, mysterious, almost ambiguous way that there's something that's not being uncovered and there's a level of secrecy to it, but in a way that people can feel understood.
LUNA: You have released your latest single “Rocket Woman” and I absolutely adore the ethereal energy to it. What is the inspiration behind the single?
TALIA: The song is about female empowerment and feeling as if you can do anything you want to do without anyone telling you you can't do it. I was inspired by lots of different things in terms of the video and different sounds that I was creating; like Bowie was a big inspiration and Radiohead. I really wanted to create a world that I felt wasn't out there already. There's this idea that you can do whatever you want to do and no one should judge you for it and you can be who you want to be.
LUNA: Can you share more about the creative process behind crafting “Rocket Woman” and how it reflects your personal journey and experiences?
TALIA: Recording it was super fun. We took such a weird journey into the creative process in the studio. Around it, we had so much trial and error, which is basically what the song is, to me. It's like artistic chaos but in a beautiful way. The process was very very fluid. We had a bunch of musicians in a room and saw what sounded good and what didn’t. The process was a long journey because I wrote this song when I was 17 and I’m now 21, so it feels like it's been out in my world for a while. The original demo of the song has similarities, but then I wanted to re-record everything, mainly live, and we did an outro section at the end which is basically me and the producer Mike Spencer being like, ‘fuck it, let's just do something weird and wonderful.’ We want people to listen to it and feel like they can unleash whatever emotion they have in their bodies. I'd say that was the main inspiration, but it's had such a weird journey from when I wrote it to where it is now and how I started to write it.
LUNA: “Rocket Woman” also has an accompanying music video and I love how you incorporate themes of escapism through your visual storytelling. What is the inspiration behind the video and how was your experience filming the video?
TALIA: It was so cool. It was one of the coolest days of my life and one of the hardest days because we shot half of the video in the water and that was bloody challenging. I wasn't expecting how insane it would be to be in a water tank for two hours. I always knew I wanted to film something with high energy but two contrasting themes. We took one scene in which I was drinking a cup of tea outside a car that was supposed to be reflective of a normal environment, and then the other one I always knew I wanted to either be underwater or in a boxing room for some reason. We chose underwater because I think it was way cooler and better. The video is supposed to show two contrasting situations in life. The one drinking the cup of tea in the car is supposed to represent normal ordinary life, and being in the water tank is symbolic of dreaming of this life but it could be real. If you put your mind to it it kind of a thing. It was a mad day. It was pretty crazy.
LUNA: I would love to hear anything you would love to share about your upcoming music releases. What can listeners expect from this new era of music?
TALIA: I'm so excited about new music coming out. I actually have my EP coming out. There are three songs that people haven't heard including “Not A Heartbreak” and “Rocket Woman.” I'm really, really excited to release the title track of the EP, which is called “Shadows.” I wrote that song about a year and a half ago. I built this concept of this shadow in your mind that is following you. It's like this battle between yourself and your inner inner person, which is what “Rocket Woman” is about to an extent. I've got some more music coming out towards the end of the year, which is also really exciting because a lot of that stuff is really new and the sound that I'm inspired by a lot at the moment is from Paolo Nutini. I played a gig opening for Stevie Nicks last week. I tested two of the new songs, so that was really, really fun. My favorite thing to do is testing songs live and I’m excited about where my sound is going and creating. I want to put out more music and that’s the plan is to keep releasing. I don’t want to be a gatekeeper.
LUNA: What is the best environment to listen to your music in?
TALIA: I'd say the train. I love train journeys and sitting on a train for an hour because it's the only time where I don't have to do anything and I can just listen to music and be in my thoughts and be in my head.
LUNA: You supported Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park. How has that experience been for you?
TALIA: I'm a massive Stevie fan. It was all pretty surreal to be honest. I am still in a bit of denial that it happened. It was a beautiful day. Her fans have been so cool and the show went pretty well. She bought Harry Styles. I almost fainted.
LUNA: Do you have any pre-show or post-show rituals that help ensure you play your best?
TALIA: I'm usually pretty chill before I go on stage. I put my earbuds in and go through my whole set, but don't sing it. I just mouth the whole thing before I go on. I do some little warm ups. Before I walk out, I always do a little huddle with my band and tell them to play the best show they've ever played, even if they're playing to one person or a million people. It doesn't matter. We're so lucky to do what we do, so let's just try and love every minute of it. I'm always super chill when I come offstage and talk to a few people and have some drinks. I love watching music after I perform.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
TALIA: I'm very excited about things that are coming up. I've got this EP coming out which is really soon. I've got a feature coming out and he's one of my heroes growing up. I've got some more music coming up. I hope to play some more shows. I’m trying to build this Talia Rae world and let people feel like they can be a part of it. My favorite thing to do is write songs, so I'll probably be doing a lot of that in the studio and just writing loads of songs.
