Fearlessness is an admirable quality in an artist, but it isn’t born overnight. It comes from staring into the eyes of an audience enthusiastically validating a song they are hearing for the first time, and long days in the studio that birth a career-defining sound. Experience fuels a fearless spirit and with one listen to Rachele Lynae’s sophomore album, Every Reason, it’s obvious the talented artist is hitting her creative stride.
“I do feel these songs represent me in a stronger way,” she says. “A part of that is as you grow and go through life, you get a stronger grasp of yourself. I’ve always felt pretty self-realized, but then you comprehend that you are still learning more. These songs really came out of a period where I focused on writing. And I got married, so there’s a lot of happy music.”
During her time in Nashville, Rachele has earned the respect of her peers and the support of a growing legion of fans. Her high energy stage show spotlights her continual growth as a performer, but it’s the richness of her voice and depth of her songwriting gift that are distinguishing the singer/songwriter from other country newcomers. She has shared stages with Keith Urban, the Band Perry, Kelsea Ballerini, Randy Houser among others, and she’s garnered a 12 million plus audience on country radio.
Rachele’s tenacity and determination were forged in the wilds of Alaska where she grew up singing in church and spending time outdoors with her family sport fishing in local rivers and the Pacific Ocean. Her dad is a commercial fisherman, so the outdoor life came naturally. “I remember commercial fishing with my friend’s family and we would take those nets out of the water and pick the fish out of the nets. It’s an experience. We worked so hard and had so much fun too. And we’d sing these silly songs. I’m definitely a girly girl in a lot of ways, but then there’s also the part of me that grew up in Alaska and I’m like a girly girl by that standard,” she says with a grin.
Her rugged upbringing gives her a different perspective. “We were on an island and so we just weren’t sucked into pop culture which has its plus and minus,” she says. “On the plus side, it makes you more creative because you’re not as influenced by what is cool and I’m so thankful for that. I’m grateful that all my childhood years were in Alaska for that reason. You just weren’t concerned with being cool.”
Like many hopeful musicians, Rachele moved to Nashville to attend the prestigious Belmont University. Her songs and her voice caught the attention of country hitmaker Jamie O’Neal, who took her under her wing and produced her first album.
“I’ve always been a storyteller and I love that, but more than being a storyteller, I’m a connector,” she says. “One of the main things I love about music is how we all can connect. Sometimes people with very different ideas in life can still connect through music.”
On her new project, Rachele co-produced along side of longtime friend David Dorn---a well-respected session player, producer and songwriter, who is a collaborator from back in her Belmont days. She’s crafted a collection of songs that reflect the lessons she’s learned musically and personally.
“I’ve been learning to not take it so seriously and I feel like my music has only gotten better,” she says of taking a more relaxed approach. “I’m having more fun with it. I was so serious about every single thing, but I think with art, the quality actually improves when you stop putting the pressure on it. I’ve been at this a long time and I’ve loved every step of the way, but just starting to chill a little has made my music so much more fun. It’s because I’m not afraid. Sometimes you don’t even realize what that fear is early on because I would have thought of myself as being totally fearless, and in some ways I was. Now I’ve found a different kind of fearless that comes from being super comfortable in your own skin.”
That confidence can be heard throughout her new project, especially on such anthems as the buoyant love song “Braggin’ on Ya.” “It’s so fun and grooving,” as Rachele smiles. “I can do it acoustically or with a band and either way it’s fun. I actually wrote that over Skype with one of my fave LA co-writers, Robin Schorr.”
“Cut Me Off” is a poignant ballad about a relationship on the rocks written with Jessica Roadcap and David Dorn. “David came in with the hook cut me off and the concept of it being dual---'we don’t need another drink and we definitely don’t need to give us another try,”’ she says. “It’s such a great analogy for an unhealthy relationship. You need to get out of it because you’re toxic for each other. Most people have been there. I know I definitely had been there before I found my someone. This song is super special, and it has been since the moment we wrote it.”
Among the highlights on the project is the smooth, sultry “Vinyl.” “I wrote it with Brittany Ray,” she shares. “We met through Jamie and we just stayed in touch. It turns out we write really well together. I brought this mostly formed chorus to her and she’s so cool, she’s not somebody who will push you around in the writer room. She convinced me to change the chord structure. It was such a great idea and vibe going in, but I had the wrong chord structure under it, which was taking away the nostalgic feel. With her collaboration, we were able to build it into this more nostalgic magical moment.”
“Ground Me”, co-written with Emily Jubb and Gina Venier, celebrates Rachele’s relationship with her husband Tim. “I feel like he grounds me. I can be all over the place. In one minute, I could be thinking, ‘Oh man! We are going to dominate this!’ And the next minute, I’m going, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s never going to work.’ I’m just everywhere,” she admits. “He’s the person that reels me back in. He’s that grounding force and the reality check. He’s the reminder of the dream and the reminder of God’s promises.”
Rachele has been writing songs since she was 12 years old, but says in the past few years, she feels like she’s hit a new level. “The beautiful thing as a songwriter is you can draw from all of your experiences,” she says. “I’ve heard that once you are happy, your creative muse is gone, but no, not really. As artists we are really emotional people so it’s not hard to tap into that and go there. I’m a storyteller, I like to dive into what’s happening in people’s lives and what has happened in my life. So, if anything, I feel it’s given me more to write about because now the happy songs are not as challenging.”
Rachele Lynae is creatively thriving these days and her new album reflects that. “I definitely have grown in my craft as a songwriter and I’ve found a sound that’s more me, more authentic to me,” she says. “You have to learn to respect yourself and your opinion more so the art can be truly you.”