Entrevista Rachel Fine. English version.

ZAPPHY – I have listened to your music and I may have to say that it is hard to classify it, since it has so many different ways to sound. Sometimes it sounds like blues, sometimes, pop, and sometimes a mix. Did you do that on purpose or just wanted to sing what makes you happy?

Rachel Fine - Thanks! I like that it’s difficult to classify, I think we’ve developed our own sound. We didn’t set out with a predetermined style we wanted to capture, we just wrote and let it happen organically. There are definitely neo-soul & trip hop influences, but we pull everything from 70s funk and Quiet Storm to electronica. Overall, I like to think of it as late night, relax with a bottle of Cachaça music. It’s intimate and soothing.

ZAPPHY – There is so much coming from Europe and that will never be known here in Brazil, but if I am not taken by mistake, there are some musicians that play along with that are brazilians. Does that make you a little more closer to Brazil??? Does that increases the chances to you come here in á tour?

Rachel Fine - Yes, my guitar player (Henry Gustavo Gonzalez) has family in Fortaleza! We have a huge appreciation for Brazilian music, some of our favorites are Jorge Ben, Joao Donato, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Martinho Da Vila and Seu Jorge. We hope to tour there in the very near future.

ZAPPHY – Tell to the brazilians a little about you and about this debut album (Own your own). Although your voice is incredibly soft, the album is dark. Why did you choose to make this mix between tenderness and darkness?

Rachel Fine - That’s a beautiful way to describe it. I just wrote from an honest place in my heart. Every lyric on the album comes directly from my life, I offered a lot of who I am and what I’ve experienced through this album. When Timothy Schletter composed the music, he started with my lyrics. From there, he found that dark groove that best fit what I was trying to say. There is a real intimacy in what we’re sharing.

ZAPPHY –In the whole world, we have the illegal copies problem. Here in Brazil I believe that it can be a little wider since there is poverty here. Do you believe that this problem can be solved? Why won’t the music industry cut down the CD prices to attack the illegal copies?

Rachel Fine - It’s a tough question. As an artist, we rely on cd sales to live, to pay our rent, to support ourselves so we can continue to make more music. But at the same time, music is meant to be heard. I would always rather someone hear my music than not, regardless of their ability to purchase a cd. I think digital distribution has changed the music industry and the way we listen to music so significantly that we’re all scrambling to adapt. Ultimately, music has never been about money to me. Its been about the joy of creation and the experience of connecting with people on a different level.

ZAPPHY – Are you already working on a new album? Will a DVD come out?

Rachel Fine - We are just at the beginning stages of the next album. It’s overwhelming and exciting to start again after putting so much of myself into the last album. But I’m excited, I’ve learned a lot over the last year and I look forward to sharing where I am now with the same honesty. I don’t have immediate plans for a dvd but I’m shooting our first music video next month. I do post a good amount of live performance footage on my website, http://rachelfine.com and on http://youtube.com/rachelfinemusic .

ZAPPHY – A message to your fans and to the readers from ZAPPHY magazine?

Rachel Fine - I just want to say THANKS! We truly appreciate our fans in Brazil. Thank you so much for listening to the music and for your support. I can’t wait to visit your country!

#rachelfine #pop