Raffaella Breaks Down New EP LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (ACT I) Track by Track: Exclusive
The post Raffaella Breaks Down New EP LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (ACT I) Track by Track: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence.
In our Track by Track feature, musicians and bands provide insight into each song on their newest project. Our latest edition comes from our August Artist of the Month Raffaella, who tells us the backstories behind her new EP LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (ACT I).
Raffaella doesn’t just wear her heart on her sleeve — she wears it like a badge of honor. On her new EP LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (ACT I), our August Artist of the Month pours out her emotions through her sparkling indie-pop. But, as its ironic title might imply, the EP also carries an air of playfulness, with nods to old Lindsay Lohan movies, Joyce Carol Oates novels, and storied New York City bars. Today, the rising indie pop star is giving us a Track by Track breakdown of the EP, out Friday (August 12th).
Produced by Raffaella’s real-life partner, Hippo Campus frontman Jake Luppen, and featuring songwriting contributions from frequent Phoebe Bridgers collaborators Marshall Vore and Charlie Hickey, LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (ACT I) is a whirlwind of coming-of-age stories for your mid 20s. Across the EP’s six songs, Raffaella turns seemingly mundane encounters — wanting to kiss a friend, wanting your long-distance crush to visit you, the odd excitement of shopping for groceries on your own for the first time — into full-on stories that unfold seamlessly.
Listen to LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (Act I) and check out Raffaella’s Track-by-Track breakdown below.
“come to nyc, pls”:
I wrote this in my childhood apartment. It was early April of 2020 in NYC, which at the time was essentially the epicenter of death. There were sirens blasting every other minute, 7:00 p.m. cheers through open windows applauding essential workers — the world as we knew seemed to be ending, which consequently sparked new beginnings. I had been falling in love over the phone, experiencing an unprecedented closeness which only highlighted the actual miles separating us.
There’s a lot of yearning in this song, but also a lot of courage, I think. NYC (which I guess, ugh, was a metaphor for me) was the least attractive place to be at the time, yet I still asked for him to come. Getting over fears of intimacy, etc.
“BUICK”:
A lot of people think this is a love song, which is funny ’cause we wrote it as more of a diss track. I definitely don’t come across as the best person in this; I was absolutely inconsiderate and I did owe him money, which I was not proud of, but I do believe that was just a response to the dysfunctional relationship we had established.
Though this song came from a place of frustration and sadness, it depicts a beautiful day we shared on the beach. I haven’t seen him since, but he did say he liked the song. When I went to Marshall’s studio to write it with him and Charlie, I still had the beach towel in my bag. Writing this with them was definitely cathartic.
“BLONDE”:
Jake and I wrote this one late night at the studio when we were feeling inspired and unserious. He started playing guitar and I sang the first line as a joke, then the rest sorta just fell out and we finished it in a couple of hours. I had been reading about Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates, so a lot of imagery (false lashes, Calabasas), was inspired by that. I had also been listening to a lot of Beach Bunny and Bad Bad Hats, which I think you can hear when you listen to it.
“GROWN UP”:
This was the last track Jake and I wrote for the record. Similar to “BLONDE” in a lot of ways, we started it super late one night, except I was in a horrible mood and started singing the chorus as a joke to get us out of there so we could go home. He said, “That’s great!” and then we went home only to inadvertently start writing all the lyrics as we were falling asleep. We woke up the next morning and finished it in our home studio within a couple of hours.
This song is an honest attempt at explaining whatever newfound sense of adulthood I’ve come to know, despite sounding more like a child than ever.
“Drama queen.”:
We originally wrote this one for Jake, but he decided it wasn’t quite right for him so I asked if I could steal it. My version dove more into the Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen world, which is eight-year-old-me’s dream come true. I love the freaky instrumental bridge and the lyric “judging me like you’re Judy” — very profound. It’s just about someone who kinda sucks… someone who makes you feel crazy because they just suck so much…
“LIPSTICK”:
There have been maybe one million versions of this song. I had written the verses but couldn’t figure out how to finish it until I brought it to Jonah Shai — we wrote and recorded a version together back in the fall of 2019. Fast-forward to Minneapolis summer of 2020, Jake produces a version with actual trap hats — despite that it actually was still pretty good — but nonetheless we could not deem it acceptable. We tried so many different keys, so many different sonic worlds, until I very stubbornly tried to quit and throw it out entirely. Luckily, Jake believed in it enough and we managed to crack the code I think a year later.
If you’ve ever been to The Bitter End on the Lower East Side, you know how militant their two-drink rule is. It’s absolutely insane. Anyway, this song is a warning sign to those who want to kiss their friends — you can do it like two or three times, but more than that, shit starts to get a little too complicated. The whole liquid courage thing also doesn’t help in the long run.
Raffaella Breaks Down New EP LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (ACT I) Track by Track: Exclusive
Abby Jones
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