Sydney songstress, producer and FBi Radio’s Northern Lights Competition finalist Rainbow Chan chatted with Ripe about her debut EP, her influences and her unorthodox approach to creating music.
What inspires you musically or otherwise?
I draw influence from diverse places from classical, pop, noise, to hodgepodge mixtapes my grandma in Hong Kong used to put together for family car rides. I’ve been listening to a lot of electronic music, some nostalgic 90’s pop, and obscure folk tunes such as Icelandic rimurs (traditional half-sung-half-spoken melodies). I also think about music in quite visual and textural terms so beautiful patterns, tapestry, embroidery and watercolours really inspire me to create intricate musical structures and motifs.
Your debut EP ‘brushed upon with rose’ has a childlike and nostalgic feel to it. Have you been musically inclined from a young age?
I have always had a love for music, though my real ambition as a child was to become a mad hip-hop dancer! I started saxophone lessons from an early age, joined a youth choir, learnt piano and taught myself guitar when I was in high school but it was when I started composing that I knew music was right for me. Recently, I’ve been playing around with more electronic gadgets and refining my production skills. My interest in music is always evolving which keeps me refreshed!
What is your favourite song on the EP?
“Our Winter Skin” is probably my favourite. I really enjoyed being able to strip back everything and feature only vocals, guitar and swirly electronic sounds. The lyrics also have quite a significant meaning to me; I’ve since found it hard to write from such a vulnerable and sad place.
How do you go about writing a song?
My song-writing process is always changing. Recently, I’ve been a bit of a curator and spend hours sorting through samples and sound bytes, collating them into different concepts and families of timbres. I then mix and match layers of sounds and digitally manipulate them into an interesting collage. Usually I’ll have pieces of poetry lying around that I can work into the song and build melodies and harmonies upon that.
You went an overseas trip to London, Paris, Iceland and Hong Kong earlier this year.How has the trip influenced you musically?
I am working on my debut album which explores the interplay between sound and space, so travelling was an effective way to realise this concept. I took a little field-recorder with me on this overseas trip and sampled the sounds of busy streetscapes, natural geological features, buskers, antique music boxes - basically anything that presented an interesting story to me. These sound bytes that are tied to different countries, geographies and memories. I like to recontextualise them and and weave them into beats and textures, taking each song out of the realm of just your headphones or speakers but into the weird and wonderful places of your imagination.
You played your first headline show to a full-house at Gallery Bar earlier this year, how was that?
It seems like a long time ago to be honest, even my sound has changed significantly since that show. But it was a great night and I remember seeing people bop and dance which was so cool. I also really appreciated being able to play the subtle, quite songs and people listening intently, not talking over them.
What can one expect of a Rainbow Chan gig?
Looping, samplers, 8-bit keyboards. Bad puns and nerdy dancing. Girly harmonies matched with pitch-shifted beat-boxing. Obscure vintage toys that I hit and make noises with. Guitars and lap harps. And a lot of glockenspiels and music-boxes.
Some artists that have been on high rotation on your iPod/Discman/Gramophone lately?
I have been listening to a lot of Jonti, Oscar + Martin, Collarbones, Bjork, Roy Orbinson, Boards of Canada and Joanna Newsom on all of the above media.
What’s next for Rainbow Chan?
I’m currently a finalist in FBi Radio’s Northern Lights competition where 2 winners will be sent to Iceland and collaborate with some international artists. Having the chance to experience Iceland not as a tourist but as a musician would be an amazing gift. I also plan to release my debut album next year, play more shows and perhaps sing at your nanna’s birthday party.
