Song-by-Song: ‘Shadows’ by Talia Rae

Talia Rae: “I’ve always looked up to the great songwriters who have love power ballads.”

Find out about an EP that draws from a love of romantic power ballads, Elon Musk-inspired conversations, and raw emotions

Talia Rae is a songwriter from Essex whose music brings together heartfelt lyricism and atmospheric production. Drawing influence from artists like Coldplay, Lana Del Rey, The Beatles, and Paolo Nutini, Rae recently dropped her debut EP, Shadows, via Glassnote Records. Over its five tracks, including an ear-catching rendition of Radiohead’s No Surprises that turns the song into a fragile and lonely dance in the night, Rae’s powerful yet fragile cracked-porcelain voice stands front and centre – the message it delivers equally personal. Enveloped and enraptured by her music, we asked Rae to tell us more about each of the EP’s songs…

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SHADOWS

Shadows was the catalyst for the EP. As soon as I wrote it, I just had a feeling that I wanted to build the EP around this song. It just felt the most raw and honest I’d ever been with my songwriting, so it only felt right to build from that. It’s a letter to myself and that inner voice in my head, which you know never serves you well, but you don’t always feel strong enough to let it go. I’ve always struggled with bad body image and the way I view myself, and that shadow is that image which I see and no one else does. It’s a vulnerable diary entry of the way I was feeling at the time.

ROCKET WOMAN

In March 2021 one evening, I was in my brother’s room at my dad’s house and we were smoking (maybe something stronger than cigarettes) and talking about Elon Musk and his plans to go to Mars. All of a sudden I had this urge to write a song, so I ran downstairs to my little scrappy home studio and wrote the first couple of verses of what is now Rocket Woman. The next day I finished it and here we are. This song is what empowerment, belief, doubt, dreams and reality all feel like in one. “I never thought I’d be a Rocket Woman… but maybe I could.”

NOT A HEARTBREAK

I’ve always looked up to the great songwriters who have love power ballads like Adele’s Someone Like You, or Billy Joel, Elton, Purple Rain by Prince, or any love song by The Beatles really, and have always felt so connected and wanted to write one myself. Not A Heartbreak was my first real song about love that I ever wrote. I was 17 and fresh out of having too many high school crushes, so I was like, ‘Why don’t I just turn my experience into a song?’ Unrequited love is so universal and, believe me, I have felt it so so much! This is what this song is about. It’s so interesting speaking to people about this song because everyone interprets it differently into their own lives, which I think is beautiful. One of my best friends was telling me the other day about how she was listening to it – her and her other half have just started doing long-distance – and she said she couldn’t relate more. “If it’s not a heartbreak, why do I feel broken”. That’s why I love songwriting; I didn’t write it about that specifically, but I can so see why someone would feel the lyrics just as intensely when listening. That’s the beauty of storytelling through songs.

Talia Rae: “Call me a Radiohead fangirl! From The Bends to A Moon Shaped Pool, they don’t ever fail!”

IF THE WORLD WILL END

Quite a lot of this EP was written in the family home I used to live in. My dad has always been my biggest fan, so he helped me set up a little home studio back in 2018 (more like a room with a few keyboards and other bits and bobs!). This song was written in that room in about 20 minutes. It was one of those that fell out! I had written on a piece of paper the chorus lyric and then everything just flowed. Hearing how this song came to life was one of my favourite things ever! I worked on this in the studio for quite a while with a couple of my friends, and then I took it to Charlie Andrew who is a wizard! We recorded live strings at The Poole Studios and it was honestly one of the best days of my life! I’d never done a string session before, so hearing 12 string players play and record orchestral parts for my song was just beautiful. It brought the song completely to life and I am so so happy to have it out in the world. I don’t know why but I think this one has the most special place in my heart on the EP!

NO SURPRISES

Call me a Radiohead fangirl! From The Bends to A Moon Shaped Pool, they don’t ever fail! I never thought of putting a cover on my first EP in all honesty, but me and my keys player (Clemence Faurere) had been playing this song live for a couple of years and it felt so natural to put it on the EP. I love performing this song so much and I really just wanted to put it out to show how much I love Radiohead!

Talia Rae’s Shadows EP is out now via Glassnote Records – hit up @iamtaliarae on Instagram and TikTok

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