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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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'the MUSIC MAN' - a Funky 80s Pop Song Disguised as a Love Song, Actually About the Effects of Patriarchy on Women Who Still Like Men

'the MUSIC MAN' album artwork by GABRIELLA RAELYN.

Today, my new single 'the MUSIC MAN' dropped! In honor of that, let's discuss why I decided to write 'the MUSIC MAN' and what it's about.

So, I knew I wanted to start of with a sort of oppressive, almost horror movie-sounding introduction, which is why I went for a foreboding upright bass to open the song. The inspiration I drew for this comes from The Cure's 'Cold', which is one of my all-time favorite songs of theirs (a perfect villain anthem in my opinion).

Then the beat kicks in, and at first it sounds like a standard love song.

You have a hold around my soul, I don't know what I'll do Although I'm told to let you go, that's what I'll never do My heart is in your hands and no one understands my love for MUSIC MAN

Pretty standard 'I like you so much I don't know what to do' lyrics. Then the chorus kicks in.

Don't need you, I don't need you Don't need you, god I want you, MUSIC MAN

This is where I present the central idea of the song. As a woman attracted to men, there's a sort of strange power-dynamic at play that happens. I see in the world and in the music industry how men dominate, how they tend to hold positions of power in authority and sometimes use it to manipulate what they want out of women. It's hard not to see them in a predatory light, and so it's also hard to still be attracted to them. But somehow, I am. And I wanted to represent that dichotomy here. It's like, "I hate everything you represent but I still want you."

Though it’s the truth, I hate it so I cannot live without you

This is both meant in a romantic sense and a "I recognize that you control the industry I work in and I need you to help me get somewhere further" sense. It's a frustrating truth.

God of my idolatry, weaponize my love against me

When I heard that line in Romeo and Juliet, I took it and booked it. Man. That line really, really jumped out to me. Juliet is speaking to Romeo when she says this, and she means it as "you are everything I worship", which is crazy because (even if he does return her affections), this shows that he is manipulating her emotionally. To get what he wants. And that's a weapon. Often in relationships, we give our significant other the power to hurt us, we leave ourselves vulnerable to them, and in a world where women are already vulnerable to men, it's hard to allow oneself to do that on purpose.

And there you have it! There's also a fun little instrumental break I put as the bridge since I'd never done that before.

So, if you made it this far, check out the song, you might like it!

Follow me on other social media sites to get more content!

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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Lana Del Rey and Her Influence on My Music

Today rather than talking about specific behind-the-scene or making-of moments of my music, I want to discuss one of the big influencers in my art, Lana Del Rey!

Born to Die (2012) Album Artwork.

So, I discovered her music in 2012 when my best friend in middle school had her Born to Die record playing in her basement. Born to Die was playing, and I remember asking her "who is this?"

Of course, when I got home I scoured the internet for the rest of her music and instantly fell in love with her music.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but Lana's music is just so ethereal. Every song feels like it's its own 60s movie, and when you listen to it, you get transported there.

That is one of the reasons she inspires me so much. Her music takes you somewhere else entirely, and as someone who very much enjoys dramatic love stories, I am here for it. So I try to bring that idea into my music, too. I want there to be fantastical, cinematic elements that call forth a certain dreamlike quality.

Lana Del Rey (left) inspired by Priscilla Presley (right) for her iconic look in the National Anthem music video.

Another reason she inspires me so much is that she has a clear love for the 1960s, and in her music, she romanticizes her favorite parts from that era. While I don't hold the same appreciation for that decade, I do possess unparalleled amounts of love for the 1980s, and in the same way that Lana uses vernacular, references to media, and imagery prevalent in the 60s, I employ that same concept to my music with the 80s.

Bonnie Tyler (left) in the 1983 music video for Total Eclipse of the heart and GABRIELLA RAELYN (right) in her music video for wish upon a STAR.

Maybe it's because we're both Leo moons, but I feel like Lana and I both make music for the woman forever stuck daydreaming in her own, endlessly racing mind. I hope that one day my music can make as much of an impact as hers has. I will always have great respect for Lana's art.

If you made it this far down, thank you for reading. I hope you like my music if you decide to check it out, and if you do, consider pre-saving the new song I have coming out, 'the MUSIC MAN', out 9.15!

Keep in touch with me on other social platforms!

#candid post #lana del rey #alternative #dream pop #music #darkwave #synthpop #alternative music #darkpop #indie artist #indie music #new romantics #baroque pop #indie rock #indie singer

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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DANCE of the DAMNED' - The Hypocrisy of Capitalism & the Unfair Treatment of Women in Society

DANCE of the DAMNED official artwork.

For the third track on my upcoming experimental, 80s pop-inspired album, I decided to include the song 'DANCE of the DAMNED'. Now, I would say this song in particular really fleshes out the story of the 'Nephele' universe protagonist the most.

I named the song after a movie from 1989 of the same title, Dance of the Damned. It's about a suicidal stripper who accidentally winds up leading a bloodthirsty vampire into her home. It was the notion of being doomed that was the basis for my song.

Theatrical poster for Dance of the Damned (1989).

I then took the idea of my own contempt for capitalism and sexism in society and blended it into the lyrics, and what I ended up with was the story of Nephele, a stripper who dreams of fame and fortune, down on her luck, who holds deep disdain for the world she lives in. Due to her field of work, she distrusts and dislikes men very much.

The song itself is told as thoughts inside Nephele's head.

Don't do this for you, this is all for me, don't you see? Not for your eyes, it's my disguise to make myself feel complete. Empty inside so I don't care about your predatory stare. I'm getting mine just like you do, I do my dance and you throw me the cash.

When those men go to a strip club it's because they want something from a woman. They want her to put herself on display for their own enjoyment. But here, Nephele is taking the power back. She's saying, "this is my job, this is how I make money, you go to your job and make your money too, it's no different".

It's the dance of the damned, No matter what you do, you can't escape or erase it. You give yourself to the rhythm, you lose yourself in the making.

The 'dance of the damned' is the cycle that modern people find themselves living in--wake up, go to work, make money, sleep, do it all again. Jobs are taxing on the psyche in some way. Maybe it's customer service for someone really socially anxious, maybe it's (like Nephele) being a stripper performing for men one is disgusted by, maybe it's forsaking one's own integrity to lie and make a sale just so they can keep their job. It's all for the sake of money, a made-up construct that has somehow turned into the necessity to keep oneself afloat in today's world.

Silly me, that's what you think, because I exploit my body. Silly you because I took advantage of your lust. Easy money, it's just easy money. Sleazy money, it's all sleazy money.

Nephele recognizes that the men who go to watch her don't take her seriously, but she turns it around on them and says she doesn't take them seriously because it's so easy to play into their lust to get money. Wave yourself at them and they open their pockets.

I'm no different from you, I'm just getting all that I work for. The only thing about me, is that I don't deceive myself. But you men and your business, you cheat and scam and you lie. Your own humanity dies, you become deaf to the cries.

Nephele is saying that compared to what some of those business men do, hers is an honest living. They go out and destroy ecosystems with their oil rigs, they buy lands of forest to bulldoze and put more company buildings, they own factories that produce billions of waste that goes into the environment, slowly killing the planet--but somehow the fool is her because god forbid a woman do sex work, right?

It's this unfair dichotomy that I wanted to draw attention to, if not just to open the conversation. The expectations placed on women (as we are always painfully aware of) are quite hypocritical and flippant compared to the scrutiny that should be placed on the much bigger, more important and pressing issues.

If you made it this far down, thank you for reading. I hope you like my music if you decide to check it out, and if you do, consider pre-saving the new song I have coming out, 'the MUSIC MAN', out 9.15!

Keep in touch with me on other social platforms!

#alternative #dream pop #music #darkwave #synthpop #alternative music #darkpop #indie artist #indie music #new romantics #feminism #liberal feminism #gender roles #patriarchy #feminist music #Spotify

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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Why I Wrote 'peace OR love'

Single artwork for 'peace OR love'.

So, 'peace OR love' is the second single in the series leading up to the release of my album, 'NEPHELE: Act I'. This song actually has two meanings rolled into one, but in its essence, it's about the internal struggle one has when loving something that is difficult to love.

What first inspired me to write this song was the idea of me, an artist, being in love with music and the creation of it, yet at the same time struggling with it because of how hard it is to pursue a music career. So, I present the dichotomy of peace or love.

Peace would be to give up the pursuit of a music career in order not to feel so stressed and frustrated all the time, and love would be to keep pursuing music at the cost of living a relatively relaxed life.

The second meaning is that it is a song about being in love with someone who is hard to love. If I choose peace, that is to say I leave them and give up on love. If I choose love, I forfeit peace and continue bearing the burden of loving that person.

It's sort of like a classic 'I'm in love with the villain' story, which I am always a sucker for. There's something so romantic about the notion of "everyone thinks you're an awful person but I'm going to love you anyway, no matter how hard it is."

I was actually inspired by a movie soundtrack called 'Tema D' Amore - Version 2' from Cinema Paradiso (1988).

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Honestly, this is one of the prettiest, most romantic songs I have ever heard in a film score. I actually heard it first from a Simpsons episode, which is kinda random, but it did domino into me making this song so I had to mention where I first heard it.

So, I then took the same key that this song is in (G minor) and started producing 'peace OR love'.

I knew I wanted a particularly dreamy, almost vaporwave-like sound, along with a reggaeton beat. I haven't heard many synthpop/reggaeton songs, so I wanted to blend the two genres.

What I ended up with was the final product, 'peace OR love'.

As with all of the songs on this album, this track was mixed & mastered by John D. Norten, who has worked with many artists including Lady Gaga and Prince. The vision would not have been realized without his expertise, which I am immensely grateful for.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end! If you enjoyed this post, consider checking out the rest of my music!

I have a new single called 'the MUSIC MAN' which will be out on September 15th (2023), so pre-save it here & follow me on other social media platforms for sneak previews of it ahead of the release!

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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The Making of the 'wish upon a STAR' Music Video

As an independent musician and label owner, it can be a huge challenge to make visual representations of my music while on a strict budget. Since 'wish upon a STAR' was the opening single meant to introduce my new Nephele concept and storyline, I figured it would be good to make a music video for it to give it a strong start, as opposed to a lyric video.

I scouted a really cool bike path far away from a road that looked just like a paved street, so I put on a white dress inspired by the 80s, curled my hair, and packed up my props before driving out to the location with my Mom, Dad, and sister.

This is my little sister, Larissa, who filmed the music video entirely herself. I"m so grateful for her help and she did an amazing job. She also is my photographer & is overall insanely talented.

I wanted a really simple one-take music video, so I directed her to film me while walking backwards as I walked forwards with the lantern in my hand, and she captured my vision perfectly!

Behind the scenes photo of us waiting for the sun to go down (I wanted the shot to be at dusk since it fit my aesthetic way more. It might not look like it, but it was freezing outside and I didn't bring a jacket.)

Here is a gorgeous shot of my mom & I walking the path I was going to follow while filming. She helped out a lot too, so thank you mom <3

Here is my sister and I working to get the timing & pacing right on the walks as soon as the sun set.

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After we did four takes, we packed it up and got some hot drinks because we were icicles at that point.

Then, I edited the footage together and did some color-correcting (I needed it to still be a little darker), then I put the titles in to mimic what you'd see in some 80s-style horror movie as well as a VHS-style filter to make it all more vintage-feeling.

And there you have it! An in-depth look at how the music video for my single 'wish upon a STAR' was made.

If you made it this far, thank you so much, and if you liked the vibe of the song, consider checking out my other music, as it's all 80s/new wave style.

My Spotify

Pre-save my new single, 'the MUSIC MAN' out 9/15

#alternative #dream pop #music #darkwave #synthpop #80s aesthetic #80smusic #80spop #alternative music #darkpop #behind the scenes #music video #music video bts #indie music #indie artist #indie singer #Youtube

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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Why I Wrote 'wish upon a STAR'

'wish upon a STAR' album art by GABRIELLA RAELYN

On May 5th, 2023, I released the first single in a series preceding the release of my 'NEPHELE: Act I' album coming out on October 13th, 'wish upon a STAR'.

To be honest, the first time I wrote and produced this song was way back in 2019. Back then I was still living at my old house, and I had felt a general dissatisfaction with life and how it felt like each day was passing by the same as the last. My music career was stagnant and it just felt like I'd been hitting wall after wall. So, I sat down and wrote 'Wishes on a Star', and produced the first draft. I really liked some parts of the song, but felt that the verses didn't fit well and that the instrumentation was a bit random and uninspired. I continued to work on it for a while, but after I kept hitting writer's block, I decided to table the track and return to it at a later date.

Fast forward to this year, I was putting together the ideas for my 'Nephele' project, and while I was sharing the ideas with my mom, she mentioned 'Wishes on a Star', saying that I'd never released it, and that I should go back to it. I thought that wasn't a bad idea since my biggest challenge had been instrumentation, but since 'Nephele' was decidedly inspired by the 80s, I felt that that problem took care of itself.

So I opened up a new project on Logic and got to work using the chords and lyrics I had previously put together. Like I had previously felt, the verses just weren't fitting, so I ended up re-writing them not only in the words, but the melody too. The result finally fit much better, and became the final version.

Since deciding to make the music heavily Synthpop-based, creating the instrumentation was much easier. I'm very comfortable (and in love) with electronic 80s basses, so I started there, and layering the chords came natural, as did the addition of the reverb-heavy snares and powerful kicks/toms.

What I ended up with was the perfect opening track to the beginning of Nephele's journey. As a character, she is very dissatisfied with life, and feels hopeless in the pursuit of her dreams. 'wish upon a STAR' (which I re-named it as I felt that the style better suited the aesthetic I was going for) is a song about hitting rock bottom while chasing your dreams.

It's a song about that moment when you feel like you've exhausted all other options, when you feel like all doors of opportunity are just slamming left and right in your face, that you turn to a higher power. You think 'maybe if I wish hard enough on a star, my dreams will come true. Maybe that will finally be it.'

I made this song to provide a source of comfort for anyone who may be feeling like that. I know that as an artist, there are many moments where these feelings pass through me, and sometimes they're hard to deal with. The ending of the song has a more hopeful tone because I wanted to resolve some of that angst. I want to say 'we are strong enough to keep trudging through these murky waters'.

So, if this song resonates with you, you're not alone and you are stronger than you think and feel that you are.

Listen to it here:

Also, if you'd like, here is the music video that I made for it with the help of my family:

youtube

Thank you for reading all the way down to this point. I appreciate you :)

#alternative #dream pop #music #darkwave #singer songwriter #synthpop #synthwave #music video #behind the scenes #alternative music #alt music #new romantics #new romantic music #darkpop #altmusic #indie music #indie artist #Spotify #Youtube

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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My Original Character 'Nephele' and Her Narrative in My Music

Since beginning my 'Nephele' project earlier this year, I've taken it upon myself as an artist to not only release sonically unique music, but a meaningful, complex story to go along with it. This post will be a deep dive into my thought process while creating the storyline.

Who is 'Nephele'?

Art depicting Greek Goddess 'Nephele' by Francie Klopotic

Nephele is a Greek cloud nymph that among other things, represents duality as well as the dark, mistrustful side of men. She was originally created by Zeus in the image of his wife, Hera, as a test for Ixion, who lusted after Hera. Later on, she was abandoned by her husband for another woman.

She was a woman created by and disposed of by men.

As such, I decided to name my character after her. My Nephele represents the dichotomy between escapism vs. reality in a young woman’s mind, brought on by society’s failure to her and the crushing hardships brought on by living under the patriarchy.

She is a 21 year old stripper and her story takes place around 1987.

She was a rebellious, troubled teenager.

She is running from her feeling of constant misplacement, struggling with the power dynamics between herself and men around her.

She is critical of the imperfect world, and as such, wields a very artistic mind.

She dreams up stories impossible to come true. Stories where she feels loved above all else, stories where she’s the heroin and the world rearranges itself to suit her needs and desires. It’s medicine to her, to numb the pain of reality.

She struggles with self-worth and self-criticism, social anxiety and depression.

Her ultimate goal is to become a star, a famous singer.

Key Inspirations for the Nephele Project

Nephele is a hopeless romantic at heart, but rather than an easy, happy love story, the ones that grip her are the tragic, heart-wrenching ones instead.

Dance of the Damned (1989) is a movie about a rather existential conversation that takes place between a suicidal stripper and an immortal vampire who wants her as his next meal. Through this movie, I was inspired by the themes of power dynamics and the idea that

Romeo and Juliet (1968) is one of my absolute favorite movies. The idea for inspiration here is that Nephele uses this movie as a basis for all of the daydreams she has about love--they are sad, dramatic, and full of passion that defies fate. Such a love is what she craves; to be wanted so badly that destiny itself is ignored in pursuit of her.

The Phantom of the Opera (2004) is another one of my all-time favorites. The inspiration taken from this movie has to do partly in the actual sound of my music as well as the characterization of Nephele's antagonist. Sonically, I really liked the dramatic string bass, the synths, and the organ used in the score for the movie, so I incorporate those elements into the songs for this project. The Phantom himself influneced the character design I created for Nephele's antagonist, a masked man named 'the Music Man', whom I will talk about in another post.

Sound Design of 'NEPHELE: Act I'

'NEPHELE: Act I' is the name of the first album in my Nephele project, which will be coming out on October 13th (a Friday for the extra spooky vibes), 2023.

I have always loved 80s music, and so that was the very foundation for the sound on this album.

In terms of specific musical inspirations, I have a mix of modern & 80s artists such as: a-ha, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Modern Talking, Lana Del Rey, The Neighbourhood, MARINA, and Billie Eilish to name a few.

Artists like The Cure and a-ha have influenced me the most in terms of sound, while Lana Del Rey (I grew up on 2013-2016 Tumblr, so of course she raised me) has inspired the way I write lyrics.

The genres that this project falls under are Synthpop, New Romantic, New Wave, Alt-Pop, Dream Pop, and Darkwave predominantly

You can see these inspirations amalgamate yourself in some of the songs I have pre-released for this album here:

'DANCE of the DAMNED' is my most recent release, and it's the fifth full song off of the upcoming 'NEPHELE: Act I' album.

I'll explain in a future post what this song in particular is about!

My Hopes for Nephele

As an artist, part of the thrill is putting your work out there for everyone to perceive. It's a scary thing to do, because your creation isn't just your own as soon as it's out in the world, and it isn't up to you how others receive it. While this admittedly intimidates me, I also find it cool. You can relate to my music and art in ways that I didn't necessarily intend, but that fit you better.

With that being said, my intentions for Nephele are that she represents a desire for something more, something better, the deep-seeded need to be loved, and the sensation of missing something unidentifiable inside.

She is a comfort character and a voice for any woman who feels incomplete, who is dissatisfied with life and who dreams of being more and being strong, who feels the weight of the world on her shoulders and want to make it a better place but feels powerless to do so.

She is a representation of the journey of self-discovery and a journey of self-mastery.

She creates a space for maladaptive, daydreaming women

She opens the conversation for why we feel the need to self-soothe through fantastical creations of art and stories.

She is a voice for the quiet girl/woman with an overactive-imagination.

If you made it to the end of this post, I thank you sincerely for caring enough to read through it all! I hope it resonated with you in some way, and that if you do decide to check my music out, it does the same!

Keep in touch with me on other platforms:

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

Facebook

Website

(Oh, and p.s., I do have a new song coming out on September 15th called 'the MUSIC MAN', if you would like to pre-save it! Post to come elaborating on the track :) )

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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The meaning behind 'the MUSIC MAN'

Fun pic I took & edited for ‘the MUSIC MAN’ 🖤 So, let’s take a little deep dive into why I made this new song.

As a woman attracted to men, sometimes I find it hard to accept that I am because of how awful and controlling they can be, especially in my career field. I’m in the music industry and like many others, it’s male dominated, and sometimes there are shady men who want to take advantage of our disadvantage by promising to help our careers in exchange for certain favors. I’m weary of men, but I still have feelings for certain ones, and that contradiction inspired me to write this new song. I turned the theme of imposing men in the music industry into this character called ‘the Music Man’, who in the song, my character, Nephele, is reluctantly in love with despite the control he has over her, and the song communicates frustration yet longing all the same, which I think is cool. Give it a pre-save if that interests you~I’m so excited to share it with you!

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gabriellaraelyn · 8 months

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Hi, I'm Gabriella!

A little about me:

What do I do? I'm a singer-songwriter & producer who owns my own label!

Pronouns? She/her

What genre is my music? I make predominantly 80s inspired music, so the genres I make are New Romantic, Synth Pop, New Wave, Dark Wave, and Retro Pop with Dream Pop and Alt Pop influences.

Similar artists to me? If you like MARINA, Lady Gaga, Depeche Mode, The Cure, a-ha, Rina Sawayama, Troye Sivan, Billie Eilish, and Allie X, you'll probably like my stuff!

Where am I based out of? I live in the Los Angeles area!

Where can you listen to my music? Everywhere you stream music! You can find my links a little further down below on this post.

What else do I do as an artist? Since I own my own label, I wear a lot of hats. I do some drawing and rudimentary animation for visualizers for my music, I do graphic design for my album artwork, and I'm my own marketer! I have also choreographed and directed my own music videos in the past, as well as filmed and edited them.

What do I like to do besides music? I like to embroider, draw, dance (specifically pole dance), play video games, watch anime, and listen to k-pop!

Where can we keep in touch?

Instagram

Facebook

TikTok

YouTube

Website (I also sell self-designed merch!)

Spotify

Apple Music

SoundCloud

Send me an ask if you don't see your streaming service/if you have another question!

#music #alternative #alternative music #new romantics #new wave #synthpop #synthwave #darkwave #dark pop #retro pop #dream pop #indie music #indie artist #singer #singer songwriter #music producer