Enfnts Terribles

 How would you introduce yourself to someone who isn’t familiar with who you are?

I would say: “Hi, I’m Rachel. I’m a producer, singer, and artist. I live in London now, but I’m originally from Edinburgh.” I’d say that my music is quite hard industrial pop with a lot of influences from dance, drum ‘n’ bass, techno, and all of those things. I love things that make you want to move and love to create energy. I also have a full-time job as well. I’m not just this musician and do a lot of stuff on the side. My dream is, of course, to be a full-time musician.

You grew up in Scotland, but your parents are actually Chinese. How does your Chinese heritage reflect in your music?

Obviously, my experiences as a person will be so shaped by my family. My music is quite conflict-driven. I like to seek, to explore conflict and strong emotions, such as anger or progression. It comes from having a strong family where we all have strong personalities. We have a very direct way of thinking; we’re very pragmatic, and it’s all been passed through this Chinese way of thinking. The music that I make is definitely inspired by the culture I grew up in. When I first started out in music and tried to understand the sound that I made, I was going to China a lot before COVID.

I was very much inspired by connecting to the natural beauty, the people, and this whole different thing I can connect to. My first EP basically was a love letter to China, and me really trying to explore my love for it. I was really trying to connect to something I was quite detached from because I lived in Scotland. It was like making up for the lost time. Now, it’s more subtle, and the music has developed. I’m less self-obsessed, and it’s more about exploring bigger topics, the world, and a bit of philosophy. I want the music to touch on things outside of me.

Where does your love for these loud, industrial sounds come from?

During COVID, I was listening to a lot of these East-Asian underground producers. There’s this whole scene in Shanghai that’s bubbling, and a lot of cool stuff happening in Vietnam. It’s dark and experimental, which doesn’t follow social restrictions. In the UK, you have the mainstream that dominates, but there? Anything goes. The underground scene is whatever someone decides it to be. I love extremity and having the feeling that you can push against something by experiencing something that is challenging. I just have a very emotional reaction to heavy electronic music. It puts me in a relaxing mood in a weird way. I respond very well to low frequencies. When I hear a bass, that makes me feel good. I came from a songwriting background, where I was just singing at the piano, but I also have a love for electronic music. That’s when I knew that my project needed to combine these two. I want to take the things I love in pop melodies and mash them together with these dark, experimental sounds. It’s interesting to find the middle way to make it work.

You have an EP coming out in March. Is there something you can already reveal about the project that you haven’t told anyone else?

I haven’t really revealed a lot about the EP, yet. I created it very, specifically, with a purpose that was external to me, which was new territory for me. It’s coming out with a short film. For me, the EP is about world-building and creating immersive experiences, so the headline show will be a collaboration with a lot of different artists. We managed to get some funding for a semi-exhibition live show, where I want people to interact with this world, and they can be transported into it. I want everyone to feel free. The EP is called Soft Like Steel. I’m obsessed with texture, and I’m very feeling-driven. The whole point is that when you look at anything, like an idea or object, the human brain is hard-wired to look at it and immediately associate it with ideas. The brain makes us automatically think about things.

I studied free will at university and was really obsessed with different concepts. We know the mechanical working of our brains, and we all have different perceptions of beauty and what’s considered beautiful. I’d start getting inspired by things in life that are considered weird or disgusting. Someone can see steel and think it’s hard or cold, while I feel some way about that texture. The more you look at something and give it more thought, you realize how malleable the ideas you have are. On a wider scale, there’s so much subjectivity in the world, and I just want to be open to new ideas. The EP is about perception and finding freedom through being able to overcome the prejudice of the human race. We live more and more in a world where people just absorb things. I know that I don’t want to end in a mid-life crisis at the age of 45 and don’t know who I am. A lot of people are aware of it but don’t know what to do to prevent that. My advice is: to take a seat and take your time to work it out, talk to new people, and get inspired. It’s the first time that I have had an external message like that.

Is there an earth element that sums up the EP for you?

It’s interesting because I love conflicts and contrasts, so I would always put water and fire together. I have moments of water and moments of fire because I want people to experience the full spectrum with everything from pure rage to absolute peace. Sonically, there are songs on the EP that are like water and others like fire. I’m a Leo, so I got quite a fire in my nature, but I don’t want to have anger all the time. There are moments of passion and reflection. If I was visualized in music, I’d want there to be a lake to chill in but also a room that is very intense. That’s something we’re trying for the headline show as well. I want my audience to smell, touch, feel, and taste. It’s so fun to create a world where collaborations come into it.

There are so many people out there that are making such amazing art, and it makes me fulfilled if I can have a budget and bring creatives together. To do what I do and create spaces like that … that’s the best feeling. I feel very grateful because I never saw myself as having the ability to do that. I was so far removed from art. The biggest influence of art in my life was the Internet, and my brother and I listening to music. Apart from that, I was so isolated from art. At uni, I didn’t even have people around me that were doing something in art, so it’s amazing to now meet people that live in that world.

Discover LVRA’s new single “Venom” and follow them on Instagram. 

Pictures and interview by Maxim Meyer-Horn