Taking the Opportunity to Change: Rae Isla’s “Another Life”

LGBTQ indie pop artist Rae Isla is back with a brand-new track called “Another Life.” Showcasing her signature, soaring vocals amidst a backdrop of dreamy, acoustic, and electric guitars and shimmering percussion, the new single perfectly captures Isla’s cross-country trip while journeying down a path of self-discovery.

“Another Life” is accompanied by a visualizer created by renowned creator and influencers Shannon Beveridge.

“It is always my goal as a creator to uplift and collaborate with queer voices,” Beveridge said. “COVID hasn’t changed anything about that. If anything, it has just forced me to be more creative and resourceful. I loved working on this project with Rae. She has such a unique sound and strong aesthetic about her brand.”

Isla has been dubbed as an “artist to watch” and is set to be a part of a new wave of indie female musicians whose careers are built on their own terms.

OUT FRONT received the opportunity to chat more with Isla about the new track, her passion for music, and how she is creating a new narrative for spirituality within the LGBTQ community.

Hi, Rae! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. How are you doing during these unprecedented times?
Oh my gosh, that is a big question! Well, my life has changed in every single way a life can change. I was living in New York; I was and am still married with a partner, but we are doing separate things, and I have since moved to Seattle. I drove across and around the country for three weeks. I left New York, finished this record, and I am now living on the West Coast and spending a lot of time in Mexico City. At the beginning, it was rocky, but then everything changed, and I think I am now happier than I have ever been in my whole life.Congrats on the release of “Another Life!” Can you tell us more about the song’s concept and inspiration?
Yes! It’s kind of crazy that it is coming out now because I wrote it about a year-and-a-half ago, at a time when I was really unhappy. You probably wouldn’t have known by looking at Instagram or seeing from the outside looking in, but I was just very unhappy with myself, and I couldn’t figure out how to change my life. I think it was such a deep change that needed to happen.

So, I wrote this song “Another Life,” and it actually triggered me to write a whole album, which is also called Another Life. That’s coming out next year. It was a big turning point for me where I was like, I need to change if I am going to be happy. This song is basically about the earth dying, as a metaphor for love ending. I think it was the moment I realized that my relationship, my relationship with myself, living in New York— all of it was not working. It was a very big turning point for me creatively and personally.

Now that it is coming out, my life having actually changed, and me literally living another life from when I wrote it, I have never been so excited to share a song. I feel like I am actually embodying it 100 percent. This isn’t just about something that happened a couple years ago.

When will the full album come out?
It will come out in the spring. We have, like, three more singles that will come out starting in January, February, and March. So, we are going to wait to set the final release date until those projects can come to fruition, but probably at the end of March, beginning of April.

You collaborated on “Another Life” with influencer Shannon Beveridge. What was it like working with her?
She is a friend, which is great. We worked together on a photoshoot last year where I styled it and she shot it, which was really cool to collab for a brand. So, I was making this song and the visuals, and I reached out to her. She is an amazing video editor, and she has this really cool, real aesthetic. It was super natural. I was like, this is kind of what I’m thinking, but you take the reins.

She knew exactly what do. She then sent me a video, and I was like, I have no edits. She compiled a lot of vintage footage, and I also shot a lot of stuff while I was driving around the country. She took all of that and put it together, and I almost cried. Like, she literally just edited my life. It was very personal and warm, which is usually how I like to collaborate. It is always the best to collab with friends because we just get each other.

What do you hope listeners take away from “Another Life?”
I hope that it is a reflection of this year for people. That when the world changes, it is an opportunity to change yourself. I hope that anybody who feels like they are stuck, and they can’t do anything, that they can’t become who they want to be, realizes that they absolutely can. You can be at rock-bottom misery and then living your best life a year later. I hope that this song teaches people that.

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Do you hope that is what listeners take away from your music overall?
Definitely. I think I try to weave a lot into the songs, but if there is one thing that I want to weave the most, it is a feeling of hope. I understand the other side and coming out of it. I want people to feel hopeful about themselves and their own potential. That they can come out of whatever situation they are in.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?
I think I realized I loved music when I taught myself piano, and with saying words and singing, I was absolutely hooked. I have done it since I was 12 years old, and I will never stop. I don’t think I can.

Is music cathartic and therapeutic for you?
Deeply therapeutic. I honestly don’t know who I would be, where I would be, or if I would be here. If I didn’t have music in my life, I couldn’t express things in that way.

You are creating a new narrative for spirituality within the LGBTQ community. How so? Can you talk more about that?
For sure. I was not raised religious, but for some reason, I have always been fascinated with a lot of the symbolism in religion. Especially Abrahamic religions, like the Holy Cross, Jesus, and the Bible. Stories that are really tied to western history, but for me, the problem with a lot of established religions is that there isn’t a lot of space for interpretation with your gender or sexual identity. In fact, most of the time, anyone who is different, especially anyone who is LGBTQ, is ostracized, criticized, or worse. There is a problem with that.

I see life with a spiritual lens, and that has been very helpful. I want to weave into my music and my visuals new ways of looking at spirituality. Maybe even reinterpreting some of those biblical stories so that it makes sense for people like me and for people who do not fit on the binary spectrum.

It’s not a very explicit thing per se. I just try to weave it into everything I create. I think looking at life with a spiritual lens and just being a spiritual person has helped me be my best self. What are some future goals you would like to accomplish as an LGBTQ indie artist?
Oh my gosh. Well, a huge goal has been to finish up this record, and now it is in post-production. I am so excited because so much went into it. Obviously, COVID might hinder some goals; I wanted to be on the road this year touring, and that did not happen. I would like to tour in Mexico early next year. Every country is dealing with COVID differently, and it looks like shows are starting to come back in Mexico safely. So, I would like to tour the record, release it, and then I would love to tour in the states. I am starting to work on my second record now.

Before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like to say or mention?
One thing I would like to say is, I hope that people in the LGBTQ community, and everybody, will go out and buy the things from artists they love and support the artists they love because we need it more than ever right now. Even more, go out, subscribe, and donate to the publications you love too.

You guys are a LGBTQ magazine, and all magazines are struggling right now. I think sometimes people do not get that. Like, we are all people, and things were already rough for media. I want to encourage people to do whatever they can to help support. We are a community, and we need to lift each other up. I hope that we can all come together and come out stronger.

To stay up-to-date with Isla, follow her on social media; visit her website, or support her on bandcamp.com. You can stream and listen to her music on Spotify and YouTube.

Photos Courtesy of Forrest Smith