Kevin Bronson on August 5th, 2020

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With the new release “Sweet Side” on the way, L.A. native Raquel Rodriguez has stayed busy during the lockdown. You’ll shed no tears over her soulful single “Crybaby,” and in today’s QUARANTUNES, she talks about making merch and hosting studio sessions and shares a playlist of her inspirations.

THE LATEST FROM RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ

L.A. native Raquel Rodriguez has the kind of voice — and vibe — that’s steeped in the history of soul music. The Mexican-American singer-songwriter, the daughter of restaurateurs, has done nothing but gravitate toward the spotlight since her early recordings, work backing Anderson .Paak and time studying jazz at USC. And her roster of well-connected admirers and collaborators is growing.

She’s been prepping the songs for her debut album “Sweet Side” (bulletin: over the weekend, she announced during an online performance that they will be released as two EPs). The batch of new material finds her working with artists/producers such as MXXWLL, Ill Camille, Matt Johnson and Nate Williams (Jamiroquai), Steve Swatkins (Allen Stone), Nigel Hall (Lettuce) and more. Her latest single “Crybaby” came from an online connection she made in 2018 with Australia’s MXXWLL, aka Maxwell Bidstrup. During a trip to L.A., he visited Blue Dream Studios, the recording facility in which she partners with producer Sam Brawner. The relationship spawned “Crybaby,” which features Ill Camille.

“When we started working on ‘Crybaby,’ I immediately heard Camille’s voice on it, hit her up and asked her what she thought, and she had a verse for it in no time,” Rodriguez says. “‘Crybaby’ is an ode to my emotions. I used to be ashamed of the fact that I cry over everything (I’m starting to believe I’m an overly sensitive person), but now I realize that I just feel things very deeply. Because of that, I often have a hard time communicating my feelings without my message getting lost in my tears. Over the years though, I’ve become more comfortable with my sensitive side and I’ve learned that it’s important for everyone to nurture that part of themselves because when we cry, we’re literally releasing emotions that our bodies need to get rid of. Crying is healthy, beautiful and definitely nothing to be ashamed of.”

Rodriguez in May released “Nobody Else,” a single that has another interesting backstory. At a show in London in 2018 behind her EP, “The 310 Pt. 2,” she mentioned onstage that her song “We Go Together” was inspired by Jamiroquai. It turns out that one of the band’s newest members, Nate Williams, was in the crowd. After connecting that night, she and her bandmate-producer Sam Brawner visited Williams’ studio and worked out the song. “I saw Raquel perform live in London when she opened for PJ Morton,” Williams says. “I knew we were coming from the same place musically, so I reached out to her. We managed to fix a writing session while they were in London, and the whole vibe started with the main Musiq Soulchild-esque keyboard riff of the song. I wanted to give Raquel some space to share her feelings and show off her incredible vocal, so kept the arrangement sparse. Sam Brawner and I mixed the riff and vocal with some ’80s R&B sounds and we got ‘Nobody Else.'”

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MANAGE THE ‘STAY AT HOME’ EDICT? WITH EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN THE WORLD, ARE YOU STAYING AT HOME AT ALL?

Yeah, definitely. Staying at home really isn’t that big of a change for me other than the fact that I’m not touring. My studio is right in my back yard and since I’m self-employed as a musician, I work from home anyway. I’ve been releasing music throughout all of this so honestly not much feels different until I have to go to the grocery store or something like that. For the most part, I’m staying busy releasing music and creating/designing merch to go along with the records. I’m grateful to have a creative outlet during all of this.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THIS IS OVER?

I think the thing I’m looking forward to the most is definitely traveling. But on a smaller scale, I’m excited to hug my friends and host some more Blue Dream Backyard Sessions with dope bands and delicious food.

ANYTHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLAYLIST?

A lot of the songs on this playlist are songs we listened to for inspiration when picking sounds or writing lyrics for my latest music. The playlist is a little all over the place, but so am I. I think that’s what makes my sound “me.” It’s a collection of different artists, decades and genres, but ultimately, they all work together.