With musical inspirations such as Whitney Houston and several old school R&B artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, Raquel Lily’s passion for music has followed – and grown with her – since she was a child. A talented singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist, it wasn’t until 2017, after she earned her degree in neurobiology, physiology and behavior from UC Davis however, that she really began to showcase that passion via online streaming. In the past few years, she has gone on to earn herself a strong global following, with scores of people tuning in to watch her perform her music, chat, game and cook.
There is much truth and power to and in the music Raquel makes, and as it is for many artists, she admits that song-writing is a cathartic experience for her, allowing her to express the many thoughts, feelings and emotions that so many other people around the world often struggle to admit they have. Much of Raquel’s music is driven by personal experiences and moments in her life, allowing her to connect with her fans on a deeply personal level, a level and connection that is only strengthened by her time spent streaming with an audience from around the world.
Such honesty and openness is demonstrated through her new single “Ghost”, written, at first at least, about a person in her life who was ghosted by a former flame and who decided to leave their life without patience or explanation. She admits: “Having been ghosted hard myself, I thought the story was very compelling and found it all to be my muse. Throughout my entire creative process (writing the song, taking it to the studio, then producing it to completion), I found that my relationship with this person, let’s just call them “M,” was perpetually shifting into something I did not recognize. At first, M and I spent a lot of time together and was incredibly supportive with my work. Over time, M became more impatient, jealous, and co-dependent on my presence, while I continued to spend more time developing my music and producing these songs.
Our relationship eventually ended because I felt it just had to. Ironically, the song for M became about M. Although it all felt rather mutual, and after M stressed that I was incredibly important to them and that they were interested in staying connected, I quickly found that their words matched none of their actions. I won’t ever really understand why they decided to ghost me, but I found it to be a valuable lesson for acceptance and kindness, regardless of how they felt in the end. Just like the song, there is an excitement and drive throughout the music to convey the build up to ultimately getting “ghosted” (the wailing keyboard in the bridge), yet stayed in this laid back, sombre, c’est la vie type of vibe to convey how it really feels to just let go of the bitterness, as well. It’s like a soft “fuck you anyways,” anthem. In the second verse, this becomes really apparent; “go on and gossip to all your friends, shit talk is all you seem to do,” is the realization that this person was always like this and that the honeymoon phase of looking past these flaws are over. At the end of the song, I sing “how can I be so foolish,” as a groaning honesty for feeling so gullible and naive to the maturity of the situation. The piano at the end also plays out like you are in a lonely jazz bar, where the singer stands there pouring her heart out as she sang about heartbreak.”
Raquel is also gearing up for the release of her debut LP, a concept album titled I’m Leaving. Consisting of eight songs, it tells the story of someone going through the many trials and tribulations that often come with experiencing their 20’s. She says of the album’s story: “Everyone’s been broken from something. You smoke some weed, you fall in love, they turn out to be a fuckboy, you’re with someone shitty, you break up, you ghost them, you still love them, you resign, you meet someone new and there’s hope again.”
Give “Ghost” a listen below and for more information on Raquel Lily, follow her on Twitter, subscribe to her YouTube channel or join her stream on Twitch. Header photo credit: L Cole.
