THE SOULFUL ALCHEMY OF RETT MADISON'S SONGWRITING

BY IRVIN RIVERA

PHOTOGRAPHY: IRVIN RIVERA, FASHION STYLING: OLIVER VAUGHN, MAKE-UP: ASHLEY TANI, HAIR: PAULA PERALTA

RETT MADISON, artist on the rise and a deeply emotive singer-songwriter known for her poignant lyrics and captivating blend of folk, rock, and soul is making waves in the contemporary music scene with her heartfelt storytelling and powerful vocal performances.

In this revealing interview, Rett Madison shares the depths of their emotional and musical journey, highlighting the therapeutic power of songwriting and the intricate process behind their latest album, "One for Jackie." Madison opens up about the challenges of navigating grief after the loss of their mother, the importance of community in facing mental health struggles, and the evolution of their artistry from raw, unfiltered beginnings to the nuanced storytelling that defines their work today. Through candid reflections on personal growth, vulnerability, and the universal resonance of specific experiences, Madison offers insights into the creative process, the healing potential of music, and the unbreakable connection between artist and audience.

Hi, Rett. How are you?

I'm good. How are you doing?

I'm doing great. What's been keeping you busy since the last time we saw each other?

Oh, honestly, just some band rehearsals. I've been rehearsing for my show coming up this Friday. That's pretty much it, just making music. And I think I might have left for one show at the Inferno Artist in Pittsburgh last week. So, yes, just rehearsing and playing shows.

Wow. Again, congratulations, you're really a special, super talented artist.

Aww, thank you.

You're so talented. When I saw you live, it was incredible. But the first time I heard you, I stumbled upon your music on my phone

Oh.

I was listening on YouTube music, and then I heard your voice. I was like, "Who is this artist?" I instantly became a fan. Then I got the pitch from Warner, and I was like, "Okay, this is great. I want to work with you," and here we are.

Oh, well, actually, that makes me so happy that you somehow stumbled upon the music before we even got the pitch from Warner. That makes me really, really stoked. Thank you for listening to the music and all that.

Yes, it's really good because your music just touches the heart directly.

Thank you.

And for some reason, you just have your own way of connecting with your audience with so much passion and storytelling. So, how do you get into that mode of expressing yourself, your stories through your music? How do you get into that mindset?

That's a great question. Thank you for asking. I feel like I've always leaned into songwriting as a therapeutic tool. Probably since I was maybe 11 or 12, I started to write songs to process my emotions and harder chapters in my life. And I feel like that's how I'm able to maybe have so much emotion come through my music because it's just been what I've naturally leaned into to process so many emotions.

And it really shows because it's like you're pouring out your heart and soul on every song that you put out.

Thank you. Yes, I mean, I guess when I'm going through it, I just turn to music. So, I'm glad that you can see my heart and soul in some of the songs because it definitely feels like they're there when I'm writing.

Now, let's talk about the album, "One for Jackie." It's such a deeply personal and cathartic journey through grief. How did the process of creating this album help you navigate and express the complex emotions surrounding your mother's passing?

Again, since I was a kid, writing songs was just the main way I processed my feelings and got through harder moments in my upbringing. So, when I lost my mom, it was really just very natural for me to process grief and that hard time in my life through song. I feel like getting to write those songs and record the album... You know, the writing process itself is very therapeutic for me. But getting to make that record with other musicians, who had also experienced grief, like the recording experience in itself, even after I wrote the songs, was quite healing for me because I felt like I was processing so much of what I went through losing my mom, in community, when I was making the record.

I love that you mentioned healing because I feel like listening to the different songs as well and hearing your story is also kind of cathartic and healing for the audience. It's like a journey your audience goes through.

Oh, thank you. Yes.

And at this point in your life, where would you say you are in terms of that healing journey from the process of conceiving the album, creating it, and then now you're here doing the tour and sharing it with a larger audience?

In terms of my healing journey, I feel like I'm continuing to heal, continuing to better understand myself and how grief has shaped and impacted my life. But I definitely would say, you know, it's been five years since I lost my mom, the anniversary of losing her was a few days ago. So, I definitely feel like I'm in a much better place now than I was when I first lost her. I definitely can see that I've made a lot of progress in terms of just being able to get through day-to-day life. And I feel like I have such a supportive community of people that I love around me, so I find that I have joy in life again and purpose. But grief is never-ending, so I still go to therapy, I still candidly talk about it with other people in my community who've lost people they love too because, you know, grief is always with you. It's always with you, no matter how long it's been. But yes, I mean, I'm still on that healing journey, but I feel like I've come a long way from where I was even five years ago.

That's good to hear. And I also love what you said about grief, that it's always going to be there. Because you can't just dismiss it. It's not something that you can just be like, "Oh, yes, I'm sad now. Next week, I'm not."

Yes. Totally. I mean, I feel like the saying where folks say that grief comes in waves. That totally resonates with me, I think it's so true. And yes, I mean, there are definitely different seasons of my life where I still feel that grief more present and more intensely. And there are other seasons where I still hold space for it, but I find that I can be more present in my life. And, you know, it comes and goes, but it never leaves.

Now, I'm going to talk about your lyrics that are very confessional, straightforward, and emotionally charged. How do you balance being vulnerable in your songwriting, while also ensuring that your audience can connect with and relate to your experiences?

That's a great question. I mean, I feel like my approach to songwriting, in my own experience, I found that the more specific and the more candid and vulnerable I am about my own personal experiences, it somehow seems to be more universal when it translates to my audience. Coincidentally, I find that the songs where I have some of the most specific very vulnerable lyrics that I'm thinking to myself, "There's no one else that could exactly relate to this, like this is so much just ripped out of my own life and put onto the page," tends to be the lyrics or the parts of songs that I feel like I get the most feedback from other people that they relate to the most, surprisingly. But yes, I find that vulnerability is, it feels empowering to me to be so candid about stuff and to find that I'm not alone in those experiences. And when I go out and play those songs and receive feedback that other people relate to my experiences, it just makes me feel really fulfilled as an artist.

And I feel like, isn't that magical and also crazy how when you're so specific about something, it just translates into a more universally appealing experience for people?

Yes, it's really wild how that works. You wouldn't think it would be that way, but I've noticed in my own personal experience that it has been.

Now let's delve deeper into your music. It's often described as the modern American classic. How do you see your work fitting into the contemporary music landscape? Especially for fans of artists like Angel Olsen, Phoebe Bridgers, Brandi Carlile.

Yes, I'm deeply flattered and deeply honored if folks feel like my music can stand alongside those artists, those current artists, because I'm a big fan of all of their work and love a lot of their music very much. So, if anybody feels like my music can fit in alongside those discographies, it's an honor. And I feel like the genre is, yes, I mean - I think that's definitely the world of music that I like to listen to as a fan and also, if I could have like a dream tour package, I would hope to tour with any of those artists because I can only hope that my music could fit along all those people you just referenced. That would definitely be the place in the music business where I would love to see myself.

You know what, that'd be such a powerful tour. Just a beautiful moment. And, hey, let's put it out there. It's going to happen.

Yes, let's hope.

Your album, "One for Jackie," explores themes of mental illness and addiction, in your relationship with your mother. How has this exploration shaped your perspective on mental health? And what message do you want to convey to those who may relate to your experiences?

If anything, I think it's shaped me to hopefully be a more compassionate person. And remember that, you really never know what other folks are going through. I think if I had, I don't know if I have any perfect advice, but if I could say anything else to anybody that's either struggling with mental illness or addiction, or loves somebody very dearly that is maybe having those same struggles. I feel like something that I've learned over time, especially in the context of grieving my mom, is how important it is to try to lean into a community and not to self-isolate and, when you really find yourself needing help, if any way possible if you can reach out and let the people that you love know that you need a hand…

There's no shame in that.

Yes, there's no shame, and I think it's really helped me so much in my own life to be candid with people close to me and let them know I need extra help. And I'd hope anybody that's going through a tough time themselves can know there's no shame in needing help.

That's so beautiful and, at the same time, really, really important to know that you're not alone. Because, for the most part, when you're grieving, going back to grief, we tend to feel like we're alone in our own world of grief without realizing that also in other parts of the world, there are also people experiencing pretty much the same thing. Not exactly the same, but the general feeling of grief.

Absolutely. Yes, and I think anytime we can try to move past isolation, I know it can be hard at times, but if we can move past isolation, I think we can find a lot of help when we need it.

Now, let's talk about your evolution as an artist, starting from the beginning of when you created your first song up to this point. How would you describe Rett Madison's evolution?

Yes. My first song that I wrote, that's not released anywhere, probably I wrote when I was a kid, and it was um, not great, quite bad. So I hope in terms of evolution, I hope because I think I set the bar pretty low for myself as a kid, I hope I've only gotten better as time has gone on. But in terms of released music, from my first album to my second album, I feel like I've grown a little bit and feel like I can take, you know, I had a producer on "One for Jackie," but I got to step into the role of co-producer for just one of the songs, "St. Luke's," on the record, and I feel like just even feeling that tiny little evolution within myself from album one to album two, feeling like I could start to produce just to explore that just a tiny little bit in the studio is kind of making me excited to see what's possible for album three as I continue to evolve and grow as an artist. It feels like..., I still have producers on my albums and hope to collaborate with people as I move forward. But it kind of felt like an exciting experience to co-produce at least one of the songs on my newest album, and I hope I can try to lean into that or try to learn those skills more as I go forward and continue to evolve.

That's amazing and exciting at the same time because evolution is a continuous thing, and we're just excited to see where you go from here.

Thank you so much.

It's really exciting.

Thank you.

Are there any specific moments or lyrics in your albums that hold a special place in your heart?

Yes, I mean, I feel like a lyric, let's see, it's from my first song. I'm just thinking of it. I feel like a lyric that I connected to as an artist is a lyric from my first record, "Pin-up Daddy." It's in my song "Pin-up Daddy," the lyric - "I used to feel like a guest in my own body till I peeled back the wallpaper and I found a silver lining. My eyes are no longer vacant like a haunted house. But I switched on all the lights once I met myself." Yes, that lyric, I feel still pretty connected to today and pretty strongly about.

That is so powerful. Oh my God. I was just listening to it again, playing it back again in my head, and it's like, okay, I love that. Now, Rett, how do you see your role as an artist in fostering conversations about grief, vulnerability, and mental health within your community and beyond?

Yes, I mean, I just hope that by putting out an album where I'm kind of just wearing everything on my sleeve and writing from such a place of just being really candid about my own experience with grief and all the topics you just mentioned, I hope that by singing about it and writing about it, that it encourages other people to be able to share about those topics openly without shame with the people they love in their own lives. I just hope by being an example, maybe of not being ashamed because I'm singing about all that stuff on stage, that other people will find the courage within themselves to have those conversations with the people they care about too.

That's beautiful. Rett, what's an important life lesson that you've learned throughout your journey that you always carry with you?

Oh, that's a great one. I think just gratitude. I feel like I'm always trying to remind myself that every cool, fun new experience that I might have with music currently, you know, just to remember to be grateful for all that's happening just because I know the version of myself from five or six years ago would be so excited to be doing what I'm doing now, and I'm hoping that as I continue to move on through my career that I remember to be again just grateful. Also, for all the people that work very hard around me to help some of these dreams come true, and yes, just kind of keep that at the forefront of my mind. Just be grateful for the people I'm working with and grateful for the place that I am now.

I love that, love that. I mean, with gratitude comes growth. So, yes, that's really amazing. Final question. If you were a book, what book would you be and why? So, this is an open question. It could be anything, could be a title, could be a made-up one, up to you.

That is such a good question. Does it count if I want to say that I feel like I would be like a journal? I know that's not technically...

Yes, that counts. There's no rule.

Okay, I think because, this might sound cheesy, but I think because I'm such an open book. I think I would probably be like a journal or a diary.

I see that. Yes. I love that. Because pretty much through your music, it's pretty much a diary as well.

Yes, totally.

Love it. "The Diary - Rett Madison." Rett, thank you so much for the time. I really appreciate it.