Rachael Sage gets inspired by birds chirping.
The ‘I Made a Case’ singer insisted some of her influences are “subconscious” but she’s often driven to write a new song based on what she’s done or experienced in a particular day.
She told BANG Showbiz: “Apparently I incorporate a lot of classical motifs and traditional folk elements into my music – but it’s sort of subconscious really.
“I did studio ballet for many years so my piano absorbed a lot of those melodies – and I was also exposed to a lot of Eastern European and Irish music in my youth so that definitely seeped in but ultimately at this point in my creative career, something as simple as a train whistling or a birds chirping is as apt to trigger an idea as anything else!
“I’m definitely a “work with what’s around me” kind of creator and a day at the museum is as likely to spark a song as a day in the woods; I just try to be open and get out of the way, so to speak.”
And Rachael insisted her songs are no less “meaningful” when they have been inspired by something other than her own life.
She said: “At least half of my songs have actually been inspired by books, films, paintings and dance performances, where I was necessarily transported out of my own experience into another realm…call it catharsis or just creative journalism but I have never felt like a song I wrote was less meaningful or genuine because it didn’t come from the recesses of my own personal life (or lack thereof – ha!).
“Very early on I learned that art has this magical, ephemeral ability to shape shift and emerge in another form in an equally impactful way and I’ve never shied away from that.”