Name: Addy Harris aka Rat Tally
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: American
Recent release: Rat Tally's In My Car is out via 6131.
Recommendations: I know everyone is saying read Crying in H Mart but read it. Michelle Zauner is able to convey the complexities of the relationships we have with our families and our own identities without over analyzing anything. She tells her story and all you can do is sob.
Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 3 is one of my favorite pieces of music ever and has one of the greatest most heart wrenching melodies I’ve ever heard.

If you enjoyed this interview with Rat Tally and would like to dive deeper into her music, visit her on Instagram, and twitter.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I started playing piano when I was five, and cello when I was eleven. I really loved Avril Lavigne. I was obsessed with her first two albums. I think I was in fifth grade when I officially wrote my first song and I was trying so hard to copy her it was so angsty for no reason.

When I was around that same age my parents would play Norah Jones all the time and I loved her. I would look up her guitar tabs and sheet music and cover her songs and I think that’s when I really started to have a passion for singing and songwriting.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

I think it depends on the song! It can relax me or make me feel really calm and soothed. Or it can feel like someone is ripping my heart out.

I think while writing if I feel something physical I know for sure I’m on to something.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

My biggest breakthrough was when I stopped trying to sound like other people, with my singing voice and lyrically. I think it’s natural to want to mimic the things that you like, but when I started to sing without trying to sound like someone else it really opened up everything else for me. I stopped trying to be a “singer” and just used my voice to express my lyrics and emotions more, and it really changed my music for the better.

Once I did that I was able to use my influences more as a guide to give me ideas and help me figure out who I wanted to be as an artist. I also really expanded my taste in music which helped a lot.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

I think my identity and experiences are always a big part of my creativity process. I write about my life, and process those things through songwriting.

I think for a long time I was trying to fit a mold of someone I wasn’t and could never be. I realized when I went to college how narrow my music taste was. I barely listened to bands that weren’t fronted by white men, and I really broke out of that.

I diversified and still try to diversify the music I listen to because there is a huge power imbalance in the music industry that feeds you all the same shit, when artists of different backgrounds make better music and deserve so much more support than they’re getting.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

I try to remind myself I don’t have to try to be the most original artist in the room. My voice and my experience is original enough.

Writing has always been just a big therapy session between me and myself. It’s how I process things I have been through.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

Honestly I’m not fully invested in either haha. I think whoever has something to say or show to the world should do it however they see fit! I have an appreciation for innovation and tradition, and the artists that do those things really well.

Personally I just want to write songs I’m proud of that other people might connect with too. I think I’m more about the content and the way music makes someone feel versus how original or timeless something is.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

Other people. Hands down. Listening to my friends make music, going to DIY shows in basements, and being apart of a community who support each other’s creativity.

There is nothing more powerful to me or makes me want to go write a good song than watching people I love play music. Talking to other people about their songwriting process will also give you so much insight you can apply to your own work.
 
Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

Well, I wake up at 5:30am and go to work where I make coffee and sell pastries to the good people of Chicago. When I get home I greet my family and my cat, and if I’m feeling ambitious I’ll play guitar and hum along and sift through melodies and words that I might be able to use. I voice memo everything so I don’t lose a good moment.

It’s hard to be creative and also live your life but I do my best!
 
Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

I remember seeing Death Cab for Cutie at Redrocks when I was like 16. They did an encore and played “Transatlanticism” last.



I was in tears I mean how could you not be. It really struck me and I knew I wanted to make something that made other people feel the way I felt listening to that live.

It kind of started my love for build up songs, and the title track off my album was really inspired by that. I wanted to be really dramatic about it and have a huge build with repetitive lyrics lines at the end.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

I’m more of a solitary listener but love to talk about music with others. I think similarly with writing, because I write really personal stuff, I write on my own.

But when it comes to producing and performing I rely a lot on my friends to help me bring the songs to life. It’s hard for me to see the whole picture of a song until I talk about it with someone else and we can bounce ideas off each other. To me this is so important and helps me see my music from another perspective.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

I think music has always and will continue to connect people. It helps create different communities and support systems. I think it also helps people express themselves and heal.

I’m always writing about my own life but I’m always hoping other people can relate to it and connect. It makes the artist and the listener less alone in that way I think, even if their interpretations or perspectives of the music differ.
 
Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

I think music is definitely how I process these things. It’s never about the answer to those questions or pain, it's always about the process of going through it or healing. I can be too analytical about my emotions and feelings and music helps me just feel, you know?

Mitski’s song “Two Slow Dancers” impacted me a lot.



It has this longing of wishing things could be different, but they can’t be and you can’t change it. And sometimes there’s no solution to that, we just have to heal and keep going. Songs like that give me comfort in knowing you can feel these huge things and still live your life and move forward.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?  

Oh man I’m not really sure haha. I do think music can have a big impact on mental health. I know it’s also been used to help patients with dementia, and that it can help with memory because those parts of our brains are often preserved.

That fascinates me and I think it’s important to keep exploring how music can help people and how it has an impact on our health!

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Especially with songwriting and lyric writing, it’s definitely a more direct way of expressing myself and my thoughts, and it’s easy to reach more than one person if you’re playing shows and have your music on the internet. Because of that it might be more relatable or easily accessible.

But if someone is really passionate about more “mundane” tasks or making a cup of coffee, I don’t think it’s inherently different! If you’re doing something you love and want to share it with others, you have the same goals as a musician.
 
Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

I don’t really know if I have an explanation. Music can be interpreted by the listener. We can apply it to our own lives or struggles and it makes it deeply personal. But like you mentioned in your previous question it explores topics of loss, love, and life.

Sometimes music can say things we can’t say ourselves or haven’t been able to process yet, but when we hear it we immediately connect. It says a lot about shared human experiences.