Living in an old house in SE Portland with her beloved husband, Jay, and cat, Rosie, Rachel makes sometimes disturbing yet ultimately sensible songs, mostly on the piano. She’s not a summer-lover and avoids the sun except on cool to cold days. She reads a lot and watches too much tv.
She used to get out a lot more but worried frequently about going crazy. Then she had a nervous breakdown and was a hermit for about 8 years, during which she wrote a lot. She writes a lot still.
Her music reflects a love/hate relationship with humanity and persistent awe at the beauty and horror in the world. Trying to capture that sweet and sour thing in a song is what she’s mostly trying to do.
The forthcoming Half Hours With the Lower Creatures and her previous two records, 7 Small Winter Songs and Ormolu were all recorded in Portland, Oregon with audio midwife and Jackpot! Studios mainstay , Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Menomena, Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus).
In addition to her own music, she plays in two bands fronted by Chris Robley; The Sort Ofs, and The Fear of Heights. She's a soprano veteran of Portland classical groups Cappella Romana, Portland Baroque Orchestra and Trinity Consort, and occasionally sings with Seattle's Tudor Choir.
Some have called her a mix of Frankenixon (Sword of Exactly) and Charles Ives, w/ sprinklings of Randy Newman and Kate Bush. A local critic has dubbed her music “creep pop.”
www.myspace.com/racheltaylorbrown
www.racheltaylorbrown.com
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