TNAM X HEY, NOTHING
25 March 2026
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REA’s forthcoming debut project, ‘Garden Shed’, produced by Josh Harrison (The Cure, Royal Blood, Lovejoy), is an experimental venture rooted in nature. With songs recorded in a secluded woodland in the South Downs, the 4-track EP carries a raw, earthy nostalgia, reminiscent to indie folk projects of Bon Iver, Adrianne Lenker, and Hana Stretton.
I had the pleasure to speak with the Brighton-based artist about the making of her debut EP, her music influences, as well as her identity as an artist and finding her true sound.
What were your main music influences growing up?
I feel like for me it changed a lot when I was growing up. First artist I remember listening to was KT Tunstall, a singer/songwriter who is kind of pop-rock, and then I shifted to a softer era like Gabrielle Aplin and Daughter… but then I shifted again towards an indie-grunge phase when I was 17. I was constantly going to gigs in Birmingham. There was a band that was very big called Jaws, which I saw so many times! After that, I think I returned to my softer roots and I started discovering Bon Iver and The Japanese House in this kind of alternative folky scene.
So yeah, I shifted around a lot when I was growing up, but it did start with KT Tunstall – she was my idol! I wouldn’t say that we share the same musical ‘vibe’ now, but I did have and still have a real appreciation for female guitar musicians. I realise now that all my playlists are full of women who play guitar, so yeah, in that sense, she was a big influence for me and I still love her. She’s great.
Did anything or anyone in particular inspire you to start your music journey?
So my parents weren’t exactly musical like they wouldn’t write music, but they were really into music, so I had a lot of music around me growing up. My grandad on my dad’s side however, was a big music head and loved jazz, and my grandparents on my mum’s side were in church choirs, my grandma sang and my grandpa played the organ. All three of them inspired me to do music, so I think deep down I was slightly trying to impress them growing up!
And what pushed you to start making your own music?
I think I’ve always been writing songs. When I look back, the first song I wrote was probably when I was about 13, and when I got to about 16 that’s when I properly started writing music, so it’s something that has always been happening for me.
What pushed me more was probably the shift from musical theatre which I used to do, to starting to play my own music. The only way I could do singing was through musical theatre, but I soon realised that I don’t have a musical theatre voice and something wasn’t quite clicking with me. I think that’s when I started to do my own thing, because I really enjoyed singing and indie-folk music; I don’t remember the exact moment I decided that I’m going to do music; it just started happening. I think it was probably the rejection of musical theatre that made me want to pursue singing my way, without feeling like I’m not good enough to do it.
How would you describe your music in 3 words?
I would say earthy, raw and nostalgic. Someone once described it as intimate and expansive, and I think that also represents it well because that’s what I’m trying to do. Vocally and lyrically it’s intimate, but then production and instrumentation are big and expansive. I don’t know how many words I’ve given you now, but you get the idea!
Who is REA? Is she a separate persona to you that defines your music?
So, REA is my initials. It’s really weird because when I was younger and I used to write my initials I always thought that would be my ‘thing’. So when I started to put music out, it really made sense to me to do it as REA.
I do think she is a separate persona, and it’s necessary for me, especially because of the music I write, which is quite confessional and personal. I needed this separation of the two to compartmentalize it and allow myself to be vulnerable in that REA space whilst allowing myself to live my life and do other things as Rachel.
For example, I don’t resonate with REA in a workspace, so it’s funny when the two collide! I used to really struggle when REA would get brought up in a Rachel environment, like people would ask me “do you do music?” and I’d say “oh no I don’t!”. But I think now I’m a lot more comfortable with that.
Do you think you’ve found your sound as an artist so far?
I always felt there are different directions REA could go down, but right now I’ve found the sound and its foundation from where it could take off into loads of different ways.
I think a lot of that was down to the two people I worked the most closely on the project which was Josh Harrison and Leslie Adriaans. They both really nurtured the demos I brought to them and also encouraged me to experiment with other things like field recordings and voice notes. We experimented with a bunch of different ‘indie’ approaches to the tracks, some with drums, some that had more of a ‘band feel’, but I think ultimately our favourite versions of the songs were the ones that sounded most like the demos, so we prioritised raw sound over a polished finish.
How does it feel to have written your first ever EP and about to share it with the world very soon?
It feels like the right time to put it out, because I always find that I need distance from what I’ve written about. If it’s a sad topic like heartbreak, which a lot of my music is about or just stuff that I find difficult to process, I need some distance between it to have processed it and have moved on, and then be able to see the song as something I’m not emotionally attached to anymore, but just as a moment from the past. So, I’m happy that I’ve allowed myself to take distance from the songs of the EP, and I’m excited to be releasing it now. It’s nice to have a body of work out in the world with which I resonate.
‘Garden Shed’ is described as an experimental venture rooted in nature. Some of the songs you recorded in the woods in the Southdowns, including your latest single ‘Henfield’. How was that experience for you?
It was so fun and I can’t wait to do it again! It came about because we were using field recordings, and then we were like “why don’t we try to record outside?”. We were listening a lot to the artist Hana Stretton; she produces and records music outside and has so much natural, intimate ambience in her tracks, which pushed us to give it a go. Josh had it all set up, it was just a case of like jamming it out and letting go of expectations for it to be perfect. We all went with an open mind, and we got 2 songs out of that session which was great! But saying that there were also many hours of unusable recordings. I think Josh had to sift through lots of chatting, hayfever sneezing and loud bird chirping to get to the good stuff.
When you started working on your EP, ‘Garden Shed’, did you have a completed idea in mind or did you fully rely on the reflective process of making it?
I had actually written on my wall like a year before “REA – Garden Shed EP”. I had it written as something I wanted to do; no deadline, no plans or songs, I had no idea really that I’d have an EP a year later! When we started the sessions, I was like “I have some songs, maybe we can do some singles”, so we made ‘Talk’ and ‘Dark by 4’ and then we were like “what’s next?” but we didn’t really know what was next. Then the outdoor recordings came, and as we were doing it, we realised that we were making an EP.
I started writing songs in my garden shed, so I wanted my first project to have that name because that was the formative start of my songwriting. However, I don’t think I ever envisioned the ‘Garden Shed’ EP to be so earthy and full of nature sounds, but it makes sense now that’s the way it went, since those sounds naturally seeped into my early demos from the space.
You were selected for a PRS-funded artist development programme with Audio Active. How is this going for you so far?
I’m on Emerge, an artist development scheme that AudioActive does. It’s basically a weekly catch-up, which includes mentoring and workshops with a group of other Brighton-based musicians of various genres and styles, where they help us develop in whatever we want to do. All of us have independent goals that we want to achieve, mine was learning how to promote my EP and generally learning about the music industry a bit more. It’s been a great way of connecting with the Brighton music scene, and AudioActive are so supportive of everyone.
I’ve also had some amazing opportunities through this scheme, like recording music with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. There’s the Spring Festival on May 3rd, at which we will all be performing on the AudioActive stage and have the orchestra to accompany us! It’s been really cool working with such incredible musicians.
Dream venue/festival to play at?
Greenman Festival or something like that would be great! The scenes, the vibes, the community and generally playing events like that which suit my music are my favourite. I’m quite big on the space being right for the songs, and Greenman represents that really well for me.
What are your goals with this music project and what do you want to come next?
It sounds weird, but I don’t have crazy big ‘shiny’ goals. I just want to make music that I really like and if that resonates with people, that’s fantastic!
I think there’s so much pressure and financial strain in the music industry, especially around independent unsigned artists to try to be everything. Whilst trying to do all those things you’re expected to do from the business side of the music industry, sometimes you forget what you’re actually doing. Sometimes, I get into that spiral myself, but then I remember the reason why I started making music: because I enjoy writing it and experimenting with it.
Dream artist to collaborate with?
I think that would be Hana Stretton, she’s a multi-instrumentalist and producer. She’s so interesting that I think I’d love to just pick her brain, to be honest, and really understand how she creates her songs. There’s not a lot of artists like her; she has this really unique approach to music and I’d be fascinated to learn from her.
REA’s long-awaited 4-track debut EP ‘Garden Shed’ comes out on April 17th. Pre-save it now on all streaming platforms and follow REA on @reaamusic
Upcoming Gigs
2nd April | Folklore Rooms, Brighton – Supporting lilo
12th April | Homegrown Festival, Brighton
26th April | EP Launch, St Augustine’s Centre, Brighton – HEADLINE
3rd May | Spring Festival, St Ann’s Well Garden – London Philharmonic Orchestra accompaniment
15th May | The Great Escape x Bella Union Vinyl Shop, Brighton
