Sara's forthcoming album, Diamond Street, is out September 2
“A must-have album that follows no road map but Rachele’s heart and soul.” - No Depression
"'Bristling with an incisive edge floating aside picturesque melodies courtesy of a
voice that has just enough twang to rope you in for an extended visit." - Glide Magazine
“From
the moment I heard Sara Rachele’s voice and words I knew I was in the
presence of truth. She is a fearless artist with a desire to lyrically
explore the nuances of her experiences in, around and against life.” – Melissa Ferrick
"When
sound hits tape you get something back that you know is true and
honest, listening to Diamond Street there is an undeniable realness and
truth in these songs" – Art Decade
SARA RACHELE / DIAMOND STREET
Release Date: Sept. 2, 2014
Label: Angrygal Records
Recorded
in her hometown of Atlanta, the NYC-based Sara Rachele's debut, Diamond
Street, rides out slow and dark as a jet-black 1960s Chrysler New
Yorker. The live-to-tape LP—produced by Kristofer Sampson (B-52s,
Balkans, Coathangers)—was recorded in just two days, and captures the
East Village nightlife of a young songwriter in a timeless, vibrant rock
’n’ roll statement. Diamond Street's sparkling lo-fi charms span the
decades, Rachele channeling everything from classic Fleetwood Mac and
Petty's Heartbreakers to Lucinda Williams and David Lynch muse Julee
Cruise.
On
recording with producer Sampson (who plays in New West Records band
Ponderosa), Rachele says, "Kris really challenged me on this album. Even
though we were working quickly, he had patience with the songs, and
he took the sound to a new place for me without it seeming
disingenuous."
The
daughter of a baby-boomer painter and Italian/Slovak immigrant, Rachele
(pronounced ra-kelly) grew up a studio rat and folk child. Working for
free cleaning out the cupboards at famed Atlanta acoustic hotspot
Eddie’s Attic, she met countless musicians and writers and fell into
bands as a side-player before she even knew how to write a song. While
still a teenager, she became backing vocalist and keyboard player for
The Love Willows, who promptly signed to Decca/Universal, writing and
recording with producer Mike Daly (Whiskeytown, Lana Del Ray, Grace
Potter).
Eventually,
though, Rachele decided to leave behind The Love Willows' bubblegum pop
sound, moved to Boston and enrolled for a time at Berklee College of
Music, before dropping out to live in her newly adopted home of New York
City. Inspired by its long history of seedy bohemian songwriters and
poets, and by the energy of the city itself, Rachele filled up journals
with her ramblings and penned ballad after ballad as she roamed the
coffeehouses & nightclubs of the East Village, trading innocence for
experience. Word spread quickly about her passionate delivery, her
honest, unadorned lyrics and her uniquely Southern sound. Along with
sidekick and fellow Atlanta expat Charlotte Kemp Muhl (with Sean Lennon,
half of Ghost of the Saber Tooth Tiger), Rachele found a home—musical
and otherwise—in New York.
"For
such a big city, New York can be a pretty small town," Rachele says. "I
saw an ex across Houston Street once—he was playing a show I think,
everyone always is, you lose track. But I remember running across four
lanes of traffic—just seeing him, turning, and running through the East
Village. No one ever leaves you in New York. You still have to learn how
to know them. It's the continuousness of it all—nothing every really
ends. And the cabbies just know to get out of the way… 'cause at any
moment some heartbroken woman might run out into the street."
While
in New York, she befriended veteran music photographer Perry Julien,
who was intrigued by Rachele and shot portraits of her at The Chelsea
Hotel, that sacred place of rock lore. Her session with Julien was one
of the haunt’s final photo shoots before it closed its doors to guests.
Rachele's images from The Chelsea Hotel—once home to Dylan Thomas, Bob
Dylan, Patti Smith & The Sex Pistols—have been featured in SXSE
photomag, Creative Loafing, and art galleries up and down the East
Coast. She and Julien’s collaborations were also published in Julien’s
book Secrets (2013), and forthcoming Chelsea Hotel photo book Guests.
Rachele is a photographer herself, her work having appeared in
Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Creative Loafing and Stereogum.
In
addition to producer Sampson, Rachele's new debut Diamond Street
features the musical contributions of budding folk hound J. Thomas Hall
(New West imprint Normaltown Records) as well as a cast of Atlanta-based
heavy hitters including Lightnin’ Ray Jackson (Washed Out, Gringo
Star), Spencer Pope (Ocha La Rocha), Spencer Garn (Ruby Velle & the
Soulphonics) and Snowden's Chandler Rentz. Diamond Street represents the
gorgeous clash of Rachele's folk-centric upbringing and her beat rock
& roll adventures in New York City. With five years of stories under
her belt, she has created a moody musical pulp, resounding with smoky
memories of ambling city nights.
"I
think the strangeness of my work is what makes people get it," Rachele
says. "We all have these stories, but where I grew up, we were always
throwing furniture around the house, emotionally. Like a lot of people, I
got intensified in New York, so I just started writing—to keep sane."
