Simply Six: Rachel Antony-Levine

Rachel Antony-Levine is a member of the band Antioquia

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?

Oh man, there have been so many of those moments in my life.  My parents say that I basically came out of the womb singing.  They couldn't shut me up.  In elementary school, I was part of a group of four kids who got picked up from school by a shared babysitter every day after school.  I used to force everyone to listen to different songs I had learned in the car ride home.  They had to make a rule that I could only sing one per day.

So I always knew I wanted to sing.  Deciding that I wanted to sing as a career was a different story though.  That was a rough rode.  When you're trying to make music your life, there's a lot of messages out there telling you that you're crazy, and it's hard to stay committed.  A year ago, right after I joined Antioquia and played my first show with them, we slept under the stars in Mendocino to the sounds of my new bandmates plucking away at their guitars and I felt extremely validated and blessed to be a singer in a band I loved.  I knew at that moment that there would be no going back, and that I was finally ready to dive head-first into music and make it my life.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?

I always seem to come back to jazz piano, progressive rock, experimental and electronic music.  Some of my favorites are Hiromi Uehara and Brad Mehldau, King Crimson, Rubblebucket, Lemon Jelly, Camille, Squarepusher

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

The moment that comes to mind is the song Rage of Love on our newest album.  I'm especially proud of the vocals on that song.  That song was also one of the first songs we wrote together as a band.  It was during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis, and the guys were inspired to write the instrumental parts of the song.  Not knowing that they had the oil spill in mind, I wrote words and melody that were also about the same thing.  We were all really emotional about it I guess.  The song is about both the awesome power of the planet to create, and the rage we feel as pieces of the planet that have been molested by industry.  I feel like the emotion came across in a powerful way on the record.

soundcloud.com/antioquia/rage-of-love

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?

Absolutely.  Music changes the world on a daily basis.  On a small scale, when people are dancing, they're not fighting.  That in and of itself is powerful.  But I also think that music has a way of making a point that arguments can't.  Think about the song "War" by Edwin Starr.  "War, what is it good for?  Absolutely nothing."

How can you argue with that message?  It forces you to think.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?

I feel like the sounds of technology are part of our audio landscape now so it totally makes sense that they are present in popular music.  We're surrounded by beeps and blips, so our ears gravitate towards those sounds.  It's the same as how in the jungles of Africa, the instruments mimic the sounds of the forest.  

As a musician I feel like it creates a mandate to incorporate electronic sounds into our music.  I'm not that resistant to it, but my hands still go to the piano before they go to the laptop.  Maybe that will change, I'm not sure.  On Antioquia's latest album, we were playing with themes of escape from the city and a return to nature, but I think it can also be interpreted as an investigation of technology and nature and how we experience the pull of both extremes.

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Black ankle boots with sparkly shoelaces