• News

• All

May 04, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Shervin Lainez

Singer/songwriter and keyboardist Rachel Eckroth returned last month, sharing details of her upcoming self-titled EP, due out May 21st. Eckroth already has three full-length records out, most recently her 2018 album When It Falls, which saw her depart from her jazz-tinged early work for new musical ground. In addition, she’s also played keys for KT Tunstall, Rufus Wainwright, and, most recently, St. Vincent’s performance on Saturday Night Live.

For her latest EP Eckroth paired with David Garza, co-producer on Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters. After meeting at a gig in 2018 the pair struck up a friendship and Eckroth road-tripped to write and record at Sonic Ranch in Texas in early 2020. After sharing the tranquil ballad “You’re The Only Thing” last month Eckroth is now debuting her next single, “Ready Go,” premiering early with Under the Radar.

“Ready Go” is a beautifully arranged follow-up to “You’re The Only Thing,” sporting a tranquil build of instrumentation. Eckroth and Garza gently open on chiming guitar tones before bringing feather-light drumming, watery keys, and a lilting bass line into the mix, weaving a stunning tapestry of instrumentation united by Eckroth’s smoky vocals. It’s a darker, more ponderous take on romance compared to the loving ode of the previous single, but Eckroth explores these difficult emotions with a deft touch, letting her soul-baring performance and swelling instrumentation form the heartfelt emotional core of the track.

As Eckroth explains, “‘Ready Go’ was a song idea sent to me by Tyler Greenwell, drummer from Tedeschi Trucks Band - we have collaborated on other things before. He is so great at coming up with these fun, dark scenarios for songs - he sends things over once in a while that gets me inspired to go other directions.”

“Lyrically, it’s about wanting someone who doesn’t really want you back - and you know that, while being 100% ok with the other person just using you.”

“At Sonic Ranch, David Garza helped to shape the song form and came up with the general bones of the song - he played guitar, bass and drums. I added a synth I think, sang the lead and took it home to work a little more on it. I attempted some pads on the guitar with some heavy delay, but couldn’t do everything I wanted to, so I sent it over to my friend Alex Nolan - she’s a guitarist that I’ve been on a bunch of gigs with - TV band on NBC and the Women’s March in DC - And she absolutely killed it, laying down what I had explained, and of course adding things that were even better ideas. I added background vocals and Tim put some Fender 6 string bass to add depth to the bridge, and that’s it! Song!”

Check out the song below and watch for Rachel Eckroth, coming May 21st.