Rachel Bochner on "Strangest Dreams"

RACHEL BOCHNER’S “STRANGEST DREAMS” IS HERE AND JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN. THE SONG IS THE FIRST SINGLE OFF THE ARTIST’S UPCOMING EP, 2 AM, WHICH IS SET TO RELEASE IN JANUARY. READ OUR INTERVIEW BELOW TO HEAR ALL ABOUT BOCHNER’S LATEST RELEASE AND DEBUT EP. 

HOW DID “STRANGEST DREAMS” COME ABOUT? 

I started writing for the EP in March when the world kind of shut down. I had a lot of newfound time on my hands that was begging to be put to good use. I knew that I wanted to put out a body of work, so I was just writing to see what would come out of it. I get a lot of inspiration at night, and in the beginning stages of quarantine I self-sabotaged my sleep schedule. I was staying up late and then when I would finally get to sleep, I would have all these super elaborate and weird dreams. I had never really experienced that before. It was a strange experience and I wanted to capture what I was feeling in a song. I wanted to write something that sounded dark and dreamy and a little bit off to encapsulate that surreal experience. 

WAS THERE A SPECIFIC DREAM THAT SPARKED THE IDEA FOR THE SONG? 

Not one in particular.I honestly don't even want to explain the dreams that I was having—because you would think that I was certifiably insane. They were just so vivid and had me wondering what was going on in my brain. 

DID YOU TRY TO MIRROR THAT WITH THE PRODUCTION? 

Definitely! I worked with my friend Liam (who goes by BABYBOYBLUE) on production. Usually,, I'll go into detail about what I'm looking for by using reference songs or talking it out a bunch, but I've worked with Liam on a few songs and we have a really good understanding and working relationship. I think that my explanation to him of what I had in mind for “Strangest Dreams” was pretty short. I wanted the song to still have an indie-pop sound, but to also have something a little bit off about it. When I got back the first mix, I was like, “Yes, nailed it. That's awesome.“ 

WHAT ABOUT THE WRITING PROCESS? WHAT WAS THAT LIKE FOR YOU? 

I write with two good friends of mine a lot. Their names are Sasha Bellentine and Annik Blaize. I met both of them at a songwriting seminar at NYU last year and they’ve been common collaborators of mine since. Since we're really close, they had been hearing about my weird dreams and messed up sleep schedule. I had the idea for the chorus and I think I just sent them a voice memo and was like, “Can you guys help me write this song? I need to put this into words.” Since it was quarantine and we all live in different states, we wrote the song on FaceTime, but it still felt natural regardless.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE LYRIC FROM THE SONG? 

A lyric that I like a lot in “Strangest Dreams” is “am I holding on to something that I wish I could forget/I’m telling all the secrets to the pillows on my bed.” I felt like that really summed up how I was feeling. It really hit the nail on the head. 

WHEN YOU WERE STAYING UP LATE, WHAT WERE YOU DOING? 

I'm a night creature at heart, so staying up late isn't abnormal for me. But at the beginning of quarantine, I would get these bursts of energy and inspiration at night. Maybe it was because there wasn’t a lot going on in my day to day life. I was definitely doing more writing then. I was also scrolling on Tik Tok—oh my god, I’m addicted to Tik Tok. 

ARE YOU PROMOTING YOUR SONGS ON TIK TOK? 

I haven't really cracked the Tik Tok code. I use the app all the time, but I find that the more I try on a video, the less successful it is. There's this one Tik Tok that I randomly made without any thought, like one take and then posted it. It was a duet of a popcorn karaoke machine and that was my one tik tok that got views.

THAT DEFINITELY RELATES TO SONGWRITING. DO YOU FOCUS A LOT ON YOUR LYRICS OR DO LET YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS TAKE OVER WHEN YOU WRITE? 

 It totally depends. Some songs come really easily. The song that I put out in June, “Be Happier,” came really quickly. It was exactly what I was feeling—just put down into words that rhyme. But sometimes it'll take a little bit longer. I’ll write part of a song and then it'll take a few tries to get a certain section right. Bridges are the hardest part of a song to write for me. I always want the bridge to have some sort of “ah ha” moment and I think that adds pressure to it at times. 

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO WRITE “STRANGEST DREAMS?”

“Strangest Dreams” came pretty easily. I was literally laying in my bed with my phone up to my mouth and mumbling the chorus idea. The next time that I wrote for it was with my two co-writers and we finished the song in that session.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ABOUT THE RELEASE?

 I'm really proud of the project as a whole and I'm excited for people to hear it. Each song is sonically different, but it still feels really cohesive and authentic to the sound that I have been working to shape. But I have to be patient because I'm spacing out the release a little. My next single “Pick Me Up” comes out on November 13th and then the EP will be out in January. 

YOU CAN FIND “STRANGEST DREAMS” ON STREAMING SERVICES LIKE SPOTIFY AND APPLE MUSIC. GO LISTEN AND MAKE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO TWENTY MINUTES LATER FOR MORE INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS ONE.