Photo Credit: Lacey Terrell
We recently had a chance to speak with Jamaican artist, Racquel Jones, about her upcoming album. In addition to her ever-evolving solo work, Racquel has recorded and toured extensively with renowned electronic duo, Thievery Corporation. Now, Racquel is looking to continue to build upon her solo project, alongside her work as a model, visual artist and painter. Most recently, Racquel released her new single, “Sacrilege”, which is accompanied by a provocative video. Check out what Racquel Jones has to say about her new single and what we can expect from her upcoming album below!
BTS: How have you been coping with the recent time off? Has it been a creative last 10 months or so for you?
Raquel Jones: On the upside of all of this, it has been extremely creative for me because I finally get a chance to paint, and that’s the other side to my record which I’m working on. So I’ve really gotten the chance to paint, undisturbed. Also, I’ve gotten a chance, for the first time in years, to have some time to myself to do some self work, self healing, self assessment. On the downside, I had to figure out what it’s like to have regular days again, and that was difficult. Just feeling and experiencing the fear and everything that is going on in the world is a lot to absorb and process.
BTS: I know you’re a painter and visual artist, do you find that your painting influences your music or visa versa? Do the two mediums operate separately or harmoniously?
Raquel Jones: They are all one in the same. They are so intertwined with each other, they’re basically the same thing to me. I see what I hear and I hear what I see. So, I create music with visuals in mind and I paint hearing music. They’re all pretty much the same thing to me and I feel so blessed to have both of those things together.
BTS: Do you want to talk a bit about your new single, Sacrilege, and the inspiration behind it?
Racquel Jones: I grew up in church, my mom’s a preacher, my aunt, several people in my family. I’m from a Christian family. Not only am I from a Christian family, I’m the direct descendants of people who have been through slavery. I speak from my own experiences and the people around me, my family, my ancestors, my relatives. I know first hand the damages religion has done, because I’m a living proof of that. So it’s very personal and very emotional to me. I took it upon myself to address this because I feel it has become socially acceptable now to talk about the things that affiliate with oppression that is palatable to people. This thing is so sacred, yet it is one of the most destructive things to happen to us. But because it’s so sacred, it kind of put that gag ball in your mouth where we’re not able to address it. So we can address oppression, address racism, and we can talk about what religion has done to us as a people, and what religion has done to the world in general.
So let’s remove the sacredness of this and talk about it, because it has been so destructive. Religion and racism go hand in hand to me. These are the two things that have segregated humanity to the point where it’s so sad that we can’t imagine a world without these two things. So let’s see if we can alleviate some of the damages so we can do right for the next generation to come. So if I need to be the scapegoat for that to start a discussion, so be it.
BTS: I noticed that the sound of ‘Sacrilege’ was different from a lot of your other work, especially with the electronic influences. What fueled that shift in sound?
Racquel Jones: Not just this song, but this record that I’m about to put out in general is a different sound. The idea that I had for the record was that I would not adhere to any structure. The music came out as so pure. I didn’t need to operate within the sphere of hip-hop and reggae. However I felt it, however it came out, that’s how it needed it to be represented. I am very happy with the work and now I have a whole album with a completely unique and different sound. Sacrilege is the first single off of that. It takes you to different emotions, different phases in a sonic sense, and it’s beautiful for me. I am a visual artist, so I have that similar approach to my music. I made sure that I made this authentically, like I felt it.
BTS: Where would be the ideal place to listen to your music?
Racquel Jones: The record is about addressing stereotypes, this is a concept record. But in general, art is an imitation of life, as we all know. It’s applicable to all different parts of life basically. So, I can’t see a situation where my music wouldn’t fit in or feel relevant, as I am addressing different human experiences. The album is called Ignorant. We’re all ignorant about something, we all think we know something, but we really don’t. So it’s a record that is applicable to all human experiences.
BTS: Any artists or songs you’ve been digging lately?
Racquel Jones: While I was making this record I wasn’t listening to a lot of music because I didn’t want to be influenced by anything. When I paint, I listen to documentaries or music. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Bob Marley because of everything going on now. I listen to Ari Lennox when I need to just feel good while I paint. A lot of Kanye, mix of old and new. I also recently got introduced to Nine Inch Nails and cannot get over it either. All over the place lately!
BTS: So your album is coming out soon, any other big plans for 2021?
Racquel Jones: The only thing I really have planned is to release this art and this music simultaneously. It’s a dream of mine to have a huge art exhibit going on with all of my work on the wall and a listening party where they have a full on experience seeing the visuals and listening to the music. I want to watch people in a space interact and feel that. So aside from that? I don’t have any plans, just go with it!
Stay up to date with Racquel!
- Get to Know: Zanski - October 1, 2021
- Get To Know: Arrested Youth - June 25, 2021
- Get To Know: ford. - June 8, 2021
