Name: Raia Was
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, producer
Current release: Raia Was's debut full-length album Captain Obvious is out via Switch Hit.

If you enjoyed this Raia Was interview and would like to keep up to date with her music and tour dates, visit her official website. She is also on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I feel music really deeply (I’ve realized recently that my inner monologue might actually be in song form … like not just having a song stuck in my head but more that there’s a constant tune in there).

Certain combinations of sound hit me right at the base of my neck and make my hairs stand on end in the best way. I’m also often one to have involuntary vocal responses to music. Like a proper “uhhh”!

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

Experience is everything. My time exploring the world of music making and has only deepened my knowledge and trust in my instincts and heightened my awareness of the more subtle layers of creating sound.

Being an artist is a commitment and time is always a part of it.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I came to jazz and improvised music at that age (after studying classical music) and pretty much never looked back.

Tuning into the landscape of improvised recordings, hearing how music is a language that we can fully communicate from within turned my world upside down.

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I create in order to understand. It’s like this deep itch I’m always reaching toward. That’s taken shape for me up to this moment in the form of naming the more intangible experiences and feelings of being human, the in betweens.

That's been a fixation that’s kept me coming back to writing songs for over a decade.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you describe the sound you're looking for?

I feel 100% in agreement with that. I write away from the instruments that I play best, never concerned with chords or key, mostly fumbling around with some type of sonic palate or texture that’s got a hold on me. I’m searching for that hold really.

And when I get to that place where I can’t look away, I know it’s time to dig in.

Are you acting out certain roles or parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these? If not, what, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music?  

Absolutely - I created the moniker Raia Was precisely to set me free from my responsibilities (or perceived responsibilities) to being a certain way in the world. My sense of safety can feel very fragile and I’m really oriented around being kept inside of the community of my family and friends first and foremost.

But that's only part of the story for me. Raia Was has given me a space to say things that scare me and push against notions I have of myself and my place in the world.

And honestly, I’ve grown so much because of it. My daily life is richer for it.

Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?

Since I started performing even from a young age I’ve experienced this consistent categorization of being described as sultry or torchy (or called a ‘chanteuse’ or ‘songstress’) that I’ve found super frustrating and honestly confusing … because even as my style and sound has continued to change and evolve I’m always marked by those same words.

I think it’s somehow an honest response to the tone of my voice but it feels like a kind of blowout classification, like it pins the intention of the music to this sort of frivolous and also very gendered place. Despite all the language I’ve given to the story of the releases, it feels like a thing that follows me.

I’m not sure what to do about it - it’s no one’s fault. But I’d also like to work my way out from being cornered by these descriptions.

Making music, in the beginning, is often playful and about discovery. How do you retain a sense of playfulness as things become more professionalised and how do you still draw surprises from equipment, instruments, approaches and formats you may be very familiar with?  

That's a hard one. I often compose with equipment that’s new to me or in programs I’m first learning so that I’m leaning on my ear rather than my ‘knowledge.’

Improvising is the most reliable tool I have for bringing levity and discovery and playfulness back into music making when it's missing.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? How far would you describe them as “musical”?

I’m an absolute die hard for the beach and I always say it’s because it’s the only place that’s louder than my thoughts.

There seems to be an increasing trend to capture music in numbers, from waveforms via recommendation algorithms up to deciphering the code of hit songs. What aspects of music do you feel can be captured through numbers, and which can not?

I really love the mathematical element of music. I’m a true theory nerd, the cycle of fifths and all, I just find it endlessly fascinating. I also love editing and working with the waveforms themselves. The mathematical elements foundational to sound are a huge part of what’s captured my attention as a producer.

Of course that's all second to feeling. But for me the math part is the perfect balance to the emotional intensity of making music.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I’ll say again that connecting to improvisation as a musical tool feels really relevant as a tool in life.

We can surround ourselves with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold from your point of view? What role do headphones play for you in this regard?

Music can be super distracting for me. I can’t really do passive listening. And in going about my day I much prefer silence in general (I live in a city so of course that word is relative …).

But when I'm actively listening to music it does greatly enhance the emotional experience of what I’m doing (especially in headphones) and I’m much more likely to remember where I was and what was happening whenever I hear that song or piece of music again.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values which don't appear to have any emotional connotation. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a seemingly counterintuitive way – and what, do you think, is happening here?

There’s a very short clip that plays on ESPN streaming to fill space between advertisements. It just has the logo on screen with “commercial break” written below - it’s somewhere from 5 to 15 seconds long and is a sort of washy ambient swishing ring.

Every time I hear it I wish I could keep it on loop. There's something about it that really hits my ears and piques my interest every time.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I would like to see a world where musicians and their audiences can more easily find each other, where listeners aren’t pushed to prioritize vibe and mood over the thrill of discovering and connecting with a new artist, and where artists aren’t forced to work as advertisers for platforms whose interests fundamentally work against the pursuit of art.