Using brutally honest pop tunes as therapy, Folly Rae breaks out of her shy shell and is ready to dish out some bad karma.
An aspiring dancer, Folly was surrounded by music all her life. Her upbringing was soundtracked by everything from Motown to classical, though it took going to music college before Folly herself gained the confidence to sing.
“I’ve always loved singing, but I was super shy,” she says. “I went to music college for a little while, trying to get the confidence. Then I just started writing songs for myself.”
It was all “very natural and very unexpected”. With an intriguing combination of bold lyrics and bubbly melody, Folly has come into her own very organically. Her melodic approach she describes as “catchy”, saying that she likes “to be a little bit child-like so that comes across in the music”.
However, when it comes to her lyrics, Folly is fiercely honest. “Whatever is in my head, however I feel, that’s what the lyrics are gonna say. I like being very straight forward with what I say, but my melodies can do whatever they want.”
Though opening up about heartache and troubled romance can be hard, Folly definitely feel the therapeutic benefits of the artistic output. “It’s kind of like therapy. If I was to write about my ex-boyfriend I’d do it because it makes me feel better.”
She continues reflecting, “everybody deals with things in different ways, I deal with heartbreak by writing about it, and then getting over it. Never thinking about that person again… Instead of crying about it, let’s just write a song that makes me feel better. I’m very lucky that I get to do that”.
Her own life experience is her main inspirations, however Folly highlights a holy trinity of inspiring “power women”, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush and Sia. “They just do what they want, and that makes me feel like I can do whatever I want to.”
Though she looks up to a lot of artists, she thinks your true drive should be from within. “I really think we should look up to ourselves more than anything.”
Debut EP 'Karma Club' stands as a beacon of all the things Folly wants for her music. It’s a delicate balance between confessional lyrics wrapped in a joyous melody, and dishing out some good and bad karma points on the way.
“All the songs are about one person in particular,” she explains. “When I wrote those songs my mind was consumed with this one thing that was going on, and I just wanted to feel better about that situation.”
Explaining the title, she really takes on the concept of karma. “If someone treats you like shit, and you’re a good person, karma will come around. So, come and join my Karma club and just feel good and not let somebody else make you feel like shit.” She starts to laugh: “It sounds like I need therapy! I don’t!”
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Words: Aurora Henni Krogh
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