Inspired #270 - Rascal Miles
Portland based transgender / non-binary musician Rascal Miles has just released their new single ‘Tailor Made’ for Pride Month. Rascal took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind the music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
My answer for questions like this changes every five minutes, but I'll give you the artists I can't stop listening to this week..I love an artist/band that I can just shuffle and know that I won't want to skip anything:
Big Thief - I find something new that I love in this music every time I hear it.
Clarke & the Himselfs - perfect for needing to feel energetic and also this like angst that somehow keeps me happy. Plus, the one-person-band approach I obviously relate to and appreciate.
Slothrust - pretty sure I'm their biggest fan. I just love all of their old stuff and the new stuff is so queer-targeted, and their music always stimulates my ears/mind in a way that inspires me to create.
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
Harold & Maude. Always a wholesome reminder to just be yourself and find joy while holding sadness. Plus, the Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) soundtrack gets me every time. The part when Maude steals the tree.. I just love it.
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
The most inspiring cities are the new ones, especially if they're not in the States. I went to London a few years back and loved just riding the tube and listening to music while watching all the different neighborhoods fly by. Tokyo was great too...did you know you can get quality food at the 7-11s there? Incredible.
I like a city that's walkable. Nothing sprawling. Ideally there's tons of diversity and culture, and all kinds of food. That's why New York is so great, I guess, but lately I've been experiencing a lot of sensory overload so I could only do something like that if I had my noise cancelling headphones on. Reykjavik is the closest thing Iceland has to a city, but since it's by water, there's an element of calm amidst the busy energy there that I'm really drawn to. I'd kill to go back.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
Esme Patterson, probably. We've been meeting once a week via video chat for about a year now, and she's been my music mentor if you will. Every time we talk, I come out of it feeling motivated to make something new or approach my work in a way I hadn't thought to yet. It's really hard to find people to realllllllly nerd out with about music in a way that isn't some dude mansplaining, and Esme has so much professional experience in starting as a DIY musician climbing to top (for lack of a better phrase), so she's been super insightful but without the slightest hint of pretension.
Plus, her music is unbelievable. I used to practice vocals to her songs years ago because she uses her voice in ways that really push the boundaries of expression and creativity. Anyway, super grateful for Esme Patterson. If you haven't heard of her yet, do a deep dive.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
I'm assuming you mean musically here.. I was listening to Haley's "I Need To Start A Garden" album on repeat at the time that I was writing the songs for my new album "Tailor-Made". ("Tailor-Made" is also the title track). Yeah that album and then also Slothrust's "Everyone Else"... I had that record on repeat for 2 years. Literally. I straight up analyzed it. Like I took a notebook and color-coded the lyrics and the music throughout the album to see how the themes tied together throughout the songs. Studying that from Slothrust is what inspired me to do a concept album on gender, and then Haley's moody intimate vibes really resonated with how I was feeling at the time.
How would you like to inspire people?
I want people who are feeling alone in their uncomfortable stuff to hear my music and feel validated and like they're being held. Music can be your friend when you don't feel like you have any friends who understand what you're going through. If we're talking specifically about my new single "Tailor-Made", I hope that other trans/nb/genderqueer people, especially those feeling isolated and stuck in small, backwards towns, can hear my music and find power in it... This fight for song long has been focused on being accepted and included in modern society, but really, we have so much to be proud of in our trans/nb identities that goes beyond the base level of acceptance. Music for me with this upcoming album in particular has been a practice of transformation, not just about my literal gender transformation, but also about transforming the painful/frustrated energy into empowered energy. Happy Pride.