Q&A with Kady Rain

Glitter pop songstress and self-admitted scented candle addict, Kady Rain, was born and raised in Austin, Texas, which perhaps explains the source of her eye-catching wardrobe and groovy girl vibes.

Story by Onaje Mcdowelle

Photo by Lt Edwards

ORANGE caught up with the pop princess who recently finished up her debut EP, “All I Ever Wanted.” Catch her at the Cactus Cafe on October 19 at the Austin Songwriters Group Benefit show.

How did you get into making music?

I’ve been singing since I could walk. I played a lot of really cool shows in my high school band, The Pickpockets, I went through a bunch of different projects throughout college, but it wasn’t until after a bad breakup that I got serious.

Pop music kind of chose me. I was in this sludge metal band at the time of my bad breakup, but all of the stuff I was writing was so obviously in the pop genre. Of course, the guys in the sludge metal band didn’t want to work on that stuff, so I decided to start another project, and that’s when the idea of Kady Rain became real life.

You have perhaps one of the coolest and freshest appearances I’ve seen in awhile. How does your aesthetic coincide with who you are and the content you create?

I’ve always had what one could call a “unique” fashion sense. In high school, I wore fairy wings every day for three years. I’m fascinated with how imagery, much like music, can transcend language and can impact people in such a measurable way. I’ve always loved color, and I try to express that in my fashion as much as in my music. I want my image to be fresh, fun, playful and colorful and at the same time powerful and edgy. I try to emulate that in my music. It’s very important for me to create content that is consistent with my brand, and I want people to know exactly what I stand for when they see an image of me.

After dropping your debut project “All I Ever Wanted,” what’s the next step for you as an artist?

We are aiming for another EP or even a full length [album]. We already have several songs in the pipeline and are exploring working with new producers to incorporate some fresh sound into the new record. We want to explore different varieties of pop, like tropical and house, and see where it goes.

What differentiates your style of pop from others?

To me, my music falls under the umbrella of summer pop. It’s bright, and sunny and fun, and for our next release we’re hoping to blend even more ideas and genres to create a really special experience. A lot of pop right now is darker and more rooted in R&B, we’re avoiding that trend. It’s just not me.

What is your favorite song from the EP?

“All I Ever Wanted” means a lot to me because it’s the song that made me realize what I needed to be doing as an artist. A little over a year ago, I was performing at Kickbutt Coffee, and it was the first show that we did where we performed our fully produced songs. The set overall was great, but when we played “All I Ever Wanted,” nearly the entire coffee shop got up and started dancing right there on the spot. I knew right then that summer dance pop is exactly what I should be doing.

Who are some of your influences, musically and artistically?

I grew up listening to Spice Girls and Britney and Outkast, then The Smiths, David Bowie, The Sex Pistols and Patti Smith, and now Marina and the Diamonds, Katy Perry, Beyonce, FKA Twigs, Grouplove. I’m inspired by artists that are innovative and true to themselves.

Can you elaborate on your creative process?

We’re trying to collaborate more on this next EP, and we’ve established another method of writing. Basically, we write a rough outline of a beat or are sent one by a producer, and we send it out to a bunch of writers,ourselves included. We all write over it for about an hour or so, and then everyone sends their melodies back. We sift through these and find the parts that we like. This method, called the top liner method, is how most hit songs are written these days. We also have a vocal producer, Ed Boyer, who is totally awesome and has worked on Pitch Perfect 2 and Glee. He is the vocal producer for Pentatonix as well. After we track vocals our song is then mixed by Charlie Kramsky and mastered by Joe Lambert.