11 August 2023 - 0 Comments

Rising from the ashes of a friendship breakup, pop artist Rachel Leo has today released her third hit anthem In My Dreams.

Listen to In My Dreams HERE

Bringing epic popstar vibes, In My Dreams is a track to be blasted at parties, in clubs and cars. Similar to the vibe of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own and LEON’s You And I, the lyrics are of heartbreak but the momentum moves through all the emotions. It’s got the drum beat and synth details reminiscent of European pop (Dagny, Zara Larsson, Astrid S) which the artist often draws inspiration from. “The adlibs are pretty raw on this song,” says Rachel, “I’ve never been super comfortable with belting but after some encouragement from my producer Joel Jones I just let it rip!” In My Dreams is about struggling to come to terms with the loss of an important person. For Rachel, this was the loss of a best friend through betrayal. “My entire identity and perception of my world was shattered overnight,” explains Rachel. “This is the friend breakup anthem I needed, and I hope it’s healing for someone else going through the same thing.”

The song was made with the support of NZ on Air, recorded at Joel Jones’ studio on Auckland’s North Shore and mixed/mastered by Liam Quinn (Peach PRC, Rita Ora, Ruel) in Sydney. “I actually produced the first demo of this song as an upbeat funk-inspired pop track with pretty generic lyrics. When I sent it to Joel, he challenged me to dig deeper and write something raw, changing the production to something more delicate. I cried as I wrote these lyrics, it was so cathartic. I can be quite protective of my work that bares my heart and I’m trying to get better at sharing that side of me with the world.”

Also being released today is a music video directed by LA Woman’s drummer Zac Emerson. “The concept of the video is to show the contrast between the joy I experienced in memories of our friendship, compared to the heartbreak I felt after.” For filming, the very committed star rose at 5am for filming at Auckland’s Piha Beach. “A person splashing around in a black dress certainly raised some eyebrows from people on their morning walks! We also filmed at a rollerskating rink and, it’s safe to say, I was truly humbled by the 5-year-olds zooming past me while I clung to the barriers - and for the last scene, we shot inside an empty house and accidentally set the fire alarm off a few times. The haze looks stunning on camera so it was well worth the panic!”

Watch the video HERE

Comments

Return to News Archive