A Chat with Ravenistic (17.02.26)
Drawing inspiration from the likes of Joan Jett, Kim Wilde, Debbie Harry, Cindy Lauper and Transvision Vamp, singer-songwriter Ravenistic delves into yesteryear’s rock scene with an edgy, energetic, modern-day flair. Hailing from Australia, the independent pop/rock artist crafts passionate melodies with complex themes and intriguing lyricism to explore the realms of… well, life, actually. We speak with Ravenistic about her new EP, Cocktail Hour, what music means to her, and much more.
OSR: Cliché as hell, but what drew you to music? Why did you choose to explore music as a career?
Ravenistic: Thank you for having me. This sounds cliché, too, but for as long as I can remember, music was all I’d wanted to do. I loved singing and playing instruments, and I used to read the credit notes on my vinyl or cassette tapes, and I was always intrigued by the name inside the parentheses – the writer. So, I wanted to be a songwriter too. I felt that singing and playing were the emotional side, but songwriting was the analytical side, and it’s always been important to me to explore both sides of everything.
OSR: You are about to release your EP, Cocktail Hour. What can you tell us about the EP? Is there a particular theme or backstory?
Ravenistic: This EP is four songs to showcase the different styles of my music, which is a blend of retro/dreamy/nostalgic pop/rock. It is inspired by catch-ups I used to have with a small group of friends after work, we’d go to dinner or drinks, and we’d talk about the men we were dating, or having trouble finding, or past relationships. They were casual conversations about finding love. We weren’t even thinking about what came after. Simple times.
OSR: On your Spotify, you mention you have “done the usual stuff” and played in a band. Which do you find more enjoyable: being in a band or being solo? What are the pros and cons of each?
Ravenistic: I much prefer being solo. Life is about self-discovery, and I have learned that I like being in total control of my music. I’ve written songs in a band, and the focus was often about inclusivity to keep everyone engaged and to keep that group feeling, but sometimes you end up with songs that are a hot mess. Or sometimes you want a song to go one way and someone else wants it to go another way, and then you argue. I don’t argue with myself – it’s all about what is best for the song. The ego is taken out of the process, because it’s the song that matters.
OSR: You also mention on Spotify that you wrote novels and composed music for film/tv. How do these explorations of other art contribute to you as a musician and in creating music, if at all?
Ravenistic: I have found it has helped immensely. There is a term in fiction writing – kill your darlings. Which means that even if you love a certain passage or character, if it doesn’t fit the story, you get rid of it. Because if you don’t, that passage or character stands out as not belonging. Readers notice that. So, when I’m writing songs, there is never an argument with myself about what is working and what isn’t. If that 4 bars of music doesn’t belong, or if those vocals aren’t working, they either get chucked or rewritten.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Ravenistic: For me, music is a curiosity, like a blending of the heart and the mind. I don’t think I have that sense of curiosity with anything else. It’s a bridge for me to connect my emotional side and my analytical side. I love to listen to music and be swept up in the beat or the emotion or the sound, and yet I also love to study it – why did that beat affect me, how did they make that sound, what memories does it stir in me or will stir in me in the future? I think that’s the best way I can describe it.
OSR: If you had to describe your music to a new listener, what would you say?
Ravenistic: My music is a blend of everything I listened to growing up. Music was always playing on the weekends. My older brother often woke us up by blasting Pat Benatar and Kiss, then Styx and AC/DC. My mother had Elvis Presley, Del Shannon, and Buddy Holly records. I was into ABBA, Suzi Quatro, and Rick Springfield. It was a mixed bag of music playing. What I remember most about growing up was that the songs were catchy or melodic, and they took me to other worlds. I’m trying to capture that essence of good memories and feelings in my music.
OSR: If you could head back to the beginning and speak to a younger you, what would you say?
Ravenistic: “Keep your original bass guitar and keep the band photos.” I’m afraid my heart ruled when I broke up the band. I just wanted to turn my back on that part of my life because my heart was broken. That’s how I felt after I’d spent ten years in a band and we hadn’t ‘made it’, and so I let the guitarist keep all the band photos. I wasn’t concerned at the time, but I’m feeling more nostalgic now, and it would be nice to have them. Unfortunately, his girlfriend at the time got jealous and threw them away.
OSR: Where did the pseudonym come from? What does Ravenistic mean, or how did you choose that term?
Ravenistic: I didn’t want to use my real name because I wrote novels, and I still write horror tension music under that name, so I needed a pseudonym. I was playing around with words that might look good on an album cover. Ravenistic represents the two sides of me. I love horror movies and rom-coms. I love glittery pop, and I love hard rock. So, it’s sort of like night and day – the “raven” is the dark, edgy side, and the “istic” is like saying, but I’m not totally dark or edgy.
OSR: What can we expect from you in the future?
Ravenistic: More music, more videos. A part of me felt as if I might be arriving too late to this party, but now that I’m here, I see I’ve arrived at the perfect time. I could not have written these songs without time and experience behind me. I’ve already started on the next album, which I’m aiming to release in August.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Ravenistic: I hope I bring a little happiness to your lives. You all deserve it.
Many thanks to Ravenistic for speaking with us. Find out more about Ravenistic on her official website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
