Q+A: Richie Quake
Richie Quake is one of Brooklyn’s finest artists. Now, the multi-talented and versatile singer is ready to release his debut album, I Want Some!, a true view into the prosaic life of the Brooklyn Baby. The project will take listeners into Richie’s real-world “without glamorization and glorification,” and will feature his exceptional lead singles “That’s Not Love!”, “Crawl” and “Cherry Red.” After finding success from his sophomore EP, Voyager, the rising star is ready to make his mark.
Before the release of his debut, we were able to sit down and speak to Richie about his collaborations, inspirations, and more.
Most artists don’t choose to use their real name for their music, what made you decide this?
I had a band in the first project I ever started in high school and when the band broke up, I just started using my real first and middle name because I couldn't think of anything else. My middle name being Quake has a weird story behind it but that's for another time.
Your songs take influence from pop, rock and at times even R&B. How would you categorize your sound?
I think it's kind of, right now indie rock or alternative pop. I come from a background of just trying everything and I kind of just go with the flow and just do what feels right. Right now I feel most comfortable doing indie rock. It feels the truest to me.
You and Anna Shoemaker, Middle Part and Morning Silk are all close. Could you tell me how you guys all met?
During the pandemic, everyone was releasing music online and people were creating online communities. There was not a lot of in-person stuff. Anna and I knew each other previously in 2018, but we've always stayed in touch and been friends. Then Morning Silk and I actually connected on TikTok in 2020! We were both posting videos of music stuff and we realized our studios were like 20 minutes away so we ended up meeting up. Middle Part and I ended up meeting through Anna because we both worked on her song "Everything Is Fine." Another thing that led us all to connect is that there's been a massive push for all music artists to move to L.A. For the artists that are here in NY doing alternative or indie music, there has been a lot of enthusiasm to meet up and bond together, almost like a reactionary movement.
Your song “Cherry Red” fits so well with Josefine Cardoni’s style, how was it working with her during the video shoot?
Working with Josefine is incredible. She's so talented and I think we're creative in similar ways but also in ways that compliment each other. We spoke for a long time going through references, creating moodboards, and just having a lot of conversations discussing what the song meant in a philosophical sense. Doing all that made it much easier to create something that felt true to the music. The team that she put together for the video was amazing as well. They were all really talented and incredible to work with.
Photographer: Josefine Cardoni
When you talked about “Cherry Red” the last statement you made “When it comes to the feeling of being alive versus being numb, sometimes it feels better to feel the pain than nothing at all.” That is such a strong statement. Is there a story behind that?
We spend a lot of our life in a very escapist mood always trying to get away. I think there's a fine line between entertainment, art, and media. At the top there is art and real-life experience; then entertainment, something that is fun or distracting like a marvel movie (sorry to the marvel fans); then there's just media, something you see and consume in a mindless way. I'm addicted to social media and so many people are. We spend a lot of our lives trying to numb things out. I struggle with that a lot whether it's social media, alcohol, drugs, or personal relationships. It's like happiness is fleeting, pain is just always eminent and numbness is an easy way to escape. I just want to pull back from the numbness. I would rather feel something than just distract myself and feel lost.
Is that the whole idea behind I Want Some!?
It says it in the title “I Want Some”, the idea is just that I want to be real, I want to have an authentic experience. It's not a thing where I'm hiding from society or hiding from other people, but a lot of the time I feel like I'm hiding from myself because it's not like I'm afraid of you seeing me... I am afraid of seeing myself and I don't want that. I don't want to be afraid. I want to be able to really exist as whatever Richie Quake inside really is. I want to be okay with everyone else seeing it. I just feel like that's something relatable in a way that a lot of people are scared of themselves. In order to fix that they try to make themselves into somebody else and make themselves numb. A lot of these songs are about relationships, life, and experiences and just trying to see yourself in a way you truly are.
Originally the title of the album was Glam. What was the reason for the change?
Well, it actually has the same meaning. I just felt like “Glam” required more of a story and explanation. I had called it “Glam” because I bought this book because I am a fan of photographer Nan Goldin. Which has a quote at the beginning of the book that goes: “I want to show life in an unglamorous way, unglorified and raw way.” “Glam” is a glamorization of a way of showing my life in an unglorified way. That's a little heady.
I know most people get uneasy or nervous when they release their songs, how are you feeling leading up to the release of your debut?
I would be lying saying I feel really confident and comfortable. It's nerve-racking and I definitely feel a little scared to put it out there. I am also really excited, and part of being an artist is having a thick skin and giving these things in a way. It's done, I've done all I can do and now it's time to give it away.
For someone who has never been to Brooklyn what is a place, you think everyone should visit?
I think if you want to see the people and what’s going on, go out to Bushwick. That's where I used to live for a long time. You get a lot of cool people out there, and people are doing art, music, DJ sets, and throwing parties. It's a nice scene being created by young people.
If you had to choose to keep one of the albums, what would you keep : Beatles, The White Album, Currents by Tame Impala, Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves, or Blonde by Frank Ocean?
That is the hardest question I've ever heard. It's really between Blonde and The White Album right now. Can I get rid of The White Album? I can't in good conscience do that. Can I just keep both of those?
What songs are currently in your rotation?
I've been listening to a lot of old rock. The first ones that come to mind are Turnstile, Porches, Mitski, Nirvana, The Drums, and a lot of local artists. Also, Nilüfer Yanya is really cool and her style is so interesting.