Unearthling: Rani-Leigh

Eve Jeffery

I was trawling around my Facebook because – let’s be honest – it is pretty much the extent of my social life.

Anyhoo, as I was flicking through the memes about women who want more white wine and posts about what a stupid flunky our new PM is, there was a little post about a girl singing a song and how awesome it was – haven’t we all heard that before? But, I always have a look in case there is something interesting and I always like to see where young people are at with their music. This is what was on the other end of the link.

Needless to say I almost wet myself and immediately stalked the artist, Rani-Leigh Lindquist, and nagged her for more info.

Rani-Leigh is a singer/songwriter based in Byron Bay. She plays around with the likes of folk, soul, acoustic, alternative and indie styles.

At just 20 years of age, Rani has achieved a lot. She placed in the top eight of the 2011 Catapult Song Writing Contest, she sang in the Sydney Opera House when she was just 12, she has been invited to appear as a guest performer to many events, as well being involved in a swagload of solo performances and band gigs.

Rani has found what she loves in life and is determined to pursue this path and give it her all. ‘Happiness comes in all shapes, forms and ways’, she says. ‘Once you find your source, embrace it.’

Rani is a Byron local through and through. She went to both Byron Bay Primary and Byron Bay High. She has been singing for her entire remembered history but only recently found the confidence for songwriting. She is slowly working her way to an EP.

Citing Jeff Buckley, Missy Higgins, and Angus and Julia Stone as her influences, Rani-Leigh already has a string of originals and covers in her YouTube library.

Her favourite self penned piece is Fuel to Fire. ‘To me this song is a bit of a jumble of emotions ranging from loneliness to sadness and to confidence and sinister thoughts’, she says.  ‘I guess they were drawn from a typical 18-year-old’s over-emotional and hormonal mind dealing with adulthood and life changes.’

Rani-Leigh says the song was the result of a uni assignment. ‘I had some help from my friend Kristy when I had a bit of writer’s block’, she says. ‘I ended up getting a high distinction for it. It’s my favorite song because it was the first song I actually completed and liked. Being my first song I was very hesitant and shy to share it but the end result was the 2400+ views on YouTube. It has really made my confidence blossom. Fuel to Fire changed my attitude towards my songwriting. It’s constantly encouraging me to keep at it and experiment with different styles and genres.’

Rani-Leigh says she keeps a creative diary and is always writing down sentences and powerful words. ‘I elaborate on them and end up making verses – it’s like writing a poem to begin with.

‘I take the concept behind my poem, create a riff and chords with either a major or minor sound (depending on the tone and emotion behind the created lyrics) and from there it’s like a game of musical Tetris, trying to fit the poem lyrics into verses with good phrasing.

‘It can be a complicated process but I find with some lyrics and a basic vibe to the song set down it then just comes down to making the music and lyrics intertwine. I’m still learning and experimenting but as they say, practice makes perfect!’

Rani-Leigh says the guitar is her instrument of choice but she is dabbling in other songwriting tools.

‘All my songs have been written on my acoustic however recently I’ve been expanding and playing around on the keyboard so hopefully I’ll be able to incorporate some keys into upcoming projects.’

Rani-Leigh is someone to keep an eye out for. Her raw talent isn’t actually very raw, it’s quite polished and she is bound to shine on.