Ode to a Nightingale
The first time I heard Raye, in the summer of 2023/24, I was driving along Sayers Road, under the yellow Federation Trail bridge, towards Laverton, the M1, on my way to the city. I remember the way her voice soared, the elasticity, over the club beats of 'Prada'.
I want Prada, ah-ah, ah-ah
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
I wish I could say that was the moment I became a fan.
The next song I heard, also on the radio, was 'Escapism.'
Drunk calls, drunk texts, drunk tears, drunk sex
I was lookin' for a man who was on the same page
Now it's back to the intro, back to the bar
To the Bentley, to the hotel, to my old ways
'Cause I don't wanna feel how I did last night
I don't wanna feel how I did last night
Doctor, doctor, anything, please
Doctor, doctor, have mercy on me, take this pain away
You're asking me my symptoms, doctor, I don't wanna feel
Raye performed at Laneway in 2024 and at the Forum in Melbourne on 1 February. I will forever regret not getting a ticket. The sideshow announcement is in my inbox: 6 November 2023. I was then in Dunedin on a writing residency. And I was still in a relationship.
When Raye won a record-breaking six Brit awards in one night, in March 2024, I finally paid attention. Her talent. The way she cares. Her endearing humility. Her vulnerability.
Before Raye sings 'Ice Cream Man.', about surviving sexual assault and rape, she acknowledges 25 per cent of her audience have experienced similar. I too know how it feels.. what it takes.. to survive. To hit rock bottom and rise from the ashes.
'Cause I'm a woman
I'm a very fucking brave strong woman
And I'll be damned if I let a man ruin
How I walk, how I talk, how I do it
In March, Raye released her second album This Music May Contain Hope. (Most people know the lead single 'WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!') At first, I thought singles 'Nightingale Lane' and 'Click Clack Symphony' were over the top but after listening to the album in full, several times, I admit I was wrong. This Music May Contain Hope is BRILLIANT. A journey through life's seasons, it's designed to be listened from start to end.
Somebody loved me once
Somebody will again
Like the way you loved me
On Nightingale Lane
Although we never made it
Stranger, you showed me it's true
I'm capable of loving someone the way I loved you
The way this song builds, and builds, and builds..... Raye's vocal range. Her control.
Another of my favourite performances is 'Oscar Winning Tears.' at the 2025 Grammys.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna tell you 'bout
One of the many men, name is irrelevant, height is irrelevant
He was a one out of ten, I wish that I knew it then
I'm so, so grateful for Raye's art ♡ I admire her exuberance, rawness and glamour. I admire how she's unapologetically herself. A breath of fresh air. She makes me want to make art.
(As Durga Chew-Bose once said, 'Maybe my relationship to favorites is whatever makes me want to make things. Whatever forces me to look or listen and then feel compelled to dip into my mind and work on something. Isn't it nice when seeing a great movie makes you want to host a dinner party?')
For seven years, her label refused to let Raye put out an album. She went independent.
Smaller can be bettter. To have control over one's art. To reach your audience directly. As I recently emailed a friend, I wanted Echoes to reach readers who would appreciate it. My long-standing view is 'I'd prefer to be read deeply and with love by a small number of readers than to write a bestseller that people forget.' (See also: Jenny Zhang's interview.)
You can read more about Raye's journey and gain a glimpse into her artistry and personality in these recent interviews with Billboard (2026), Elle (2026) and British Vogue (2025).
