The 23-year old, Rachel Bochner, is a musician based in New York City with a passion for singing and songwriting. Beginning as an A&R intern, Rachel started her journey in the world of music and took to creating and living her dream, “I kind of realized that my love for music wasn't like in that part of the industry, and it was that I wanted to be making music and sharing music.” After graduating in 2019, Rachel put her time and energy into diving into the realm of producing and forming her own music and sound. Her first song, “Ocean Drive,” was released in 2019, followed by the release of many other singles leading up to her EP, 2 AM.

Having a background in music, Rachel is no stranger to the creative process. In discovering her sound, she went down the indie-pop path and explained, “The school I went to, it’s a big music school. I was kind of forced to start developing a style independent of everyone and everything else. So, at first, I wasn't really focused on what genre I’m going for or what playlist I want to sit on and that kind of stuff. It was more just like, ‘okay what feels good to write?’ and just kind of see where that goes. But I’ve kind of just grown into myself more as a writer and as an artist.” With influences stemming from Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, Conan Gray, Maggie Rogers, and Lorde, her sound can often be found resonating with a broader range than only indie pop. “I like identifying with the genre Indie pop. I think that it kind of gives you a good amount of flexibility too, because it just becomes this umbrella term.” Rachel elaborates, “So, I love listening to pop music, for sure, like no shame in there, but I also have a lot of other musical influences, and I think that indie pop kind of allows me to pull from those different places in bands or artists like that.”

“It was like pieces falling into place. I just kind of started focusing on writing and figuring out what my sound was.”

When building her songs, Rachel has a very unique and thoughtful process. Often shaping songs from personal experiences or sometimes with a hint of imagination she details, “I try to pull from a combination of experiences that I personally have had, and emotions that I can relate to and pull from with a little bit of fiction where necessary. So some songs feel kind of autobiographical, and they are about something that feels very specific to me and my life. And then sometimes, it's a little bit more of a story that I'm making up with myself or with whoever I'm co-writing with.”

Following the 2 AM Ep, Rachel released her new single, “hating myself in the summer” on July 15th. The single goes into detail about body image, and the constant struggle and battle within her head. With societal pressure and social norms forcing a certain mentality, body image is a concept that is a constant battle for people, and “hating myself in the summer” is Rachel’s way of telling the world she’s had enough and “quite frankly, tired of the bullshit.” In discussing the inspiration behind the single, Rachel states, “I think that there's kind of beauty in being able to hear something and be like, ‘okay, I'm not the only person that feels this way.’ It's kind of comforting to know that you're not alone in that. And also, no matter what your body looks like, you are a beautiful, beautiful creature. It's a shame that as young women, you know, have to spend so much of their time worrying about that instead of just enjoying life.”

“If I had to give advice --and this is advice that I'm like simultaneously giving myself-- it is to just try to remember that the least interesting thing about you is the size of your clothing or what your body looks like.”

Rachel’s writing style is personalized, raw, and authentically constructed. With her use of individuality she establishes throughout her music, each song forces this sense of cohesive understanding with the listeners. “I just make sure that whatever I'm writing, I can make it feel as genuine as possible by finding the emotion that I can personally relate to, and pulling from that.” Rachel goes onto explain, “So, even if the story isn't like word-for-word or factually something that happened to me, I always wanted to feel real enough that everyone can find their way to resonate with it.” Rachel’s writing style is sincere and unapologetically truthful, and her voice can be heard in lyrics like, “Where the unassuming pretty girl learns she’s been seeing herself wrong.”

“Hating myself in the summer” starts off with really intriguing harmonies and synths that grab your attention right from the start. With a hypnotizing beat and interesting vocals, Rachel shows her ingenuity when it comes to creating her music. The single establishes a slight juxtaposition with its deeper meaning, yet upbeat tone fit for the summer. Containing a mesmerizing bridge that incorporates a ton of harmonies and build-up, “hating myself in the summer” is an absolute bop and a song that everyone should be screaming out the car window at the top of their lungs. And Rachel did just that, featured driving around in a hot pink Barbie car throughout the music video for “hating myself in the summer.” On the process behind the music video, Rachel describes, “I felt like it kind of represented what it feels like when you are super in your head about how you look and feeling insecure. If you're in a room, and you feel like you're sticking out-- you kind of feel like you're just too big for this space-- and I felt like the Barbie car kind of served as a great representation of that, a visual representation of what that feeling is like.”

In discussing the future of her music, Rachel talks about her upcoming live shows in New York City and her excitement for the next step in her career. “I'm very nervous about it, but I know after that it’s going to feel like a really big milestone. Because I started really releasing music right before the world shut down, so I haven't had the opportunity to do that yet, so it's something I've been looking forward to for so long and like hyping up in my mind so much, so I think that's going to feel like a big moment.” When asked for a teaser on any new music, Rachel gave a hint to her “hating myself in the summer” music video. “This is me on my Taylor Swift shit,” Rachel explains, “This is like my little way of doing that. It's an Easter egg for the next single that I'm putting out.” Checkout the music video for “hating myself in the summer” at timestamp 2:36, and you might get a little sneak peek of Rachel’s next single.

With over 50,000 monthly listeners, Rachel Bochner is an authentic and electric musical artist, and someone who should definitely be on your music radar all summer long!

Check out Rachel Bochner’s new single, “hating myself in the summer,” available on all streaming platforms now!

Rachel Bochner on Finding Her Sound and Not Falling to Societal Standards

“It was like pieces falling into place. I just kind of started focusing on writing and figuring out what my sound was.”

“If I had to give advice --and this is advice that I'm like simultaneously giving myself-- it is to just try to remember that the least interesting thing about you is the size of your clothing or what your body looks like.”