[Rebecca Ramsey,](https://www.instagram.com/ramseysound/) 24, is not your typical Virgo. A love child of Marilyn Manson, Lorde and Angelina Jolie, the heavily tatted, juicy-lipped and raven-haired singer/songwriter/producer is never out of the house in all black. While her contemporaries like Billie Eilish and Lana del Rey project a dark aesthetic, they are nowhere near the level of Ramsey, whose Neo-goth image is packed with a gut-wrenching deep soulful voice and raw songwriting that reminds us of another Virgo icon whose love-stricken songs are as famous as her tattoos of pin-up girls, fingertip thick winged eyeliner and matted black beehive. Though it’s relatively easy to pass off the Las Vegas-born and Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/producer as a Scorpio, she’s got the laser sharp Virgo precision from her DIY sound to her fashion sense.
With 17.7K followers on Instagram, Ramsey has been making waves with her EP and actively working on her debut album _The Art of Survival_, which just launched this month. Though she’s a force on the rise, you might’ve heard her on _Euphoria_, the Drake-produced hit HBO teen drama (originally based on an Israeli TV show on the same name) that pushed Gen Z on our pop culture radar.
While other singer-songwriters of her calibre usually have a team to help them write or produce a song, Ramsey is a one-woman operation who taught herself to use Ableton, a music production app she’s used since she was either 19 or 20 years old.
We catch up over phone and e-mail to chat about what it’s like to spend a day in the studio, seeking inspiration from Queens of the Stone Age for The Art of Survival, the biggest mistake she’s made in her early 20s, _Euphoria_ and being indifferent to labels.
**Your real name is Rebecca, but you decide to go along with Ramsey. How did you discover your stage name and why did you decide to go with it?**
I wanted a masculine stage name, and Ramsey was the name of someone who was once very dear to me and has a lot to do with the artist and person I am today.
**Most new artists would have to book studio time and/or hire a producer, but you’re a one woman machine as a producer, songwriter and singer. Before you make a song, what was the first thing you’d usually do to get your creative juices flowing?**
Honestly, it's different every time…I never really know what will inspire me or get me into that mood and still to this day I find myself surprised by when and how it happens…I guess the one thing that does remain consistent though is that everything around me has to be extremely clean and in order... I like to keep the space around me perfect, for when the muse does decide to enter. ;)
**Since you write and produce \[songs\], what is it really like in a day at the studio?**
Each day differs. Sometimes, I’ll sit around and get to know some of my newer plug-ins and just play around.. sometimes I’ll go in with the intent to write a new song completely. There’s so many different ways it can go. When starting a beat \[on Ableton\], I rarely do the drums first.. I usually start with a synth or guitar line.. which will inspire a bass line or drum pattern.. once I have a skeleton down, I’ll start writing lyrics, then go back later to massage the production.
**You’ve got such a distinct contralto voice that’s deep and soulful. (I honestly would love to sound like that if I could sing well!) How did you develop it?**
Aww that is such a compliment - thank you so much! I guess just over the years, my voice may have gotten deeper? I'm not exactly sure! All of this just sort of feels like a gift I was given by something greater than myself.. It really doesn't even feel like I'm the one doing it at times.. but I suppose staying on top of my vocal exercises helps!
**Who are your role models and how have they inspired you?**
I have so so so many role models. The obvious ones (since I was a little girl) are Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Gwen Stefani, and Feist … then there's Queens of the Stone Age (one of my all-time favorite bands). \[N\]ot only their music\[,\] but the lyrics are so well written and they have not only helped me get through some of the hardest hardest times in my life, but also have been there through some of the very best. They have been the soundtrack to my life for years now. Then there's Julien Plenti and Blackmill…I listened to that stuff a lot in my teen years, so that music is pretty much embedded in me and the music I make now, I'm sure. And funny enough, after I became Ramsey, I discovered Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky, which changed my life and my music forever… the list could go on and on.
**Since you were born and raised in Vegas, did you feel that being there has shaped who you are as a person and as Ramsey?**
Absolutely. There would not be a Ramsey if it weren’t for Vegas. \[laughs\]
**What are some differences between the Vegas music scene versus LA?**
I really wasn’t doing music out there. But I think it inspired a lot of my writing. I don’t think I ever went to a show in Vegas \[laughs\] to be honest. I don’t hang out with a lot of people there, either. I’m sure there’s a good music scene there - I just don’t know too much about it.
**So, what made you want to move out to LA?**
It was a last minute decision, but I had seen it in pictures since I was little, all of the palm trees, I guess. It looked pretty cool. Honestly, I was back and forth between Vegas and LA, but I finally stayed in LA.
**I see. I remember living there for four years, but were there times when reality sank in and you were like, “Ugh! This is not what I pictured?”**
Oh, the second I got to LA for the first time, it was not like the beautiful pictures I’d seen my whole life! \[laughs\] I still have my moments with it and I try to continue to have those moments where I try to look at it from outside of myself. It feels like what it was when I was younger, looking at pictures. It’s pretty gritty and a weird place, that’s for sure. \[laughs\] I like the grit though.
**Congrats on debut album! Compared to your EP, how have you grown artistically?**
Thank you! I think since my EP I've fallen more in love with live instruments... as much as I love the electronic vibe\[,\] I think I've been leaning more towards guitar and rock and roll sounds.. (probably from all the Queens of the Stone Age I’ve been listening to).. So I've definitely been incorporating a lot more of that into my music.. I think my EP was just the beginning of what I would call a massive purge.. which in a sense paved the way for _The Art of Survival_. I don't think I would have necessarily been able to tell the stories back then that I am telling now. \[B\]ut each time I tell one \[story\], it opens up a new door for the next and each door feels bigger and better and closer to something that I know I need. If that makes sense…
**Since it took two years to make your album, what are some creative challenges that you had to deal with and how did you overcome them?**
I actually had a majority of the songs written long before this album came out.. However\[,\] I just kept writing new stuff and not putting it out.. I felt a distance with _The Art Of Survival_ catalogue compared to what I was currently writing.. but eventually I realized that these songs were a huge part of my story, AND I had way too much music that wasn't seeing the light of day which started to make me uncomfortable. So I decided to group that chapter of my life into the album that would become _The Art Of Survival_, to comb through the production a bit more, and began the mixing and mastering process with Eric Hart. That took about a year. I wouldn't say it was creatively challenging.. it was definitely a mind fuck at times.. but\[,\] more so an amazing journey and an unforgettable experience.
**Was there one particular song that was challenging to write?**
Funny enough, “Love Surrounds You” is an older one. But when I first made that, I think it’s partially because the people I showed it to, which was my management at that time, weren’t crazy about it. I almost didn’t put it out. I think I changed the chorus four times before I finally settled for what it is now. Same with “Home To You” on my new record. I changed that one - there’s 10 different versions of that song that are all completely different. Sometimes, the more I change something, the less sure I am of it all together.. However, usually I’ll go back and listen to it a couple days later and \[be like\] “Yup! This is it!”. It’s just a matter of trial and error, really.
**What were some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made in your early 20s?**
Oh gosh…\[laughs\] I definitely got into a couple of bad relationships.. or partnerships I should say. I wish I would’ve focused more on my music and on myself when I was in those relationships, but of course, I chose not to. At the same time, you learn from that and it makes you who you are and it gives you shit to write about I guess. Even though I can look at them as mistakes, I try not to look at anything as a mistake. I always try to see the good that came of it, you know?
**That’s honestly a great way to approach it. Speaking of _Euphoria_, how did your music end up being in there?**
That’s all Jean, dude. That guy. I love him. He’s friends with Jen Borsia, who’s the music supervisor and he turned her on to my music.
**You got a bunch of buzz from being featured in _Euphoria_. Since it’s a TV show that touches on the dark side of teen lives, how does your music resonate with it?**
I think that my lyrics resonated with the show more than anything.. maybe it's something about the stories they tell and the stories I tell? A friend of mine (Lisa Derrick) described the stories I tell as "a road that could lead to self-destruction or self-empowerment". I couldn't have pin pointed it better myself.. and that's kind of how I feel about the character plots in _Euphoria_..
**Is there one character that clicked with you?**
The main characters, obviously, Rue and Jules. I love them the most.
**Why is it that you love them the most?**
I can relate to a lot of Rue’s story and honestly, some \[of\] Jules too. I feel like we would be friends if that show was real life ;)
**I guess I better hop on HBO!**
Totally! \[laughs\] It’s good. I think you’ll like it.
**I find it funny how the stuff we’re listening to in high school are suddenly so hot like emo.**
Totally, I know! It’s pretty funny how that happens. I’m sure that will happen with my music at some point. \[laughs\]
**I totally feel you. I feel like now, artists like Billie Eilish get slapped on as emo. Do you feel that as an artist, if people weren’t familiar with you, would they slap on the same label?**
Maybe, if they’re saying that she’s emo then, for sure they would put me in that category. \[laughs\] It’s okay though. The human brain naturally categorizes freaking everything to try to make sense of it. I do it myself all the time.
**For you as an artist, you see that very differently.**
Well, emo is just short for emotional. My music is pretty emotional I guess. I would be upset if it wasn’t because the point of music \[is to\] feel an emotion. Again, I’m trying to look at it in a positive way ;) Yes call me emo i love it.
**This decade, I notice that there are more female pop singers with an edgier image and sound compared to 10 years ago. However, it’s at a point where it’s no longer a shock value. As an artist, have you felt the pressure to conform to an idea of what a “dark” pop star should be?**
Not really. I do a pretty good job of protecting myself from all the social media and comparisons.. plus I don't leave my house or socialize enough to be bothered by all of that.. I just happen to love minor chords, and write lyrics that most people consider "dark". I don't necessarily see them that way, but I understand why others do. I don't think these other "edgier" female "dark pop" stars are TRYING to add shock value either. Unfortunately (or fortunately), it all just depends on the people's interpretations of the way they (and I) are expressing ourselves.. Shock value or not, I like to think we are all just empowering each other at this point to tell our stories in a way that wouldn't have been acceptable 10 years ago. I also wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these artists (and myself) have actually been at it for a lot longer than most people realize, and that we're all just starting get noticed at the same time because people are suddenly more into this kind of music I guess? I could be wrong but that's my theory lol.
**What do you hope to achieve at your tour?**
I just want to connect with as many people as possible. That is the one thing that I don't get much of.. being a one woman band and all ;). It gets a little lonely and sometimes feels like I am the only one connecting with my music.. So it would be a dream come true to see other humans from all over the world coming out to hear my music.. hopefully it could help and inspire them in the same way that I have been helped and inspired through music.
However\[,\] I would be lying if I said I that wasn't attracted to the constant stimulation you get from being on tour. ;) After hiding out for years to create this music, it's sounding pretty fun right about now.
