Gracie and Rachel

Gracie and Rachel is a chamber pop piano-violin duo composed of singer-keyboardist Gracie Coates and violinist Rachel Ruggles, high school friends from Berkeley, California based out of Brooklyn, New York.[1]

Gracie and Rachel
Gracie and Rachel performing at Union Pool in Brooklyn, NY on July 19, 2017
Background information
OriginBerkeley, CA
Genreschamber pop
Years active2014 (2014) – present
LabelsUnited For Opportunity
Websitegracieandrachel.com
Members
  • Gracie Coates
  • Rachel Ruggles

Background

Coates and Ruggles met at Berkeley High School[2] in dance class when they were assigned to make a song for the class’s dance show.[3] Coates went on to study at Berklee College of Music and Ruggles at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University,[4] but they continued to rehearse together over video calls, creating music that combined Coates' pop songwriting with Ruggles’ classical training, before they decided to move to Brooklyn to play music together.[3]

Career

The duo recorded their debut album in their Bushwick loft[3] where they also live together.[5] Their single "Tiptoe" premiered on WNYC Soundcheck.[6] They released several black and white videos to tease the release of their album: "Go", "Tiptoe" premiering on Baeble Music,[7] "(Un)comfortable" premiering on Impose Magazine,[8] and "It’s Time" premiering on Earbuddy.[9] The video for "Only A Child" premiered on NPR Music where Bob Boilen praised the "terrific tension in the sound, an underpinning of mystery set against a baroque, but modern, pop foreground."[10] The song was later chosen as one of NPR Music’s 100 Best Songs of 2017.[11]

Gracie and Rachel’s self-titled debut album was teased with a full-album stream on The Big Takeover before its release on June 23, 2017 via United For Opportunity.[1] They were voted by All Songs Considered listeners as #4 of their favorite new artists of 2017.[12] The album was chosen as one of Bob Boilen’s top 10 albums of 2017 on NPR Music[13] and one of the 25 best of 2017 by Echoes.[14]

Gracie and Rachel has also released covers of "Gucci Gucci" by fellow Bay Area artist Kreayshawn[2] and "Elastic Heart" by Sia.[15]

They have performed live sessions at NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts[16] and Paste Magazine.[17]

In early October of 2018, in response to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Gracie and Rachel released a song and video titled “HER” that went viral on Facebook and was spotlighted on Channel 12 News Brooklyn.[18]

Style

Gracie and Rachel describe their sound as "orchestral pop."[15] They perform live as a trio with a drummer performing minimalistic percussion and triggering samples.[19] Duality is an integral part of their style,[20] reflected in their sound through the interplay between Coates' singer-songwriter background and Ruggles' classical training[5] and in their clothing, with Coates in white and Ruggles in black.[6] All photoshoots and music videos for their debut album are also in black and white.[20] Their lyrics are autobiographical[6] and reference themes of anxiety,[10] censorship, and empowerment.[20]

Discography
  • Gracie and Rachel (2017)

References
  1. "Album Premiere: Gracie and Rachel by Gracie and Rachel". Big Takeover. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. Schiewe, Jessie (8 December 2016). "Premiere: Gracie and Rachel Cover Kreayshawn's 'Gucci Gucci'". SF Weekly. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. Cuba, Julianne (10 July 2017). "Amazing Gracie: Violin-piano duo launch debut album". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. Peters, Alex (29 July 2014). "Smartists: Gracie and Rachel". Amy Poehler's Smart Girls. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. Diliberto, John (28 December 2017). "Echoes January CD of the Month: Gracie and Rachel". Echoes. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  6. Constas, Bailey (10 July 2015). "Gracie And Rachel: Fusing Dark And Light With Orchestral Pop". WNYC Soundcheck. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  7. Saas, Don (4 November 2015). "Baeble First Play: The Churning Baroque Intensity Of Gracie and Rachel". Baeble Music. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  8. Croft, Virginia (21 June 2017). "Gracie and Rachel, '(Un)comfortable'". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  9. "Gracie and Rachel – ;It's Time' (Official Lyric Video)". Earbuddy. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  10. Boilen, Bob (14 April 2017). "Gracie and Rachel Remind Us That We Are 'Only A Child,' Waiting To Grow". NPR Music. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  11. "The 100 Best Songs Of 2017". NPR Music. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  12. Hilton, Robin; Boilen, Bob (27 June 2017). "Your Favorite New Artists Of 2017 (So Far)". NPR Music. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  13. Boilen, Bob (14 December 2017). "Bob Boilen's Top 10 Albums Of 2017". NPR Music. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  14. "The Best of Echoes 2017-The Definitive 25 Albums". Echoes. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  15. Scrudato, Ken (23 August 2017). "Blackbook Premiere: Gracie and Rachel's Stunning Cover of Sia's 'Elastic Heart'". BlackBook. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  16. Boilen, Bob (1 November 2017). "Gracie and Rachel: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR Music. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  17. "Gracie and Rachel - Full Session". Paste Magazine. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  18. "Brooklyn duo releases music video inspired by Dr. Ford's hearing". Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  19. Haas, Anna (26 October 2017). "Review: San Fermin plays hypnotic show at Live Wire Athens". Red and Black. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  20. Haas, Anna (25 October 2017). "Gracie and Rachel to bring blend of pop, classical sounds to Live Wire". Red and Black. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
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