Identity in Influence (Music + Interview with kid named rhi)
- Rhiannon Rueda
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
We recently interviewed Washington D.C. based musician, singer-songwriter, and genre-bender Rhiannon Rueda, also known as kid named rhi. Her debut EP, Major 7, was released in April of this year with Second District Records. You can listen to the lead single, SIKE!!, below, with interview excerpts and full video to follow.
On Jazz Inspiration
"Like, before I would obviously write a lot of Bossa nova songs and then even, a new or more recent song that I wrote or released was Marmalade last year. That was a straight ABA form...a jazz standard. I just wanted to make it exactly how other songs were like...definitely a lot more from jazz artists in the 60s or 50s. Like, Antônio Carlos Jobim, like straight Bossa nova songs."
On Inspiration Beyond Jazz
"Yeah, actually I feel very inspired recently by artists like Alice Phoebe Lou, or Dodie, or Remi Wolf. A lot of them are more pop based or indie based...coming from sort of, like, an internet culture....But I think what I take more specifically from at least those three artists is finding a different way to say my story. I think, not in a sort of condescending way...But I think there's something to be said [for] trying to say it completely differently, or, like, looking at a very specific aspect of what relationship or dynamic you find."
On Cover Art
"I think the cover art as a style...mainly comes from my fixation on...spacey things...stars and stuff. I think it's definitely a result of my strange fascination with like retrofuturism art, like in the 60s, like Star Trek, or like the Jetson's...I really wanted to replicate that in terms of its vivid colors and the almost idyllic look of what it could be, or what the future could look like."
On Authenticity
"It's just easier to say how I'm feeling hidden within the words, the same way as the artists that I take inspiration from. They hide their experiences or their emotions within the lyrics that are a little bit difficult to decipher, but it's still there and I can take away something from it. I use the music to express how I'm feeling without telling exactly what I want, because in a way it's just, it's difficult for me already to say exactly what I'm feeling. But, if I'm able to say it in another way, and almost slyly kind of tell people about it, I find a lot more fulfillment from that..."
On Creative Expression
"...I think [songwriting] is definitely my form of journaling or therapy. It definitely gets my emotions out and makes it more normal. The more I sing it, the more I sort of, not in a negative way. become more desensitized to it, and it's just routine for me to sing it where I don't really recognize the lyrics anymore, but in that sense it just feels easier to say each time. And I think it's very in parallel to my journey of feeling more stable in mental health, and my relationships. and my dynamics with people and how I express my feelings in a more literal sense.
Full Interview with Chloe Irwin
Rhiannon Rueda is an indie pop singer-songwriter based in DC under the name 'kid named rhi'. Her band blends indie pop, alternative, and jazz influences, similar to Alice Phoebe Lou, Crumb, Kate Bollinger, and Remi Wolf. She’s played at local venues like Ernie's Place, Union Stage, and DC9, alongside on-campus events at American University. You can buy her music on major streaming platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.
