Q&A: R E L Finds Healing Through Heartache with Haunting New Single “Medicine”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
IN HER LATEST SINGLE “MEDICINE” - R E L dives deep into the raw, bittersweet complexities of love and loss. Known for creating her own genre, EVOCAPOP, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter masterfully blends haunting melodies with introspective lyricism, offering listeners a visceral, heart-wrenching experience. The song, a standout track from her forthcoming EP, channels a deeply personal narrative that intertwines the heartbreak of a past relationship and the existential fears tied to family, reflecting R E L's ability to tap into universal emotions while remaining unapologetically authentic.
As part of the second chapter in her EVOCAPOP journey, Side B, "Medicine" embodies themes of emotional release and self-love, bridging the darkness of heartache with the light of healing. For R E L, authenticity is everything—and with "Medicine," she invites us to feel deeply and find beauty in the tears that connect us all. In our interview, R E L shares the song's dual meaning, her transformative freestyle songwriting process, and the vulnerable yet empowering journey behind her EP.
LUNA: "Medicine" captures such a raw and haunting sense of vulnerability. Can you dive deeper into the dual meaning of the song—how it relates to both your personal relationships and your family? How did that realization shape the writing process?
R E L: Thank you - I’m glad it captures those senses for you. I absolutely can dive into the meanings of the song. I started writing this song on a Saturday night having come home from a Purim party, face-painted, and needing to let some music out. I picked up my guitar, set up my phone to record, and sang what became “Medicine.” At that point I was still really heartbroken over my last relationship which had ended in a way that took me by surprise and hurt a lot, with really no closure. I was still processing it all. What I love about freestyle singing/songwriting is watching how the subconscious comes out. I remembered this far-away look my ex had gotten on my birthday towards the end of our relationship and it spurred this song. When I brought it into the studio with Jon Joseph, who produced a lot of my next album (and all three songs off of the “Medicine” EP), the verse lyrics materialized and as I listened to them as Jon added layers to the track, I started to cry pretty deeply. I realized that this song was also about my dad, who I’m very close to and is a huge inspiration to me. A few years ago he was diagnosed with something that made me face the existential fear of losing a parent. This song fused these two deeply painful experiences of loss and became about losing someone you love in a greater sense – a piece of life we all face. It’s about loss, and love, and the way that tears drop us into this very real, raw place free of pretense. Somehow, they bring us closer to ourselves and to the heart of it all.
LUNA: You’ve described the EP as part of a larger journey of self-love and healing through your EVOCAPOP project. How does "Medicine" fit into the narrative of Side B and its focus on love and emotional release?**
R E L: It’s a pivotal track, I suppose. It connects the tears with the healing - the pain with the remedy. I’ve said for years that music is medicine, so it feels significant to have come out with a song called “Medicine,” and it naturally felt like the title track of this EP which introduces the first three songs off my new album. Side A was about light - realizing you’ve been in the darkness in some way, and wanting to come out of it. Side B is about love - stepping through the shadows and being done hiding. Side C… is about magic – the magic of empowering yourself, embodying yourself, loving yourself. I’m so grateful to have created this project which so closely follows my own journey of growth.
LUNA: The imagery in "Medicine”, like the “faraway look” and tears reflecting streetlights, feels so vivid. How do you translate these deeply personal and visual moments into lyrics and melodies?
R E L: So happy it feels vivid to you.
As I mentioned, “Medicine” started as a freestyle. I have a good poker face, sometimes even to myself, and songwriting, from a young age, was a way that I dropped into myself and my heart to feel the currents there. When I write, or sing, and especially if I do both at once, I blurt out those things I may have been hiding from myself - the deep emotions, memories, hurt, excitement, anger, anything can come to the surface. It’s a way I get out of my head too, funny enough. You might think writing would get me in my head but for me it does the opposite. I’ve loved movies my whole life – I feel them very deeply. I struggle to watch violence in movies for this reason. Music videos have always been a part of my music because I love storytelling so much. I don’t ever really focus on descriptive language when I’m songwriting so I really appreciate that the visual moments come through. I prefer to let the heart speak and don’t dress up my lyrics these days with too many particulars of place. Unless those lyrics just fall out!
LUNA: You’ve mentioned "Medicine" started as a freestyle recording. How did that raw, instinctual process evolve into the finished track? Were there any moments in the studio that surprised you?
R E L: I didn’t know I’d start sobbing in the studio as we built up the song. That was a big surprise. The lyrics suddenly hit me at a deeper level and I realized just how much the song meant to me and reflected my life. It happened accidentally, or subconsciously, which makes it that much more beautiful I think. I love capturing raw, intuitive creativity – it feels like bottling magic. It’s little moments of authentic expression. Channeling…
LUNA: Self-love and authenticity are clearly core themes in your music. How do you balance sharing these deeply personal stories while making space for listeners to find their own meaning and connection?
R E L: I think showing up with vulnerability invites others to do the same. So, if I arrive with the most honesty and vulnerability that I can, what that transmits is hopefully a safe, reflective space for others to do so as well. My twenties so far have felt like a decade of growing into myself. It’s this process of letting go - of conditioning, fear, stories, shame. Embracing what’s here. Then everything is fuller, brighter, clearer, truer, deeper.
LUNA: How did the release show go?
R E L: It was amazing! I love, love playing live. I hadn’t yet played the EP in the order it got released, so it was special to do that. With each show, I find myself hiding less too. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I feel I’ve spent so long hiding pieces of myself. I’m learning how to not do that…it’s exhilarating and empowering. I loved hearing the audience’s reception of the songs too! And some people sang along to “Medicine” which almost made me cryyyy…on stage! I also got to launch my first-ever “real” merch, which I designed and features a drawing I’ve done for 5 or 7 years for evocapop. It’s a world with the land masses as faces looking at each other. That’s what music – evocapop – is to me. Connection.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for the rest of the year?
R E L: 2024 is almost over! I’m playing a few more shows - a couple in NY and back in LA. For the coming year, I’m planning the next songs from the album that I’ll share, and then the album release. There will be three more singles coming out in the winter before the album comes out in early spring. I’m booking more shows, getting some tour plans together and will be sharing lots of new music. I intend for many people to hear this project and for it to be something that moves them to feel more truly and deeply into themselves and their hearts. I intend to tour! I intend to share a lot of EVOCAPOP music, and some new “Night City” - cyberpunk-inspired music too…I intend to stop hiding!
