Hotly tipped alternative indie pop artist Rachel Chinouriri shares, ‘It Is What It Is’, the final preview of her long-awaited debut album, What A Devastating Turn Of Events - out May 3.
‘It Is What It Is’ channels Rachel’s frustrations about being messed around by a potential partner, featuring exasperated spoken word verses and voicenotes from friends reminding her to know her worth. The release comes complete with a brand new visualiser and follows What A Devastating Turn Of Events’ previous singles ‘What A Devastating Turn Of Events’, ‘Never Need Me’ (with a video starring Florence Pugh) and ‘The Hills’.
About ‘It Is What It Is’ Rachel shares: “Well, I was definitely in a petty mood. It’s interesting because humans are full of flaws and I have the privilege of going through therapy, which has massively helped me with my self development journey however there are those moments where you want to be so petty because someone’s done you wrong. I’ve learnt I’m responsible for how I allow men to treat me because they feel I’m worthless enough to be treated that way and it’s a big F U to them as I’ve not discovered how much I deserve. I just feel annoyed I never got to say what I wanted and that’s fine… I have this song instead and it is what it is :)”
Listen to ‘It Is What It is’ by Rachel Chinouriri on the Shoot Music New Releases Playlist on Spotify.
What A Devastating Turn Of Events is a culmination of the experiences, challenges and joys of Chinouriri’s life so far, explored through the prism of musical stylings honed through years of experimentation and creation. Ever-eclectic and brutally honest, the album traverses life’s light and shade, the writing and sharing a healing process for Rachel, and she hopes, her listeners.
On What A Devastating Turn of Events, Rachel Chinouriri is unflinching and mesmerising as she invites us into her world and the experiences that have shaped her to become the person she is today. Despite facing up to the darkest parts of herself and her life – relationships, loneliness, regret, abuse, unconditional freedom, self harm, alcohol abuse and ultimately, death – Rachel asks us to consider the beauty amongst it all too.
The record examines the thoughts that had been swirling around her head: there are more long-standing themes of love, self-deprecation, unworthy exes and finding her boundaries in the album’s first half, but then in the second half, things get heavier.
“It’s a turning point,” she says, “Each song represents how you deal with trauma, but on the second half it’s when you get bad news and your world turns upside down.” This is an album which deals with grief, heartache, hurt, and what she calls the “worst-case scenarios” when these things are left unspoken for too long.
Following a triumphant sold out headline show at London’s KOKO, and her sold out debut headline shows in the US in New York and LA last month, Rachel heads back on the road from April 30 for a run of outstore dates in celebration of the release of What A Devastating Turn Of Events.
