We spoke to Rackett’s Rebecca Callander in episode four of our Turning Heads podcast.
Episode four of Turning heads features a chat with Sydney artist Rackett, aka Rebecca Callander. Rackett’s latest single, ‘ILY Alley’, came out in May 2020. It’s the project’s third new single since Callander relaunched Rackett as a solo vehicle in late 2019.
Rackett had previously been a four-piece band. They started out playing garage punk and slowly morphed into more of a glam rock band, touring with the likes of The Darkness, Killing Heidi and The Superjesus. But after parting with her band mates, Callander was keen to shake things up. She’d become a big fan of artists like Charli XCX, Tyler, the Creator, Dorian Electra and A$AP Rocky, and wanted to cast off the rock-oriented sound of the former Rackett.
Rackett 2.0 emerged in October 2019 with the single ‘Machinations’, which features electronic instrumentation and melodic and rhythmic extroversion. The next single, ‘Oxytoxic’, followed suit, aligning with artists like Charli XCX, Sophie and the PC Music crowd, who’re all unafraid to inhabit a highly computerised world. The latest single, ‘ILY Alley’, is a more stripped back number, dedicated to Rackett’s former bass player Alley Gaven.
In the podcast, Bec spoke about Rackett’s ongoing stylistic transformation and her goal to be 100% confident in everything she does. She reflected on how our lives are increasingly being conducted online and what this means for artists. Bec also revealed how a visit to the Pride of our Footscray Community Bar led to a complete fascination with the wonderful world of drag.
Check out the podcast episode below:
I will be back with a new episode of Turning Heads next week. You can find the podcast on Spotify, Podbean and through Apple.
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