With the release of last week’s One For Jackie, Rett Madison has shown herself to be a hard-hitting and intimate songwriter. Contributor Asha Swann reviewed the album for Rainbow Rodeo, but now we have a chance to hear from Madison herself about the process of recording this stunner, dive a little deeper into the song “Skydiving,” and reflect on the experience of living with a parent who struggled with addiction and mental health.
“Skydiving” is one of the first songs you recorded for your upcoming album, One for Jackie. Why was this the song you started off with?
After Tyler Chester (producer of One for Jackie) listened to my acoustic demos of the songs I’d written for this album, he had an idea to transform the arrangement of “Skydiving” from an acoustic guitar ballad into an anthemic rock song. His enthusiasm for “Skydiving” felt like a good starting point for us as collaborators since we hadn’t worked together before.
The song combines a lot of Americana and modern pop elements. How did you work in some of the more contemporary elements?
Once Tyler Chester had the idea of setting my acoustic guitar part against the anthemic rock beat, that set the tone for the rest of the arrangement.
On the first day we worked together, Tyler had me record my vocal for “Skydiving” in his garage while listening to my vocal played back to me through a monitor as if I were on stage. It feel like a grungier approach to recording a vocal that worked really well for this song and ended up being the final take for the album. Tyler also used a drum machine that had some mellotron samples, so that was really fun to watch him add those layers to the song in real time too.
You grew up in West Virginia, and now you’re in LA — how did you get from point A to point B?
When I was sixteen I had the opportunity to attend an arts boarding school in Michigan to study songwriting and music. While I was at that school, I learned about a college program where I could continue my music education and major in songwriting at a university based in Los Angeles. Although I dropped out of college after a few semesters, that’s the initial reason for why I made the move to Los Angeles.
Why do you feel it’s important to self-identify as a queer artist?
I self-identify as a queer artist because I remember how important it was for me to look towards artists for representation when I was much younger and grappling with coming out. Finding artists that were sharing LGBTQ+ stories in their music and writing helped me feel less alone and ashamed when I was coming to terms with my own identity.
One for Jackie reckons with the death of your mother, who struggled with addiction and mental health crises throughout her (and your) life. What is something you’d like to say to anyone who is currently experiencing this with their parent or parental figure?
If you’re currently living with a parent or caretaker struggling with addiction and or mental illness, I really want you to know that their illnesses are not your fault. As early as I can remember, I carried guilt and shame about my mom’s addiction. I remember feeling like I was somehow to blame for my mom’s illness and pain because in my child mind, I couldn’t think of any other explanation for why my mom was so sad because she spent much of her time with me. It took me years of therapy to let go of that false sense of responsibility and to have more compassion for my mom’s struggles without taking them on as my own.
One For Jackie is available now.
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