Radio BurgerFuel Interview: Bridges

Leaving Troubled Waters Behind

Bridges' debut EP is here. And fair warning, it deals with some pretty heavy issues. As we dive deep, there are certainly bridges that have been built and crossed. And for Bridges and her journey of personal growth and recovery, there’s no looking back.

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The first time I came across Bridges was when the song ‘Pills’ came across my desk last year (well, email, really, as physical music doesn’t exist that much any more!). It was love at first listen, so I’ve been intrigued to see and hear more, especially now the EP ‘Twenty Something’ has just been released. There’s a depth of experience in there which I didn’t expect – but I now understand. And I can only applaud Rachel for being so open and willing to share.

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Bridges started in 2019 to test the waters for a new project. After moving to Auckland and leaving her acoustic/singer-songwriter roots behind in Christchurch, Bridges says she tried to separate the two, “That's where the idea of Bridges came about. I was moving from one music genre to another, and that also matched where I was growing as a person in my 20s.”
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Her history with music extends back well into her early days in Ōtautahi; having a music teacher for a parent was an obvious path to be explored.

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“I started playing Suzuki violin when I was about four. It was a tiny three-quarter size one. I remember that I thought violins were a really rare instrument at the time. And I'm going to be so cool playing it. Clearly, I'd never been to an orchestra! So I learned that for about 6 years, and it was really helpful in training my ear. You move your fingers slightly, and the entire note changes. Now I play guitar, and I just chuck my finger on a fret, and it sounds good.”

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“I had a grand piano in the house growing up, which I also thought was normal. It turns out that it’s not, but I was very lucky to have instruments everywhere. There were guitars around as my Dad's a guitar teacher, so I started teaching myself guitar at 13. I wanted to write songs and was getting a little bit sick of singing and choir and just wanted to sing by myself and be a pop star.”

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After starting to write music at 15 and gigging around Christchurch in her final year of school, it took the post-earthquake scene and a snap decision to move to Auckland to put Bridges on her current track. Studying for a Bachelor of Music drove her to push new boundaries and try new things while delving back into her past.

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“I was diagnosed with depression at 17 and then PTSD. So, part of my journey as a person was unlocking many feelings, like anger. It turns out I was really angry about a few things, which is kind of what depression was for me. I was in my early 20s, having moved to Auckland, I started going to therapy and was like, whoa, I'm feeling all of these, like, really dark feelings. And I want the music to match.”

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“I'm quite a smiley person, and I think people see me as a blonde female, so they're like, ‘Ohh, so sweet!’ I love challenging a stereotype. So yes, I'm gonna play electric guitar. And yes, I'm gonna write some pretty angsty stuff. And it's gonna be heavy-hitting, and it's probably not what you expect. So as I unlocked those feelings, the music got a bit darker.”

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Songs also became therapy for Bridges. “It was a really good way to feel like myself when I didn't quite have the words to tell people what was going on inside,” she says.

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“Music has always been where I feel like I'm the truest and most honest version of myself. When I was creating this Bridges sound, I was being really honest and writing all of this really atmospheric, big, cinematic music. People would hear it and say, ‘Ah, is it how you feel?’ So that's what music was really good for. And it is still.

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A first release can call on a wide timeframe of work thanks to the blank space before it. For Bridges, the oldest track on the EP (‘Gone’) is eight years old. So, as the title suggests, it really does span her 20s.

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“I wrote ‘Pills’ maybe two years ago, and then the title track of the EP, ‘Twenty Something’ I wrote about six weeks ago. I just really needed a fifth song for the whole thing to make sense. It's quite a simple song, pulling lyrics from all the other songs and tying it together.”

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“The talking at the start of ‘Twenty Something’ starts with a clip from a home video of me chatting on the phone as a three-year-old. Then, it changes to a clip of me doing an interview about five weeks ago. So it really is like my whole life.”

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“All these songs are from different periods of my 20s, and they all lean towards slightly different genres, but that's also the point. That's what you're doing in your 20s as you evolve and find your identity.”

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In the process, Bridges has turned into an unintended activist for mental health. Besides her family and close friends, her lyrics and music were the first clues to what she had been through. But she explains that this was a driving force behind why.

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“I wanted to do it because I'm all about just wanting to say things how it is. But I had to feel OK in myself, which is why it's taken so long to put it out, to be able to talk about this. I feel like it's important.”

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“Some people don't know what to say, but that's OK. I just let people sit with it; if it's not for them, that's fine. But I think it's surprised a few people.”

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“I played a gig last week, a solo set to a room of 30 people. I always get nervous after I play. Like, ‘Was that too heavy? Did I just did I bring the mood down? Do people feel uncomfortable?’ A few people I don't know came to talk to me and said it felt like a really privileged insight into my life and world. I guess that's what music is; you invite people to connect with you.”

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“For me, it's important that I'm honest because I tried to hide my depression for so long. When I started being honest about it, I started being able to heal and move on. That’s why I need to keep writing really honest music.”

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Releasing a record is a time for reflection and a positive if the smiles are anything to go by. While it should come as no surprise to someone who’s dreamed of doing this since the age of 15, the hurdles Rachel has overcome have been immense.

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“I started writing songs when I was 15 and was pretty on track. And then I got the PTSD diagnosis, and that really put a pause on it. And I thought maybe I'll never get to a place where I'll be able to get myself and my brain in to gear to release this.”

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“But in the last year, I’ve been the healthiest and most recovered, so that's why it's all happening now. It's this momentous thing for me. I'm really proud of the music; it captures what I've been through all this. It feels like so many things, but relief and pride are probably the two. Yeah, I feel proud of it.”

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Bridges EP ‘Twenty Something’ and all good streaming services are available on Spotify. She's taking her live show on the road before Christmas, too. You can catch her hometown show in Christchurch at Space Academy on Saturday, 25 Nov, then at Big Fan in Auckland on Friday, 8 Dec. Details and tickets from Bridges' website.

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