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Q&A WITH MUSICIAN RETT MADISON FOR KEROSENE MAGAZINE

  • Alana Mann
  • May 18, 2021
  • 7 min read

Updated: May 21, 2021

For the first issue of Kerosene, we conducted an interview with twenty-three year old musician Rett Madison. The singer who inspired the title of our publication speaks on the trials of young musicians, including misogyny and funding her own career.



We spoke with the 24-year-old upcoming artist Rett Madison, who's song 'Kerosene' inspired us so much we just had to name a magazine after it.


We need to talk about how our name is inspired by your song, Kerosene. Could you explain the meaning behind the song?

That song I believe I wrote a few years ago now. It was in an era where I had not yet done enough introspection or healing for myself. I was worried that my background or the relationships I had seen growing up and the example that those relationships set for me would be the same kind of relationship I would find myself in. Because of that, I wrote the song by saying, hey, don't expect this committed long-term thing from me. I don't even think I'm available or capable of that. I am now in a committed relationship [laughs], and I am in consistent therapy, which I highly recommend.


Success is such a personal concept. How would you personally define success?


I would define success as continuously changing. I'll reach a specific benchmark that I set for myself, and I may be really excited and fulfilled by it. But, I find myself to be a fairly ambitious person, so sometimes I feel that the benchmarks and the external measurements of success are consistently moving forward for me. Overall, I have come to a place where I now feel successful - I get to do what I love. There are people out there, no matter how small or large that number is. I get to make music for a living and share that; I consider it my career. So from a career perspective, being able to do what I have always wanted feels successful. Obviously, specific benchmarks might change as I continue to get older. I think in the present moment being able to pursue music feels like a win to me.


Your single 'Twenty Five' is about romanticising your twenties and the expectations you have as a teenager. Could you explain how you feel about your twenties at the moment, three years on from the song's release?


Funny enough, I actually wrote that song when I was 20! [laughs]. I would say the ages of 20 through 22 were quite difficult years for different reasons. I thought so early on in my twenties that I didn't have everything figured out because I was a kid by the time I got here. I needed to learn to detach my self worth from external measurements or benchmarks of success. At the time, I wasn't meeting some goals that I had set for myself. In my personal relationships, I wasn't falling in love with anybody. I envisioned my life to be in such a different place as an 8-year-old because fuck, 20 is so old when you're 8! [laughs]. So I did have to work on that, to heal and believe that I am inherently worthy as a human being regardless of if I'm kicking down doors in my career path. Now that I'm 24 and will eventually be 25 a year from now, I feel that I've changed my perspective a little about getting to the quarter part of my life. I just feel grateful to have had some time to be in therapy and love the people around me and again have gratitude for allowing me to do what I want to do.

What would you say is the main themes within your music that you would like people to take away with them?


Music started out to be very therapeutic for me personally, and it helped me explore more emotional vulnerabilities. It's been a great outlet. There's definitely some overall themes that you can find throughout my songs. I sing a lot about my queerness. I sing a lot about grief in some newer material. Overall, I hope that my songwriting style helps other people feel comfortable in their own vulnerabilities and have an outlet to feel in touch with some heavier emotions. I want people to feel totally heard, validated, seen and safe when they go into that place - my music could be a vehicle for that.

You come across as a very authentic artist. What is your view on the sexualisation process that artists go through, especially in the initial stage of careers?


Personally, I'm lucky. I don't feel that I have been forced to package my music through a specific lense because of a male gaze. I'm not attached to a label per se at this point, not that I won't be in the future. I feel like I have been lucky to independently develop, so I don't feel outside pressure. I have definitely experienced sexism and misogyny absolutely. As a woman, especially a queer woman in music, I could share countless anecdotes about that experience. I feel I can get on stage and say confidently, 'God is a woman, and she fucks a woman'. I can stand proudly in my sexuality and express that from a very empowered place as a queer woman. I'm lucky to express my sexuality in some of my songs, but not to appease or please male listeners. I'm in the driver's seat with all of that.

Do you think it is possible to remain authentic as an artist?

Everybody has their own journey and has to make different choices depending on who they have picked for their industry team. Again, I'm lucky that I get to have opportunities because I have kept my integrity. I have stayed honest and stayed authentic to the stories and the topics I want to speak and write about. I think it is possible to remain authentic throughout your career. Authentic in terms of not compromising your morals or values as a vision for your art. I believe that it is absolutely possible for artists. Everyone is on a different path. Maybe there are people out there who have to compromise and feel that they move away from their own personal authenticity because they may feel influenced by other people. But luckily, I believe that I have been able to be authentic thus far and feel in line with that as I go forward.


There are issues with sexual harassment and assault in every industry because we live in a patriarchal society. In any job, women are going to be up against misogyny. Specifically, in music, I definitely think it is a significant issue. When you look at previous Grammy nominations, there's still not much representation of women in engineering or production categories, in more behind the scenes, essential fields in the industry. In terms of MeToo, I absolutely think harassment is an issue [in music]. It's an issue on every level in the music industry. I have heard stories of men in local music communities filling 100 seat capacity shows who have already begun to use their smaller platforms to create an inappropriate, abusive and predatory interaction with some of their fans. It's not just massive artists in the industry that probably have skeletons in their closet. Women are up against harassment, regardless of their occupation. So I think it's an issue, and I hope to see more of the abusive and predatory people in the music industry outed for what they are.

Are there any particular challenges that have stuck with you throughout your career so far?


There has definitely been a lot of personal self-doubt and self-esteem issues, and having to remind myself that this is what I want to do - keep going. I've played countless gigs, starting out with two people in the crowd. We all start somewhere. I still feel that I'm at the beginning of my career, though there is a whole chapter before this present one that is still very early. Playing to empty rooms, I had to think, I'm going to keep going. This doesn't feel great, but this is still what I want to do, and eventually, there will be more than two bodies in this room to listen to my music. That's been a challenge, the perseverance. Currently, I am an independent artist, so not having as much money to put into my projects and accelerate the process of bringing my art to completion can be challenging. It's a long game of patience - I've been working on an album for three years. If I had a label, I could accelerate this process as I could pay everybody to focus on my project. Practising patience that can be challenging. You have many challenges as a musician - I'm really grateful to do it, but there are many.

Do you think everyone has the same perseverance?


If your goal is to sell out 100 capacity shows in your local music community, I feel that's a very incredible and attainable goal to have. That goal will come sooner, as to someone with big ambitions to have a stadium filled with people. Many people are making incredible music with all kinds of different sized audiences that are persevering and staying in the industry. I would say I personally have massive ambitions, and I'm still holding on to them. I hope I have the perseverance to see them through. It can be an intense business, so I don't shame anybody who needs to step away for their own health. The smaller the goal, the more attainable it is to persevere, but if it's a big goal, then I'm sure some people do fall off because of how hard it is.

Do you feel that you have learned many valuable lessons whilst paving through your twenties that you think your younger self would need to hear?


Looking back, I don't necessarily have any regrets by any means. I was doing the best with what I could at the time at my younger ages. If I could give myself any advice to the younger version of myself - or even to my younger twenties version of myself, would to be more present and value the people you love. I'm pretty affectionate. I let people know I love them, but I have been even more open to telling people I care about them and show people I love them in different ways since my mom passed when I was 21. That really changed me in so many ways. My advice would be to soak it all up, all the love that you can with the people that are really important to you, because that's all that really matters. I'm sure that sounds cliche, but it's true.


Lastly, is there anything that you look forward to accomplishing this year?


Oh wow. I'm very excited to release my debut album. I have released singles from the album, the earliest one being 2019, and I've been working on it since 2018. I'm so excited to say I am an artist with an album in a physical form. I'm hoping that it will be out by the summer of 2021. That is what I'm very much looking forward to this year.




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