‘Owl Eyes’ from Mumbai’s Rachel Singh is a gorgeously delicate track with Singh’s voice a deliciously soft and expressive veil over a muted instrumentation, punctuated by a wind instrument with wailing cry in the distance. She has the tone and range that remind me of The Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser: a floating ethereal aura that is indelible and haunting.
The reflective lyrics describe the finding of an old photograph that sets the mind and the imagination soaring:
five old folds
covered in dust, old ghosts
freeing a weak link, seeking release
Singh’s voice is immersive, transfixing and celestial: the mood created is that of a dreamy fugue, hypnotic and mesmerising. The acoustic guitars ripple softly, providing a gentle base. Singh, a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston and trained in Hindustani classical music alongside western theory through the Trinity College Of London, says of the track:
I took some time off Berklee in 2019 and got to revisit my home as a songwriter, for the first time. I found myself rummaging through dusty boxes, and stumbled upon old albums and heirlooms; uncoiling patterns and grounding in the symmetry that ties it all together.
Owls represent wisdom, transformation, and trusting in the mystery of the spiritual realm. It is believed that they can see what is hidden behind the veil. So as I traveled through each frame at a time, humbling to the marriages and music that lead to me, I felt alive; in the owl’s eye.
The accompanying video shows a series of evocative and poignant photographs, many of her musician family:
This is lovely music. You can download/stream ‘Owl’s Eye’ here.
