Rachel Lime released her second album entitled “STORIES” on April 10. This is Lime’s second album, following her debut in 2021 with the album “A.U.” Despite the gap between Lime’s debut album and “STORIES,” Lime said it only took her about two years to finish writing the songs.
“I think I finished all the songs probably in 2023. It’s just been like a long process for me to have the momentum to get it out there and actually release it,” Lime said.
The genre album consists of eight different tracks that bring the listener on a journey through time and space. Lime designed the album art to look like a map, which reflects the feel of her album.
Lime’s goal during the creation of the album was to build a cohesive narrative that grew from her debut.
“I wanted to focus more on repetition because my first album was just me exploring and kind of not really thinking as much about how the songs would come across to other people,” Lime said.
That’s why the order was so important to Lime as she was putting together her album. Displaying all of the tracks in a map helps the listener to envision the album, the way Lime does.
“I am very particular about ordering the tracks for me and for the narrative that I want to create,” Lime said. “For example, the last track, ‘I love When Night Falls’ couldn’t be in the beginning. It’d be kind of odd. It’s kind of like an epilogue.”
Since Lime was in high school, she has always experimented with the sounds available in GarageBand. For this album, repetition of melodies and the incorporation of unique sounds allow the album to stand out among music today.
“I think that’s something that New Age music does, where it’s calming, but it’s not necessarily the primary appeal of it to me. To me, it’s like these textures and things that are really stimulating and just trying to be beautiful,” Lime said.
Despite the recent release of her second album, Lime is already looking towards the future and what she wants to produce next.
“I feel like the ideas and things I’m playing around with now, like the last year or two, are more reflective of new changes I want to make,” Lime said. “I have this kind of concept of it based around maybe like five-ish songs that I have in mind, but it’s extremely early in the process.”
Lime admits that the songs she has produced thus far aren’t the most suitable for a live performance. With that in mind, she has carefully considered how she wants her next album to sound.
“Next time I record and perform, I want these to be songs that actually feel really fun to do and not like a [solo] I have to perform,” Lime said, “Before when I was writing, it was mostly just for myself or for the sound of the track, and I was not thinking about performing it.”
Throughout the entire production process for both of her albums, Lime said she learned lessons along the way about writing music when you are an up-and-coming artist. It starts with what Lime knows she wants to incorporate into her music.
“Try to channel what it feels like to create something when you’re a kid. That’s what I try to bring to my music,” Lime said.
Lime also discussed advice that is applicable to every artist, whether they are new or seasoned, a musician or not.
“It’s hard to not judge yourself too early, but the judging stage needs to come after the writing stage, which is like the play stage,” Lime said. “The judging stage, that’s important, but you can’t write from that place.”
There is also the career aspect that comes with producing your own music. Lime commented on how she navigates the pressure of creating music that will generate revenue.
“There are lots of other markers of success besides streaming numbers. My goal for the first album was writing something that even just one person who I didn’t know at all or wasn’t even a friend of a friend would like it enough to write to me about it,” Lime said. “And that happened. So to me, that just shows what I want is for the music to find people who really care about it.
Even though the style might change, as Lime transitions from her second album to her third, the goal for her music remains the same. Lime hopes that her music will continue to be a good listening experience for her audience.
“It’s not about being famous or anything like that. It’s about those connections with other people.”