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Lovelies,

I asked very little of myself the last weeks of 2025.

I wanted to give my mind the space to process the year. To inventory my current values and goals. To vision out my important moves for 2026.

Ok, so yeah, now that I mention it, I asked a whole lot of myself the last weeks of 2025.

What I discovered was this. 2025 was an immersion in details: Six part vocal arrangements for three minute pop songs. The most evocative questions for an artist interview. The most rhythmic word order for a sentence in an article.

App design and glitches and keywords and video edits. 

2025 had me using my mind like a tool, hammering wherever I needed results.

To ease up on this felt divine. I let my mind wander down back alleys and overgrown paths and I followed behind, skeptically, bemusedly, taking notes.

A lot of the notes are bizarre.

But who am I to judge? In all my 2025 close-focused effort I made mistakes. Granted, many were just my year's quota of mistakes. But others were clearly born of ALL THE EFFORT.

So now here we are, January 14th. As you might have guessed, I have not achieved my intended clarity. If anything I've scared up more fuzzy questions.

But I'm heartened. In my stepping back I stumbled on something important. I remember that this is actually how my mind works best. When I effort half-way. When I let her lead our impossible tango.

And the best part? I'm now excited to think my way through 2026.

Off we go.

Love,

Rachel

2026 has arrived with a personality and it is INSPIRED. I woke up on January 5th inexplicably obsessed with a song I had started then forgotten three years ago... and spent the next two days finishing it. I am saying yes to production gigs and already starting their song and sound-scaping. And I had the great pleasure of accompanying Mira Multari's live versions of her songs, Freeze and Everything Has Changed at 25th Street Studios this week. The studio EP drops — along with these shining extras — soon, and I can't wait for you to hear it.