Cinnamon Rayne is a dynamic artist whose music blends a variety of genres, drawing inspiration from her community, culture, and the sounds around her. A native of Rochester, New York, she crafts deeply personal songs that speak to her own healing process while also offering comfort to listeners. With a passion for music ignited from an early age, Cinnamon has seamlessly merged indie, alternative, R&B, and singer-songwriter styles into a sound that's uniquely her own. Her debut EP Contact and instrumental album Proximity mark significant milestones in her journey as a singer, songwriter, producer, and educator. As she continues to share her emotional and transformative work, her new single "Caroline" builds on a collection of songs that have already made an impact, including "AstroNot," "Wings," and "Ruby."
Photo Credit: Cocoa Rae
SJ: Hi Cinnamon! We’re so excited to sit and chat about you.
CR: Hi! Thanks for having me on, I’m excited as well.
1. SJ: Tell us a little bit about yourself! How did your musical journey start?
CR: I am a singer-songwriter, producer and educator from Rochester, New York. I actually started singing in the church choir when I was about three or four years old. (I guess my family picked up on how I could hold a tune.) But honestly, I just loved singing and listening to music all the time. Definitely annoyed a lot of people with my random bursts of singing. Nonetheless, I would gather my family's CDs and cassettes, play them, and pretend I was performing them on a stage. Eventually, that led to me learning instruments, songwriting, and studying music. To this day, I still have a lot of my original music from my youth.
2. SJ: You’ve said that your music is strongly influenced by your community, culture, and the sounds of your surroundings. What inspires you day to day? What drives you to create?
CR: Everything inspires me. Watching a movie or TV show and getting absorbed in those stories. Talking to family, friends, or people around me who are sharing their own day-to-day lives. But most importantly, talking to myself and understanding my day-to-day emotions and feelings. My music is my diary. It's what I want to say to people or situations that I don’t have the chance to. It's vulnerable, emotional, and authentically me, no matter how weird, chaotic, or simple it is.
3. SJ: You just released a new single, "Caroline." What’s the story behind this song?
CR: So, the song was actually a college assignment from my Master’s program at Berklee with Bonnie Hayes. Initially, we were working on hooks and I wanted my hook to be something catchy, but to still tell a story. And for some strange reason, I couldn’t get the movie "The Lovely Bones" out of my head. So, instead of fighting, I just ran with it, but from the narrative perspective. Like I was a fly on the wall. I loved that the movie used time manipulation and I wanted to explore that with my song.
Photo Credit: Cocoa Rae
4. SJ: What did your songwriting process look like? Do you have any collaborators you work with?
CR: I really haven't collaborated with other songwriters yet. Nonetheless, “Caroline” started as a hum which later became the intro and main melody. I kept humming different melodies and then just started throwing out phrases that created the story. In all, it took less than a day to write. Originally, it was for my third week of classes, but I revisited it on week 10 after hearing feedback about how people perceived it. Which led to taking out the post-chorus for the final draft but keeping everything else intact.
5. SJ: What did your recording process look like?
CR: So, whenever I need a starting point for a song, I just run through all my sound banks and loops. It sounds crazy, but it actually helps. I will start with one sound and experiment with instruments that I think would pair. Sometimes I could have two or three basses layered at once and cut around the best parts. Funny thing, I actually recorded this song when I was very sick. So my voice is actually lower than it would be. I was going to go back and re-record it, so I could send it to my engineer, MixedByLewis, but I had a family emergency and kept what I had initially. Nonetheless, I am still working on my mixing skills, but MixedByLewis took what I wanted and brought it to life. I really appreciate it.
SJ: What is one song you wish Cinnamon Rayne wrote?
CR: I don’t know if I have a song I wish I wrote. There are so many good songs out there. Could I do them justice? Maybe? Right now I am thinking about “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims. Man, that is such a good song.
SJ: What’s next for Cinnamon Rayne?
CR: Currently…music as usual. But I am also working on a music video that I hope my audience will tune into and enjoy. I love coming up with visual concepts and stories, so it will be fun to do!
CR: Thanks so much for having me! I appreciate the questions.
Album Art: Cinnamon Rayne, Cocoa Rae & Ginger Reneé
Listen to "Caroline" below!
Credits:
Music and Lyrics: Cinnamon David
Recording and Production: Cinnamon David
Mix & Master: MixedByLewis
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