For Singer Nora Mae, Music is Cloaked in Beauty
“It’s beautiful that each artist gets to decide what makes them feel most beautiful, and can then invite their fans into that world and share that identity even just for a moment.”
Many would agree that there’s beauty in music. It is, after all, an art form that transcends mediums to invoke an array of feelings. In L’Officiel Singapore’s feature The Sound of Beauty, we speak to three up-and-coming artists about how beauty shapes music creation.
A product of generational talent, Rachel Shapiro, who now goes by Nora Mae, is carrying on her family’s musical legacy. The granddaughter of late American singer Eartha Kitt has just put out her debut single 'Rendezvous', and will be releasing a four-song EP Moonchild later this summer.
“My history with music really stems from growing up in the industry with my grandmother being a performer,” Nora Mae says. “I felt it in my blood. Some of my earliest memories were of me dreaming of following in her footsteps, singing to thousands of fans in my bedroom mirror.”
“Life often finds a way of derailing even the most solidified plans, but I found my way back to that dream in my early 20s in a really beautiful, authentic way after trying a few different paths that never felt quite right. The moment I started using music as a way of expression, it clicked. That thought was like: ‘Maybe I could really do this...’.”
Creatively, the artist gets inspired by New Wave French cinema and European culture that’s reminiscent of Jane Birkin and Anna Karina’s works. “I love watching the process from the start to the finish of a song,” she elaborates. “Coming into the room with a concept, and a few hours later, being able to sing along to something that conveys that very concept, or some emotion, or a moment in time – it's such a wild, transformative sensation.”
As for her most recent projects Rendezvous and Moonchild, Nora Mae calls the creative process a unique one, which makes sense considering it was done remotely over Zoom during the pandemic. “Rendezvous was the first song we wrote. After that, I had a few concepts I was really inspired to write about, and we’d get on these nine to 10-hour Zoom sessions.”
“We’d usually start by listening to some reference songs that I liked for whatever the mood was that day. I’d talk through concepts or just some general musings and we'd create some structure of what I wanted to say. Then, we’d tool around with the guitar until we found a sound that felt right and built out from there.”
On top of that, Nora Mae finds the element of beauty to be “imperative to the formation of self-expression” in music. “What I love about that is that everyone has their own idea of what that means,” she says as she begins to explain the subjectivity of beauty.
“It lends itself to such freedom, however it is that, which makes each artist feel beautiful. Maybe they see beauty as being vulnerable and decide to bare their souls on stage and let the audience see that rawness and connect to them, or maybe it’s this idea of glamour and style, so they use extravagant sets and costuming,” she goes on to say. “It’s beautiful that each artist gets to decide what makes them feel most beautiful, and can then invite their fans into that world and share that identity even just for a moment.”
Beauty is also what shapes music creation – something the artist finds everyone does at least subconsciously. “I can’t speak for all artists, but I’m inclined to think we’re all trying to create something beautiful. And again, beauty is so subjective, so there are lots of different facets that we see throughout the process. From the poetry of forming lyrics and how it's married to the production and instrumentation, to the choice of visuals and how that evokes emotion, music is cloaked in beauty.”
When it comes to beauty in itself, Nora Mae’s relationship with it has changed quite a lot over the years – and in a healthy way. “I really value it as an expression more than an aesthetic look and have way more fun playing with it and the way it makes me feel. I’ve always had a love for fashion and makeup and styling and how you can change it to tell different stories,” she says.
“When I was younger, it was much more about fitting in with what was ‘cool’ and aspiring to look like what you saw on television and in magazines. That’s one of the things I’ve really loved with this generation; the shift away from societal beauty standards and towards embracing individuality and uniqueness as the thing that makes us beautiful.”
Nora Mae’s Everyday Beauty Essentials
“My must-haves, especially for summer, are all about simple, natural beauty. My number one is definitely the Supergoop Glowscreen, because we have to protect our skin. The MERIT Flush Balm Cream Blush, Glossier Boy Brow, and Lash Slick Mascara.”
Nora Mae’s Go-To Stage Makeup
“I like to keep it fairly simple. A classic winged eye, simple mascara and a sexy, over-lined lip. And very Brigitte Bardot-inspired hair with bangs and some layered, playful and wavy movement.”
