I’ve done yoga everyday for the last month, which has changed the game for me entirely. As someone who hyper-fixates and finds it hard to snap out of things, this has been so crucial to my process of winding down. I’ve never been able to meditate in silence, but after practicing yoga everyday I have been able to do so for the first time ever! I’m working on another piece where I’ll dive more into this.

I also made a website! (I’m the furthest thing from a designer so this took me way longer than it should have) so she’s officially up for commissions!

I’ve been going to the cinema quite a bit recently, and I do, in fact, feel like cinema is so back. But it’s also not. The Drama was a wonderful mix of dry humour, complex characters, and interesting questions to ask yourself post-viewing. I loved it.

I also saw You, Me, & Tuscany - a feel-good film which feels like the collective’s next girly comfort watch. Pairing the stunning Italian vineyard landscapes with an all round attractive cast, it’s one of those films where you know no matter how wrong things get, all will right itself in the end. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Fuze was really confusing - weird pacing, so many plot holes, bordering politically insensitive underlying narratives about immigration & terrorism.

Honourable mention for my first ever Zootropolis watch - I relate to Judy Hopps with a passion, and Spirit made me cry. Forever obsessed with the soundtrack, I want it on vinyl.

Big love to Justin Bieber’s Coachella set, as well as these songs on my recent rotation:

• Jeff Buckley’s “Just Like a Woman” I probably play this at least 3 times every day.

• Gabriel Jacoby’s “The One”, “Be Careful” and “Baby”

• Chelsea Jordan’s “if i’m lucky”

• This YouTube video:

I’ve always felt like music videos are a bit of a dying art, so I’m a really big fan of this new Spotify feature that has all the music videos on autoplay.

I’m working with a friend on some new songs and it’s been so enlightening to be more attentive to music: how did the vocals sound like that? Is it the effects, is it the vocal performance? Is it the recording? What’s that synth at the back, and can I do it? Also me right now: currently trying to make sense of Ableton.

Beauty things:

• double cleansing

• Lilium Blume by Thomson Carter, love a fresh perfume

• Charlotte tilbury blush stick in pillow talk, stays all day

• Skin1004 Centella Toner

A delayed Q1 roundup of my favourite pieces so far this year:

I’m officially published! My interview with Mei Mac, which I did at the tail end of last year, finally saw its day in GOLDEN, the first ever anthology celebrating ESEA voices in the UK. This was incredibly important to me to be a part of, and I felt incredibly honoured that my piece was selected as the first one!

I’ve always loved Boys By Girls, so every time I get to write for them feels like a treat. My latest piece for them was an interview with none other than Darragh Hand, the male lead of Netflix’s How To Get To Heaven From Belfast. I almost forgot it was an interview midway through, and I left the meet thinking how we don’t nearly have enough conversations like this in real life, with the people we already know.

Read my conversation with Darragh here.

I started my own interview series on Rachel’s orbit, and I’ve published my first two so far! Ella Vos debuted the series, giving a generous insight to the world of motherhood and music. Nancy Lu is someone I’ve always looked up to in the world of work, and hearing her speak about lessons learned along the way was totally invaluable.

My very first piece with the iconic The Creative Independent dropped: my interview with India Bailey, multi-hyphenate and founder of PLAY. It’s a great read (if I do say so myself) so dive in and let me know what you think.

More photos from my digital:

If you’re new here… My name is Rachel and I’m a writer passionate about culture, music, books, films, art, and the creative life.

Welcome to rachel’s orbit, a space for intentional discovery and getting curious. Not just what you’re consuming, but what moves you about it—and how that feeds into your wider sense of self. After all, creativity has nothing to do with outcome, and everything to do with joy.

The last two weeks have been an absolute whirlwind! It was also my BIRTHDAY, for which I took the time to spend on myself and my self-care, so this orbit is a little more beauty-based than usual.

Beauty + Skincare

The pre-birthday glow up was serious this year, starting off strong with dying my hair black. I did this with my mom over the bath tub with The Garnier Olia box dye, which made the whole experience that much more fun. A new cut and dye always means paying extra attention to my hair; I’ve been loving the Sebastian bonding and style cream, as well as this Kérastase hair mask.

Like all girls in their London era, I’ve been put on to the benefits of the sauna… but I’m still working up to the cold plunge. It’s done absolute wonders on my skin. As a makeup base, I never go without my Embryolisse Lait Crème Sensitive. My dry and sensitive skin has never been left wanting since this.

Bronzer sticks are also so back in my books, especially as it gets warmer out and the days are longer (I’ve come back to life). I really like this one from Rare Beauty (I’m in the shade Happy Sol) which blends so naturally. One of my best friends gifted me the Shiseido lash curler; you might ask yourself how good an eyelash curler can really get, but this one lets my Asian lashes stay UP all day!

Finally, if you know me you know I love a lip moment. My current rotation is: Black Honey by Clinique in the daytime, Phantom Glossy Lip (Slip and Trace are my favourites) for the evening. Always with Mac Lip Liner in Cork.

I got the aloha’s sneakers in cream on sale over Christmas and they are my new go-to’s, they go with everything and are so comfy now that I’ve broken them in.

The Artist’s Way

Now, moving swiftly on to other matters, I’ve officially started The Artist’s Way. I’ve been loving doing my morning pages, it’s such a great way to ground, reflect, and get those writing juices flowing. I’ve made the perfect playlist for it. I also love the idea of artist dates–where you personify your ‘artist self’ as someone external to you to care for. I’ve found it easier to plan for when taking your ‘artist self’ out on dates. Somehow we always struggle to care for ourselves the way we would for a dearly loved one.

My first artist date was seeing Hailaker live at St Pancras Church. I’ve been trying to catch them for so long but they sell out so quick. The venue was gorgeous for the music and I forgot how great it was to attend live music alone. There’s something about the energy in the room, specific to live music. My second artist date was me, my book, and the sauna on a Monday evening.

Media

I’m forever in mourning for My Lady Jane, and I’ve been watching The Great, which feels like an anecdote to that.

This video of Aretha Franklin singing “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)” is everything music is in its light. Aretha sings to Carole King at the Kennedy Center Awards, where she’s being celebrated. Carole King is crying. Obama is crying. I am crying.

Songs I’m loving:

• War To Love by Matt Corby: I interviewed Matt back in 2022 for the release of his record, Everything’s Fine. It was the one and only time I ever truly felt startstruck–he’s so lovely. The record was largely about community and his family, and this song and video captures his essence so well.

• Just Like a Woman by Jeff Buckley: I talked about Jeff in my last orbit, happy to share that the phase hasn’t subsided! I love him. I listened to this one on the plane and it really did something for me, I had it on loop for maybe 30 minutes.

• Baby Blue by Cody Simpson: am I 14 again?

Some photos from my digital this month:

If you’re new here… My name is Rachel and I’m a writer passionate about culture, music, books, films, art, and the creative life.

Welcome to rachel’s orbit, a space for intentional discovery and getting curious. Not just what you’re consuming, but what moves you about it—and how that feeds into your wider sense of self. After all, creativity has nothing to do with outcome, and everything to do with joy.

Welcome to the first instalment of “in the orbit”, a bi-weekly newsletter of all my favourite things across music, films, TV, books, reads, brands—anything I’ve had an affinity for of late.

Starting with the album I’ve been thinking about the most, Jeff Buckley’s Grace. One of my all time favourite albums. As music does, it comes and goes, but Jeff is hitting me a little more deeply recently. I was listening to this on vinyl and taking it all in, and only made it to “Last Goodbye” when I was brought to tears. Not to be dramatic.

Rob Harvilla on this podcast explains it perfectly.

Getting a vinyl player has really changed the way I listen to music [more on this soon] I’m being very intentional with how I collect my LPs. I love the idea of having a connection to every album that I own. I’m making a wish list of them in my spare time which is surprisingly entertaining.

I’ve been back home at my parent’s house, and finally dug up my classical guitar. I’m back, everyone. I wrote a piece about it here. My current rotations are Spanish Romance and Lágrima.

Speaking of classical music and being home, my dog really likes cello music (brb crying) and I’ve had it on for him as and when. It makes us both feel calm. Here’s the playlist I’ve been rotating:

I watched Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel for the first time and loved it. I jumped straight into YouTube to watch all the video essays. My movie era is back?

I also had on a BANOBAGI Vitagenic Jelly Mask while I watched Budapest, which was pure bliss.

I can’t stop thinking about Rachel Weisz in Vladímir. She was GLORIOUS. I read reviews that the story felt a little flat, like we were waiting for something to happen and nothing did. But I think that was kind of the point.

Revisiting this after the MBJ win at the Oscars:

I was avoiding ScreenZen for a while, but my boyfriend finally got me to take the leap. I originally thought it would be challenging given that a lot of my work lives on social media, but it’s actually freed up a lot of time that I’ve otherwise spent reading, writing, living in the present.

One of the things I’ve done instead of scrolling is read other journalists; Echoic Memory by CMarie Fuhrman spoke about memory, a topic I love exploring more expressions about.

The Beautiful and the Inconvenient by Peter Molesworth spoke about the beauty of doing ‘inconvenient things’ which feels especially poignant in our day and age.

etc etc analogue. My grandma gave me an Olympus digital camera years ago as she had upgraded hers, and I forgot about it for a few years. I’ve recently dug it back up, set it up, and have been carrying it around in my bag wherever I go. Here are some of the photos I’ve got so far/some found from over the years:

A godsend while the weather was cold, Basic Space at Home always comes with the practices you can guarantee are great. I have a habit of making excuses for why I can’t move that day; and this has helped me nip that in the bud.

I discovered the Modern Nirvana Oracle deck at a yoga class, and felt an instant connection with it. I bought it the next day and am loving it so far.

If you’re new here… My name is Rachel and I’m a writer passionate about culture, music, books, films, art, and the creative life.

Welcome to rachel’s orbit, a space for intentional discovery and getting curious. Not just what you’re consuming, but what moves you about it—and how that feeds into your wider sense of self. After all, creativity has nothing to do with outcome, and everything to do with joy.

As a music journalist, my expertise mostly lies in listening experiences. Recently, however, I’ve attempted to branch out to live show reviews (see my Olivia Dean review and my Eras Tour breakdown). These pushed me to write about what I was seeing as much as what I was hearing - and an all-encompassing sensory experience is really what good music is all about. I love going to live shows, because it brings something more to the music experience - and when I can’t be there, I love turning to music moments on film/tv.

Here’s a list I’ve always wanted to make - a comprehensive guide to all my favourite movie/tv music moments. Some of them I grew up on, and others I found later, but they all spark something in me every time I watch them.

Penn Badgley singing ‘Once I Was’ as Jeff Buckley in Greetings from Tim Buckley

As a Jeff Buckley fan, this performance is absolutely gorgeous. I found myself getting lost in it the first time I watched it, and every time after that. The magic of Jeff Buckley is in his live performances - the intimacy in his voice and the soul in his guitar playing. Penn Badgley, in this film, sings one of my favourite songs ever written, and it gives me chills every time.

Zoe Kravtiz and her records in High Fidelity

She sits in her chair, surrounded by her records, smoking her cigarettes in her silk chiffon trousers with Prince and David Bowie on loop… Mentally I’m always here.

Zoe Kravitz in High Fidelity was a perfect combination of casting, the time, and the peak of when reboots were actually good. I personally find the John Cusack iteration of Rob extremely unbearable, but I suppose that’s the whole point (dare I say Rob is the blueprint for the indie soft boy?), this show basks in the pretences of music snobs everywhere - especially this scene where she talks about making the perfect playlist. But I love it. The series has quickly become one of my comfort rewatches, and I thoroughly enjoy it. Not only is it incredibly funny, but the story, the music, Rob’s outfits, are all a treat for me and my inner Rob.

When they open the store in Empire Records

At just a minute long, this scene perfectly encapsulates the optimistic hopes and dreams of a wide-eyed group of teens. It’s basically also the film’s opening scene, and sets up the narrative for the personal journeys they’re each about to take - all somehow tied back to music, of course.

Pink Slip, guitar solos, and Freaky Friday

The wonderfully angsty and emo Pink Slip band was truly iconic for little 8 year old me. This movie was a go-to throughout my childhood, and to be honest, it still holds up (except for the “Asian voodoo” that propels the film). With every re-watch, I realise this band rewired something in my brain, and I would kill to be in this band making this music and playing Lindsay Lohan’s guitar solos.

Oh, and the Jamie Lee Curtis guitar solo is one of the best things I’ve ever seen.

The Wonders hearing their song on the radio in That Thing You Do

When they hear their song on the radio for the first time. Bliss! The realisation is pure joy, and this might just be my favourite movie scene ever made.

This scene also feels a bit like a time capsule, as this experience isn’t something an artist of today would have to look forward to, with our current modes of streaming and whatnot. Nonetheless, it’s something I grew up watching - I think it’s that very time capsule feel to it that makes it so special to me.

Daisy Jones & The Six

Would it even be a movie music post if Daisy Jones & The Six wasn’t on it! When this show was airing, I completely ate it up. My hot take is that I prefer the series much more to the book - but as I said, I enjoy music to a whole different level when I get to visually experience it too. The series totally fed by Fleetwood Mac fantasy, and the closet that I’ve been trying to covet since I was 17.

Basking in all its explosive, chaotic, messy 70s glory, this series is a modern classic. I couldn’t pick one performance so have them all-

Willamette Stone a.k.a the band from If I Stay

The energy, the vibes, the underground venues - this band sadly isn’t real 😫. The film came out just as I was discovering my music palette, and it was also very ‘of the time’ when it came to movie bands. When I watch this now, it’s perfectly nostalgic to my own teen years and the gigs I would’ve loved to be at.

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