56. Meredith Tarr Discusses Rachael Sage, Character

You, Me and An Album

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Meredith Tarr of MPress Records (A&R, Label Promotions) joins Al for a discussion of Rachael Sage’s 2020 album, Character, but this episode is about a lot more than just digging into a beloved album. Meredith talks about the role she played in sequencing Character and, more generally about her professional relationship with Rachael, who is the president and founder of MPress Records. She also discusses the path that led her to the music business, as well as her journey as a music fan.

I made a reference to listening to Meredith’s interview with Gable Music Ventures. You can check that out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wba1V2JlEUo&t=696s

Meredith alerted us to Rachael’s YouTube page, but here's the URL for easy reference! https://www.youtube.com/c/rachaelsage

She also mentioned the video that captured the recording of Rachael's version of "Both Hands." You can find that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJC3-yLw2YI

And here is the lyric video for "Catch the Light" that Meredith worked on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b40AnXqEDS4

Follow Meredith on Twitter! She’s at @mpressmeredith.

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

Al has recently launched You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter. You can subscribe for free to get Al’s monthly posts, but paid subscriptions give you access to weekly posts and much more. Please consider trying a paid subscription as it also helps to support this podcast! https://youmealbum.substack.com/

1:10 Meredith joins the show

1:30 Meredith brings a unique perspective to this episode

3:10 Meredith’s tweet about Adele catalyzed a conversation between her and Al

4:20 A couple of childhood friends played a big role in shaping Meredith’s musical tastes

8:58 Kate Bush’s music literally changed Meredith’s life

10:52 How Meredith went from music fan to working with musicians

16:16 How Feist wound up playing in Meredith’s living room

20:29 Meredith hears similarities between Rachael Sage and Kate Bush

23:01 Meredith explains how she first heard Rachael’s music

24:41 Rachael made Meredith an offer that brought her into music full-time

28:16 Meredith explains how she got involved in Rachael’s recordings

30:57 Meredith talks about her approach to sequencing

33:22 Meredith explains what she loves about Character

Reactions to and sequencing observations for selected tracks

35:44 Blue Sky Days/Bravery’s On Fire

43:23 Character/Ohio

47:19 Meredith discusses Rachael’s forays into covers

50:21 Character (again)

51:30 Be The Same/Atmosphere/Catch The Light

54:04 Meredith talks about how the sequencing accentuates the album’s dynamics

57:43 Both Hands

1:00:17 The segue from Ohio into Cave

1:02:08 Open The Door

1:03:50 Catch The Light (again)

1:05:56 Al and Meredith talk about the importance of giving albums a second chance

1:11:36 Meredith alerts us to upcoming releases from MPress Records

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