For Sunny Rae Keller, songwriting and storytelling have always existed side by side. The California-raised, Paris and Los Angeles-based artist brings a filmmaker’s eye to her intimate folk compositions, finding significance in memories, relationships and seemingly ordinary moments that reveal something much larger about the human experience.
Her new single ‘Carry You On’ might be her most personal expression of that approach yet. Written during an artist residency at Château Orquevaux in France, the tender acoustic track grew from conversations with her mother about their family history. Looking across three generations of women, she explores motherhood, caregiving, Alzheimer’s, adoption and the idea that families continually shape one another through acts of love that extend far beyond biology.
Arriving as an introduction to her forthcoming debut album, Pocket, ‘Carry You On’ transforms an intensely personal story into a moving reflection on memory and generational connection.
We caught up with Sunny Rae Keller to discuss the origins and influences behind her sound.
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Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in music?
I grew up in a really creative family. My dad is a musician, so music was always around, but the reason I started playing was actually because of a man who used to sit outside my little ballet class every week. While we were dancing, he’d be in the hallway playing a different ukulele every time. I was completely fascinated. I became friends with his daughter, and eventually he gave me one of the ukuleles he’d made. That’s how I learned to play. I started teaching myself songs I loved and eventually writing my own.
I’ve also always loved putting on a show. My sister and I were constantly dressing up, making little performances, and forcing our family to watch.
One of the first songs I ever wrote was about my grandma, who had Alzheimer’s. It was called I Remember, and it was about how even though she couldn’t remember me, I could remember every moment we’d shared. I performed it at an Alzheimer’s Walk when I was young, and I think that was the first time I realized songwriting could help me make sense of something I didn’t know how to explain otherwise.
Who are your biggest musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
Elliott Smith, Regina Spektor, Angel Olsen, Aldous Harding, and my dad, Allen Keller from The Falling Wallendas.
I think I’m drawn to artists who can make something feel intimate and strange at the same time. I like writing that feels specific and personal but still leaves some room for interpretation.
Was there a specific moment or experience that made you decide to pursue music seriously?
I’ve studied and worked in film for most of my life, and I always took that very seriously, with music being more of my personal creative outlet and passion. When I moved to Paris, I started performing at open mics and found a community of international folk singer-songwriters who encouraged me to take it more seriously.
I also babysat for the musician Soko. We’d sing Radiohead and harmonize around the house during working hours, and then after working hours we’d show each other demos and lyrics we were working on. She’s someone I really admire musically. Eventually I sat in on her working in the studio, joined her band, and realized that this was what I wanted to do with my life.
Can you walk us through your typical songwriting process?
I need to be alone. I read my journal and look for inspiration in my own mundane writing. I often let myself write abstractly at the end of each entry, and then I connect the dots with other pages.
A lot of the time, the song is hiding somewhere in things I’ve already written without realizing it.
How do you find inspiration for your music and lyrics?
I think you could write a song about anything, but I’m not often inspired. The right mix of emotion, circumstance, and a theme that feels relevant to my life at that particular moment has to strike.
I don’t really try to force it. I can go a while without writing anything and then suddenly feel like I have to write.
What themes or messages do you hope listeners take away from your music?
I think a lot about nostalgia as a young person. What does it mean to be nostalgic when you’re still so close to your childhood, but it’s fleeting and growing further away every second while you’re entering adulthood so quickly?
I’m very nostalgic even though I’m only 23. I think fondly about my life and my imagination as a kid. I try not to outgrow that while also trying to become a mature person. I think a lot of my songs live somewhere in that tension between growing up and wanting to hold onto things.
What challenges have you faced as an emerging artist in the music industry?
Emerging.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your musical journey so far?
My friend Ami told me he was listening to my first song, Pocket, in his father’s house in the French countryside one summer, with the windows open. His neighbor asked him what song was playing, and he said it was mine.
I loved hearing about that interaction. There’s something really strange and beautiful about a song that started as a voice memo or something you wrote alone eventually existing in someone else’s life.
I also love sharing voice memos and demos of ideas with my friends or my dad, having them encourage me to finish or record something, and then getting to share the finished version with them. That part feels very personal to me.
How do you stay true to yourself and your artistry in a constantly evolving industry?
I think I’m still figuring that out. I try to pay more attention to whether I actually like something than whether I think I’m supposed to like it.
I also try to remember that I started making music because I loved it, before I had any idea what I was doing with it professionally. I don’t want the career part of it to completely replace the reason I started.
What can fans expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or tours?
I’m releasing more music! I have a few singles coming out that will eventually lead into my debut album in the fall. I’m really excited to let the songs start existing outside of my computer and my hard drive.
I’m also hoping to play more shows, especially in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. I’d love to tour properly once there’s enough music out in the world to take with me.
Where do you see yourself and your music career in the next five years?
I’d like to be touring, making records, and hopefully still surprised by what I’m making.
I’d love to spend a lot of time in different parts of Europe and be able to play in different cities and countries, but I also want to keep making things outside of music. I came from film and visual art, so I don’t think I’ll ever be someone who only does one thing.
Mostly, I’d just like to still be making things that feel like me, and have people who want to hear them.
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Listen to ‘Sunny Rae Keller’s new single ‘Carry You On’ below.
