Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Hardy.
Hi Rachel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started on YouTube! When I was in high school, I started a YouTube channel after a failed audition for a vocal jazz group. I didn’t expect to grow an audience, but one of my videos took off and after a few years it became a good source of side income. Having that side income gave me a little more freedom to keep pursuing music, which was very lucky!
I finished my BA in Music at the University of Calgary in 2020, as well as a Certificate in Composition for Film and Television from Berklee College of Music (online division). In 2018 I participated in the Hollywood Music Workshop in Baden, Austria, which was an excellent experience where I learned a lot and met some amazing colleagues who I still keep in touch with to this day!
In 2019 I interned for three months at Sacred Tiger Music in Santa Monica alongside the Remote Control Production interns next door. I met so many of my mentors, friends, and collaborators during my time there.
At this point, I was booking a good amount of commissions for vocals, although I was still pulling together a portfolio for my composition work. I was named a Runner Up in Spitfire Audio and HBO’s Westworld Scoring Competition in 2020, which really helped to give my career the little boost I needed. I began working on music for some small indie games (which unfortunately never shipped), and I discovered my love for music for video games.
I accepted a job at Hidden Path Entertainment in 2022 and have been working in-house as a Music Supervisor and Composer on an unannounced open-world RPG within the Dungeons and Dragons franchise. I moved from Calgary, Alberta to the Seattle area for this job and have no regrets!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’d say I’ve had a pretty smooth journey for the most part, but of course, there are always hurdles when pursuing a career in the arts. One hurdle was juggling school and a job while trying to also get hands-on experience with side projects while I was in University. I had a lot of late nights, a lot of napping through my train stop, and a lot of coffee.
When I was looking an internship, I think I’d applied for close to 40 different internships at that time at various studios. I heard back from maybe 2 or 3 of them, which said they had gone with other candidates. Most didn’t reply at all. That was discouraging at the time. Most internships in the industry are located in the U.S. and therefore are general only open to U.S. residents. That certainly complicated things as an extremely determined Canadian. Sacred Tiger / Remote Control was the last one I applied for after a friend who had done the internship recommended I send my resume in. I was surprised to get an email back that asked when I was ready to start.
One struggle that is not often talked about within the composer community is mental health! Over the last few years, I’ve really noticed how my output as an artist is so closely related to my mentality and mental well-being. They really go hand-in-hand. Working too hard and being too self-critical in my work can cause burnout and low motivation; at the same time, not eating or sleeping well, letting chores pile up, and not taking time to relax and reflect can cause creative block and anxiety. Finding that healthy balance between work and life can be really tricky when you’re an artist, but I’ve learned how important it really is.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a composer and vocalist specializing in music for video games, film & tv, and other media.
I am currently a composer and music supervisor at a video game company called Hidden Path Entertainment. My job is a mish-mash of designing how the music will function, working with our composer to make sure it all comes together, implementing it using Wwise, and writing a bit of music as well. I absolutely love that designing music for games requires lots of problem-solving and collaboration. I’ve also had the opportunity to write some really fun songs!
As a vocalist, I do quite a bit of commissioned work for various projects. Most of the people who hire me for vocals are either fellow composers who I’ve gotten to know over the years or people who find me through my YouTube channel. I’ve been posting covers of songs from movies, games, and TV shows for about 10 years now, and have grown the channel to around 275,000 subscribers and 40 million views. I am proud of that, although I do believe it was luck (all thanks to the almighty algorithm)! My voice is often described as being “soft”, “ethereal”, and “emotive”.
Any big plans?
I’ve never really been much of a future planner. I really owe where I’m currently at in my career to my “Let’s see what happens” approach and I have no regrets! For now, I am very content in my job working on a project that I am very passionate about. I’m still taking on little projects here and there on the side and I’m looking forward to seeing where those may lead down the road. Eventually, I think I’d like to head back to Canada since that will always be home for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rachelhardymusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelhardymusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelhardy306
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/rachelhardymusic
