Rene Russell
Charleston
Rene Russell and The Bottom End have a message for you: you have the power to change your circumstances and make your world a better place. That is the message laid out in their debut record, Dream The World Anew, and it is the motto in which the South Carolina musician lives her life. Playing acoustic Americana-Rock with hints of Bluegrass & Reggae undertones, Rene Russell plays her Taylor 12-string in a distinctive percussive finger-picking/claw-hammer style, while Chris Blackwell backs her with drums and Jamie Lupini keeps the groove on bass. Written in the mountains of North Carolina while quarantined, this record is a deeply personal and introspective account of the world and where it currently stands.
“Unheard Of,” the first single off the new record, is a song of hope. It is about realizing you can take control of your life, listening to your intuition, and learning who you are by doing, failing, trying again, and never giving up. This is the epitome of who Rene is as both a person and an artist. Over her 30 year career as a musician she has learned that you can do anything if you believe in yourself, have courage, make good choices, change when necessary, and stand in your truth. That is the driving idea behind “Unheard Of”, Dream the World Anew, and Rene Russell and the Bottom End as a whole. Leaning into their cross-over country roots, “Unheard Of” is a fun and upbeat song with a lasting message.
While “Unheard Of” is a powerful call to action for the listener, “Too Late,” the second single off this record, is a personal look at how Rene did that for her own life. “This is me talking to myself, paying attention, watching, looking back, looking forward, making adjustments, forgiving myself & others for the past, and looking forward to the future,” says Rene of the track. This has almost become a ritual for her - every few years she likes to look back and take stock of her life, her choices, and her goals. As she says, “it’s only too late if you never look back and change.” Backed by the light strings of a fiddle, it’s a bluesy, rhythmic piece that asks the listener to look inward to themselves and ask “do I need to make a change?”
Each song on the new record comes from personal experience and is intended to invoke feelings of courage, choice, change, and truth. Themes of self-empowerment, global change, and looking inwards, can be heard throughout the genre-bending record. It is calming and inspiring but also thought provoking and confident. With the record dropping May 21, 2021, Rene Russell is ready to Dream The World Anew, starting with herself.
www.renerussell.com www.renerussellandthebottomend.com www.rratbe.com
Rene Russell and the Bottom End’s tracks
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