IT IS FITTING that a young talent such as Robyn Smith has been singing about new beginnings – for she is surely on the cusp of something great.

Last year, under the name of RAAB, the singer released her first single Our Flight which showcased her unique brand of country-blues-folk-rock. It was a formidable debut for the Dunfermline native who is set to follow-up this Friday with Bluebird.

Those who were blown away by the first single have a pleasant surprise in wait.

Our Flight and Bluebird are linked. They were written by Smith during a period of transition and both speak to embracing the coming change. In that respect, the latter could be considered a sequel, but it packs a mightier punch than its antecedent.

"It's all about new beginnings," the singer tells The Weekender. "Embracing the unknown and the excitement for where life is going to take you next."

Smith has every right to be buoyant over her future: She is in the twilight of her university studies and RAAB has already begun to carve a name for itself in the Edinburgh music scene.

I write about the different journeys in life that I go through. And when I perform it, the song is significant to that moment in time for me."

Though Our Flight and Bluebird were first written a couple of years ago, it seems everything has fallen into place at the right time for their release.

"It just felt like the perfect time to release it," she continues. "I am just finishing university and it's a whole new chapter. There's a 'new door' opening for me and so on.

"I wrote Our Flight and Bluebird at the same time – a time when everything was changing for me, for the better and I was, perhaps, the most open-minded I had ever been. Clearly, I was going through some amazing new-life thing and I was clearly fascinated by birds.

"Our Flight came first and it looks at preparing for the change and trying to not be scared about what's coming. Bluebird came a little later and it's a little more positive because everything has all worked out.

"I write about the different journeys in life that I go through. And when I perform it, the song is significant to that moment in time for me."

She adds: "There are a lot of similarities between Bluebird and Our Flight – they both start with little instruments and there is definitely a build.

"Both are powerful in different ways, but Bluebird has a different kind of impact. For me, it's powerful and uplifting. It is a feelgood song.

"I'm so excited for it to be coming out – I'm so excited for people to hear it."

Smith moved into Edinburgh to study music and linked up with fellow musicians along the way. It wasn't long before she had put together a band to help enrich her sound.

Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser: Picture by Danielle StewartPicture by Danielle Stewart

As a result, she started playing more full-band shows and was moving away from the acoustic sound that she was known for in her teens.

Of course, she is still able to perform in both settings but she was drawn to the opportunity of writing bigger songs – or taking the softer more intimate songs she had and exploring new ways of performing them.

She adds: "It's so much fun. I love gigging with my band behind me – there is a completely different energy there. And I like being able to do both: We can stop playing full band to do a couple of intimate songs before finishing off with a big one. I've really enjoyed it so far."

Smith's love for music was sparked by her family and she is often joined on stage by her brother.  The singer admits her upbringing is what shaped her unique sound with a love of traditional Scottish music mixed with the likes of The Eagles and the Dixie Chicks.

The result is a hybrid that would be equally at home at a ceilidh as it would be at a rock festival.

I liked that they were surprised and were able to hear this side to me. It was something new and something that they liked and that was enough for me."

She says: "It's so hard, nowadays, to pinpoint one genre in an artist or a band. I suppose, to describe my sound, I use four genres: Rock, country, blues and folk music are my main areas. And it's not that I am experimenting, or that I don't know my sound, because I definitely have my sound, it's just that my sound happens to be an amalgamation of those four.

"I love an upbeat song; something that's catchy. I have a huge love for harmonies. So that all that ties in to create the sound that I have."

The full band sound of RAAB caught many off-guard as Smith felt they would have been expecting something a little more along the acoustic guitar singer route.

"It was a wonderful reaction," she recalls. "A lot of people were surprised as well, I think, because they had maybe only heard me playing with an acoustic and not playing with a band.

"I liked that they were surprised and were able to hear this side to me. It was something new and something that they liked and that was enough for me."

Indeed, the response prompted a desire to get her music out to more people and, with her studies completed, there will be a renewed focus between now and the end of the year.

She concludes: "I can't wait to get gigging again when the world is safe. Hopefully, it won't be too long. I am just really excited to get myself fully invested in it – so once university is done, there will be a lot more focus on RAAB."

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