Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Rare Phantom
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
The earliest memory I have would be hearing Aaron Carter sing “I love candy” on the radio when I was young, I would say it was 2000-2001, I would have been 4-5 years old. I remember hot summer days, being in the car, and hearing all the popular music that was on the radio at the time. Most of my earliest memories come from music that my parents would play too, which included Bon Jovi, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van Halen, Mötley Crüe. I don’t remember many details of my formative years, but when it come to the music I heard, I think I’ll remember it forever.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
My musical journey began alongside the pandemic of 2020. When the public world closed, I was invited to hang out in a friend’s studio locally where I lived. Me and some close friends would just hang there for a place to be around others and not be isolated. After hanging out enough in this studio for a few days, I decided to play around with recording vocals. I didn’t think it would be anything serious, but hearing what I record back fueled a fire inside me. I didn’t think my voice was anything but cringe when listening to voice recordings and videos, but once I heard myself over an instrumental I was instantly hooked. All I wanted to do going forward was to experiment, create, and leave some sort of memory for me to look back on. Going to that studio the first day, was the day I feel as if I found myself.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
My current project “Real is Rare, Fake is Everywhere” releasing November 14th, 2025 has been a project that I’ve been working on my entire life without realizing it. Over the years, since my musical career started, I spend my time experimenting with different sounds & genres of music. I wasn’t confident in my sound until diving into the world of alternative rock & shoegaze. Late 2023 I decided to leave my hometown of Boston, try my hand at something new by moving to Florida and curating my sound in the genre. I experimented and developed my sound up until 2025, which was when I decided to create a full coherent project with consistency. This album I have spend the whole year of 2025 creating and putting together. To create this project, I had to uproot and move again, to focus and finish this project start to finish, November 14th I will finally be able to share my hard with my fans.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
If I had to describe my sound, I would describe it as etherial, spacey rock music. Inspired by bands like Green Day as well as Linkin Park, my music includes rock & alternative elements such as guitars, drums, and piano. The vocals I have created for this project were inspired more by Pop acts, as well as bands like Deftones. The vocals I’ve drowned in reverb, but put my own unique twist on them, I tried to create something unique that can’t be compared to any other modern body of work in 2025.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Understanding that when it comes to lyrics and writing notes for vocals, that less is more. Learning this aspect to music creation has helped me mentally create clearly opposed to always second guessing the material I’m creating. I used to think that I had to do everything and anything when making music, but knowing now that simple and consistent can also just just as far, I’m able to create twice as fast with twice as much clarity.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I enjoy using instruments in my music such as guitars, bass, piano, drums, synthesizers, sampled voices/sounds, alongside slightly uncanny & haunting vocals. The software I use is Logic Pro as well as FL studios, but no matter what the software is, real art can be created from it as long as the drive & intention is behind it.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Currently I have been listening to a lot of psychedelic rock acts such as TV Girl, as well as artists like Pinkpantheress. The sound of those types of songs & genre of music are so soothing and calming to someone like me who enjoy always moving at a million miles an hour through my day to day life.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
My music & art are a direct reflection of my personal experiences and story. If it wasn’t for the personal experiences in my life, I would have nothing to write music about or even inspire me to create the art. After experiencing an event in life, usually creating music is my way to document the story or feeling I experience from each event individually.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I hope my listeners can feel heard through my music. I like to shine light on the not so savory parts of ourselves, when we aren’t feeling the best. I hope that when my listeners are feeling down, that they can hear music of mine and feel less alone. Many people including myself seem to feel isolated when they aren’t happy and upbeat, so I want my art & music to be able to sooth the ones who may feel down and lost and be the blanket to keep them warm though their darker days.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Music has taught me that as unique and different as we all are as individuals, we are all more similar that we could ever imagine. Music is a reflection of emotions and experiences/stories, we all may feel and experience different types at different times, but we all have a story worth listening to and real emotions that we feel. Music has shown me that it’s okay to feel and experience life as a human being, it’s okay to not always feel okay.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I would love to perform anywhere and everywhere outside of the United States. Being able to see other cultures, experience new landscapes and atmospheres is an exciting perk to being a creative. Consider the UK my first stop once that dream can become a reality for me.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
If I could collaborate with any artist dead or alive, I would have loved to collab with Michael Jackson, xxxtentacion, Chester Bennington. All legends in their own right, wanting to work with them for me would be a no brainer. If I had to collab with anyone currently living in 2025, I would pick 6ix9ine, just because of how out of the box he is. With my sound and music and his charisma, we might not make the best music anyone has ever heard, but I certainly think unique one of a kind music could be created from a collaboration like that.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
My personal website: rarephantom.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4IMrys9Mp5o4mWgthk4ykl?si=94kw4ijwT0O78WYH4KuIHg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rarephantom/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@rarephantom?si=9_1CqGc5DZjEOl5W
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/rare-phantom/1508921010
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
My dream is to tour and share the new music I have off this new album “Real is Rare, Fake is Everywhere” coming November 14th. I feel as if all my bases are crossed besides touring and doing live shows, so I am excited for the opportunity to be able to do that once the time is right for it.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope my listeners are able to discover all other my older music & content along the way. The older work may not be as fleshed out and coherent as my more recent works but I find enjoyment in it myself, being able to go back and see how far everything’s developed, almost like a time capsule. I hope my listeners don’t just look at my album as 13 songs, but a chapter of a story I call my life. I hope one day I’m able to completely portray my story from start to finish though my art for others to relate to and make sense of.
Here are some Rare Phantom interviews, for those curious to learn more about the person behind the music 🙂
Wydoe Podcast: https://youtu.be/l1p6uFST3So?si=px_httIpgvat5z0W
Scenior Citizen Podcast: https://youtu.be/DFIWE22Bk5E?si=d6CFEdze33Ld5vh6
We Are Florida Podcast: https://youtu.be/isae_kALUjs?si=YDhjHw3cTfCFu_P7
Free Yourself Radio Podcast: https://youtu.be/2cweDwfeTRs?si=hp4KH23ZWnnD7cGf
