Fatshaudi on making music that feels deeply

Meanjin/Brisbane-based Rachael Ryan is often known by another name, Fatshaudi. Starting as a frivolous nickname amongst friends, when it came to landing on a musical alias, it just seemed to stick. She has toyed with changing her moniker, but as we met via a fragile Zoom connection, I begged her not to.

Knowing the origin of her name makes her work feel somehow more complete. Existing between the realms of ‘Dream Pop,’ and ‘Bedroom Pop’, both genres in which the music feels light, airy and floaty, the playful roots of Ryan’s stage name lean generously into that of her music. The definitive sound of Fatshaudi is one that pierces you with a sharp sentimentality. Each song builds an atmosphere that is familiar and inviting, with Ryan’s mix of humming, textured melodies, and breathy, delicate vocals coming together to form her unique blend of pop and DIY sensibilities.

Growing up in Toowoomba, Queensland, Ryan’s adolescent years were spent mostly unplugged, instead embracing her peaceful hobby farm lifestyle, in which she had endless space to run around and ‘be free.’ Upon moving to Brisbane and meeting friends who were also creating music at the time, she was introduced to the instrument that would go on to define her personal sound.

Ryan was no stranger to music at this point. Having played the piano from a young age, her move to adopting the synthesiser (her first being a Microkorg, until eventually saving up to buy a Prophet Rev 2 soon afterwards) felt nothing short of a given. She notes that growing up playing other people’s music meant that, up until this point, creating her own had never crossed her mind. Learning Ableton over her friends' shoulders and dedicating time to her newfound skill during the perpetual COVID-19 lockdowns were catalysts in Ryan’s production journey. By creating her own SoundCloud profile as an archive of her music, she was able to connect with other like-minded artists, especially those based in other Australian cities.

Speaking about her influences, Ryan cites '80s emotional synth-pop, saying she writes her songs like diary entries. Inspired by the way the music conjures emotion through its sincerity, she finds exploring patterns and ways to capture feeling throughout her music to be the most compelling aspect of her craft. This 80s hazy sound allows Ryan to convey expansively intimate emotions through simple production and instrumentation, which she likens to the music of local Indigenous artists such as Drifting Clouds and Keanu Nelson, who often interplay pared-back beats with emotive vocals. Her other influences lie between the likes of SoundCloud mash-ups and Australian female pop artists of the 90s and early 2000s, such as Frente! and Missy Higgins.

Because she, quite literally, makes her music from her bedroom, the affiliation with ‘bedroom-pop’ as a genre is a no-brainer. Conveniently, this DIY sound lends itself perfectly to the feeling she wishes to convey in her music: ‘I feel like it allows the outcome to be a bit more real.’

After some time making music, she played her debut show in Brisbane. Upon receiving the poster, she noticed that her SoundCloud username, ‘Fatshaudi,’ had been assigned as her new moniker. Her first thoughts were I don’t know about that, but somehow, it stuck.

Ryan, still based in Brisbane, recalled entering the music scene at a time when male artists and techno music was at its pinnacle.

She informs me that she is staunchly against moving away from Brisbane in search of greener pastures: ‘There are a few of us in Brisbane who say B-N-E ‘til we D-I-E.’

Defying the Melbourne to Brisbane pipeline, a move that often takes place in an aspiring artist's career, she believes that there is a lot on offer in Brisbane, such as spaces like echo & bounce and Season Three, which operate as local, community-based live music spaces.

The 25th of April marks the 1-year anniversary of her debut album, ‘Feel It All Around You’, which according to Ryan, came together quite quickly, taking its form in under a year, to be exact.

Connecting with where she is at both personally and professionally, the title and themes explored in the album fell neatly together for Ryan. Her experience of learning how to make music, her influences, what she was listening to and inspired by, her memories, being a young woman growing up in Australia, it all coalesced to form the beating heart of the final seven-track album.

She cites the most special thing about this album to be the way others have experienced and connected with it.

Her performance at NTS Naarm in March, though, perfectly encapsulated just how many people feel this deep connection to her music. Nestled in an intimate side room at the Northcote Theatre, the performances' stripped-back vocals and instrumentals had the crowd deeply immersed, hanging on every lyric. Between the softly-spoken ‘thank yous’ after each song, you could clearly see that the crowd were as touched by the performance as Ryan was by their attention.

Connecting and collaborating are what she values most in the music-making process. Having the opportunity to engage with artists she admires throughout her practice is deeply special to Ryan. Having remixed songs from artists such as Maria Somerville and Lust For Youth, Ryan notes that this has opened up many opportunities for connection.

A major milestone in Ryan’s career was the opportunity to support Jonatan Leandoer, otherwise known as Yung Lean, at his 2024 VIVID performance at the Sydney Opera House. Her first time playing in a band, Ryan was a pianist in Leandoer’s ensemble.

Ryan tells me that she has listened to Yung Lean since she was 15 years old. I know they often say ‘don’t meet your heroes,’ but this proves that theory wrong.

2025 marked Fatshaudi’s global expedition, with a run of shows across Europe and the UK over October and November. Also, being Ryan’s first time ever playing internationally, she described the experience simply as another dream come true: I still can't really believe that it even happened, that there are people in all of these different countries that are actually interested in listening to my music.

Being her first time visiting the continent, she felt grateful to experience these spaces in this way, where each show she played connected her with new, like-minded people.

As for Fatshaudi’s next steps, Ryan notes that she is currently working on her next record, which isn’t something she’s putting a deadline to.

Put simply, so long as Ryan’s music feels like a true reflection of herself, she will feel satisfied; in doing what she loves, she believes she will always be moving forward. It has never been about making a business of music for Ryan, and she never wants it to become that.

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Edie Hopgood is a freelance writer based in Naarm/Melbourne. You can find her on Instagram.