ABOUT
Hello! I’m Rachel and I am a musician, composer and piano coach based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
My journey in composition began at a young age while sitting at the piano recreating melodies I had heard in the car with my family, entirely engrossed in this new world I had come to discover while wanting to know more of.
Later on as I embarked on a life changing move to Brisbane, Australia where I studied music, majoring in performance. At this time, I started to take composition seriously and tried my hand at making music. Thanks to a nudge from one of my lecturers, I was encouraged to record my music and see where it would take me.
Fast forward to today, I continue to enjoy the art of creating music having released a modern classical EP entitled 'Order In Chaos' in 2020 alongside single releases, 'hujan' (2021), Return To Eden (2022), ‘a time for everything’ (2023) and ‘flow’.
My artistry has been evolving from creating neo-classically inspired music to gently pushing at the edges of jazz, minimalism and a post-classical soundscape.
I find that inspiration comes to me in the appreciation of art and beauty, retrospecting through passages of time, playing with musical concepts that fascinate me and a sense of hope for things yet to come.
In all my compositions both past and present, I hope to express the harmonies and dissonance of life, joys, struggles and what it is to be human in light of the One in whom “we live, move and have our being “ (Acts 17:28).
Rachel
MUSIC
Return To Eden
Release date: 11/11/2022
Album Artwork: Shanita Lyn Kumar
After moving back to Malaysia, I recorded and released another single titled Return To Eden in 2022. I started writing this piece at the end of 2020 when I felt as though I was beginning to push at the boundaries of modern classical music and play around with elements of creativity outside of my comfort zone. Return To Eden paints a picture of paradise within reach and an appreciation for nature.
hujan
Release date: 26/03/2021
Album Artwork: Shanita Lyn Kumar
Released on the 26th of March 2021, ‘hujan’, which is a Malay word for rain was formed during the heat and height of the bushfires that devastated many parts of Australia in early 2020. It was my unique way of releasing my thoughts and emotions about the trying times we were living in and expressing a sense of nostalgia for past memories and my wish for a hopeful conclusion. ‘hujan’ is also a homage to both my homes, of the one I come from (Malaysia) and the one I have lived in (Australia).
In essence, ‘hujan’ tells a story of longing and wanting for refreshment and familiarity.
Order in Chaos
Release date: 20/03/20
Album Artwork: Shanita Lyn Kumar
Order in Chaos was the merging of both my journey through different phases in life as well as my development as a piano player into a composer. There is an order to the chaos in our lives and how everything falls into place according to a divine pattern. Some of these pieces were birthed in the most fragile and poignant moments in my life and some came about through a little bit of tinkering on the piano and discovering what felt and sounded right together.
VIDEOS
Soliloquy: A Dance Film
“What do we say to ourselves when we are alone?
In a soliloquy, I am simultaneously the observed and the observer.”
Soliloquy: A Dance Film is a virtual collaboration between pianist-composer Rachel Morais and dancer-choreographer SueKi Yee
Videographer: Yee Heng Yeh
Videographer and editor: Beth Hughes
This project was created during quarantine with support from Cendana Malaysia.
Order in Chaos
Filmed and edited by Beth Hughes in the colourful and eccentric streets of Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Here’s a little sneak peek of my debut EP, Order in Chaos.
PRESS
The Star online on “Soliloquy: A Dance Film”
“A spark in the dark: Dancer and pianist strike a chord with their virtual film collaboration” — Rouwen Lim
Eksentrika on Rachel Morais
“Unlike other piano compositions we’ve heard, there was something uniquely different in Morais’ works. Her music, according to her social media’s description, reflects the fragility and realness of life.” — Sukhbir Cheema
BFM 89.9 Radio Interview
“A collaborative dance video between dancer and choreographer SueKi Yee and musician Rachel Morais, it was made this year, while observing social distancing requirements, and with SueKi in Kuala Lumpur and Rachel in Brisbane. We speak to them both about their collaborative process, and what it was like to make art during a global pandemic.” — Sharmilla Ganesan