What is the symbolism behind Raye’s “This Music May Contain Hope” album cover?
Raye is one of those artists who ignites a lot of curiosity from me. The creative decisions she makes, her songwriting style, interviews and other marketing techniques - it all feels deeply authentic and creatively free.
She encapsulates everything I love in an artist.
When her new album came out, I was noticing a really high level of detail in each track, especially in how they all come together as a cohesive piece in the album. I noticed how they often unconventionally sit at 4+ minutes and how the structure of each song itself seemed to be guided by emotions, rather than sitting rigid in the rules of how a track “should” be structured.
I was nerding out with my mum about all of this. I had the album playing on my phone, whilst I was mindlessly looking at the cover art when I realised that I never really looked at the album art properly.
It always sits so small in the Spotify UI, and unless you have the vinyl, you’re only ever seeing it on a small screen whether that’s Instagram, your music app, or articles.
Given how layered and intentional her music is, I wanted to look deeper into the album art and learn about what it actually represents.
There’s a lot here that immediately stands out.
The Truman Show-esque backdrop, the deep, powerful reds, the stormy clouds juxtaposed against a beautiful green field.
But first, I wanted to share my mum’s thoughts on this.
“Red can symbolise passion and romance making a perfect trifecta for her imagery. I see her being barefoot as indicating being grounded and practical. Being barefoot allows her to feel the earth and energy and vibrations. Allows her to walk freely without hindrance or restrictions.
The single red rose almost mirrors her. She stands on one side of the storm clouds . Pulling on the rope in a way that shows strength and hope (through perseverance) but also her body isn’t quite as powerful as it should be. Indicating a tiredness that comes from constant criticism and not giving up.
The rose on the other side of the storm stands strong, proud and assured in its own beauty and place in the world.
I see the rope that is attached to the bright blue skies and white fluffy cloud as a symbol of her holding on to hope (as echoed in the words) the fact that the words are boxed in a perfect square could be interpreted as a gift that is just out of reach but with strength and perseverance (holding on to the rope in stormy times) will one day open completely.
Her vibrancy set against the backdrop of turmoil makes her shine and indeed there is a ‘Raye’ of light which shines in between her and the rose, which glints on the rose offering a glimpse of hope for what is to come.
Their are two objects in the background in symmetry which I can’t discern and can’t think what their part in the story is but I feel as I listen to the whole record it might jump into place.”
I took a closer look into the two objects in the background, and I think she was referring to the wheels.
To me, this highlights the storm as a manufactured backdrop rather than something that needs to be weathered. The wheels being as small as they are, you may not even notice them and see this as nothing more than a solid, immovable wall. But in actual fact, it’s a flimsy illusion that has been placed there - and only when you see it for what it is, you can then make moves to remove it and reveal what’s behind (hope).
I also noticed her body language and the red stains on her hands. We know Raye has been through a lot in the industry, and her story alone serves as inspiration for a lot of people - especially other artists.
The more she succeeds, the more hope is restored for other artists. She represents how art can out perform powerful, financially motivated executives.
So with this in mind, I see the red on her hands as blood to represent her own struggles. In this case, she’s struggling to pull the rope against the stormy clouds - her whole body weight is needed to pull that hatch open. But she’s not looking up in awe, she’s not even reflecting on it.
She’s presenting it to us.
Raye seems very self aware in how her music is impacting the world, she’s been very vocal about wanting to help people, and this album art solidifies that to me. By pulling this hatch open, she’s exposing the world to a little bit of hope, allowing us a view into her fresh perspective on life by exposing the backdrop for what it is.
This perfectly encapsulates what the album is to me. We go through a lot in life and we lose perspective, feeling like this is just the hand we are dealt, and if we sit through it, it will pass.
But sometimes, you need to get up and make those changes yourself. You need to look at the problem from a different perspective, see the beauty within the storm, and take it upon yourself to reveal that beauty.
‘Hope’ isn’t something that falls on you, it’s something you have to choose to find; and only then, will you start to see positive changes.
