Alright, so this goes down on my list of "stupid things I did (while in my own state of mind)" for certain. I must give much credit to David Michael Bennett, a member of one my favorite bands, the amazing Steam Powered Giraffe, and his impeccable vine/instagram videos. The lyrics are all quotes from him originally, I just decided to set them to a melody, so here ya go. Please don't eat me.

David Michael Bennett The Musical

So I certainly didn't plan on writing this song, nor did I plan on the themes that I would encounter while writing it. It started out as me thinking of doing another Evanescence cover (one that would be a bit ore obscure: "Call Me When You're Sober"). The chords are really warm and lush at the beginning of that song, so I ended up sort-of-kind-of using them to start this one. And I wanted to write something about true, old love. So, naturally, the lyrics evolved into me talking about...erm...evolution? Humans, I guess? My science classes are rubbing off on me, eh? I found that the lyrics actually fit quite well into the descriptions I've heard o the characters of Adam and Eve in Jim Jarmusch's latest (and very highly anticipated on my part) film "Only Lovers Left Alive", so I kind of consider this an informal homage to that. Also, someone has to show Tom that major keys can exist beyond the white keys on the piano (lol, this song is actually in an interestingly enharmonic zone). Enjoi. :)

Intruders

So I sort of consider this very on-the-spot improvised piece to be a tutorial in beat boxing, AKA: "vocal percussion". Basically, I felt like creating something with a cool rhythm (but not too crazy) and then I just adlibbed lyrics over it. Since it's so experimental compared to my normal song-composing/writing/whatever process, I borrowed a name from one of my other more experimental pieces ("The Act of Eavesdropping"), and there ya go. Hope you like, and sorry for all the ambient noise in the background. :/

The Act Of Pretending

Enjoy me covering (read: butchering) the infamous "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" (made so by the incredible Judy Garland all those years ago). In case you can't tell, I'm horribly congested. Sowwy. :3

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

So this is for a dear friend of mine who has recently been a huge help and assistance in my life, and I tend to have trouble showing my gratitude through words or some immediate reaction, so I figure a song is pretty valuable. I unfortunately had to delete one of my older songs (just an instrumental one) to make this one fit, but I think it's a justifiable reason. Enjoi :3

Glass

So we have been working on this song in my a cappella group recently, and I had an opportunity to be in the practice rooms in the music department at my school and I figured I'd do some fusion and record myself singing this, if only to utilize the reverb that the pianos in the practice rooms give off when you sing and hold the pedal down. So yeah, see if you can hear that once the piano cuts out at the end. :)

Spectrum

So I had to delete yet another song to fit this one on here: I'm thinking of maybe moving stuff to another account, but we'll see. :/ Hope you like this one, it's inspired by the idea of being in a country where you're unfamiliar and new. :)

Backpack

So I realize many of my songs probably seem creepy in that they are typically about very random people and random subject matters, but this one probably takes the cake. This is a song about a woman who sells her art (which is quite lovely) nearby my campus and I've seen her in local cafes and just about everywhere since my freshman year, but I've never said more than "hello" to her (she complimented my sweater once). So yeah. Mystery woman song. Woot. Enjoi. :) 

Her Name

Very much inspired by Chris Garneau, specifically the song "Dirty Night Clowns", in terms of performance style (not so much lyrics: I'll leave those up to you guys to figure out). Hope you all enjoy, and thank you so much for the feedback!

Girl Inhibited

So this is my cover of "The Chain" by Ingrid Michaelson. A half step down, because that's how I found the chords and that's how I like it. Hope you all enjoy, thanks for listening. :)

The Chain

So I've been super super excited to be able to upload some of the stuff I've recorded with my fancy new mic and with my home-recording software. So credit def goes to the new technology I have assisting, along with the fact that this arrangement layout is not mine, but adapted from a friend in my a cappella group (Kali: your arrangement is wonderful). Obviously, credit goes to Lorde for the song. I hope you enjoy.

Finally Royals

Rita Barakat is a third year student at the University of California in Berkeley, studying Molecular and Cellular Biology with an emphasis in Neurobiology. But she is not going to become a neuroscientist, nor does she want to. She wants to become a singer. She wants to be an entertainer, a performer, an artist. She's sometimes good with words, and would one day like to try her hand at rapping, given that she's already begun to dabble in beat-boxing at the ripe young age of 19. Rita also has a heart condition, so one could say she really does walk to the beat of her own drum (as in: her drum is beating a bit faster than most people in the resting state). Rita writes music for herself and for those around her, and she'd really appreciate any feedback (positive or negative) that you can offer. So check out the covers and original pieces and enjoy. :) 

Credit for Profile/ Album art: my sister Nicole. :) 

Rita Barakat

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