Tinashe Fazakerley (born 4 April 1984),[1] now professionally known as Rationale, is a Zimbabwe-born British singer and songwriter, formerly known as Tinashé.[2] He is known for his R&B and indie pop style, with electronic influences.[3] Under his alias Tinashé, he was known for his synthpop sound[2] and African influences.[4]
Rationale | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Tinashe Fazakerley |
| Born | 4 April 1984 Highfield, Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels |
|
| Website | iamrationale |
Early life
editFazakerley was born in the Harare township of Highfield.[1] At the age of nine, he and his three siblings moved to the United Kingdom in the Camberwell district of London, where his single mother was working as a nurse.[1] Later, at the age of eleven, he moved to the London borough of Hackney and music began to play a more significant role in his life as he learned to play the guitar.[1] His influences varied, ranging from Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Pat Metheny, Donnie Hathaway, and Al Green, to Tupac Shakur, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Notorious B.I.G.[1]
Career
editTinashé and singing hiatus (2009–2014)
editIn 2010, after releasing two EPs and three singles, Fazakerley released the album Saved under the name Tinashé, but it had limited success.[citation needed]
He took a break from singing and went on to become a songwriter and producer, working with producer Mark Crew while writing songs for blues artist Rag'n'Bone Man, among others. He also wrote songs for the Swiss version of the talent show The Voice.[5]
Rationale (2015–present)
editIn 2015, Fazakerley relaunched his career as Rationale, releasing songs such as "Fast Lane" and "Something for Nothing" on SoundCloud and Spotify. It was on these streaming platforms that he gained recognition, with a mention by Pharrell Williams on his Apple Music Beats1 radio show, OTHERtone, calling him someone who had "found the beauty in their voice".[6] This helped elevate "Fast Lane" to No. 2 within its first week on the Spotify Global Viral Chart, reach No. 1 on Hype Machine, and amass more than 1.3 million views on SoundCloud.[citation needed] Rationale also received praise from Justin Timberlake and Elton John.[7] He became one of the first artists to be signed to Dan Smith of Bastille's new record label, Best Laid Plans.[5]
Rationale's debut, self-titled album was released on 6 October 2017,[8] under exclusive license to Warner Music UK.[9]
Rationale is credited as a songwriter and producer on Katy Perry's 2017 album, Witness, on the song "Act My Age".[10] His single "Tethered" has been covered live by Ellie Goulding.[11]
In 2019, Rationale was featured on Big Wild's album Superdream, on the song "6's to 9's".
In 2021, he was featured on Model Man's self-titled album, on the song "Esc (Holding Back)".
Discography
editAs Tinashé
editAlbums
- Saved (2010)
EPs
- Saved (2009)
- Mayday (2010)
- Zambezi (2010)
Singles
- "Mayday" (2010)
- "Zambezi" (2010)
- "Saved" (2010)
As Rationale
editAlbums
- Rationale (2017)
EPs
- Fuel to the Fire (2015)
- Vessels (2017)
- High Hopes (2018)
Singles
- "Fast Lane" (2015)
- "Re.Up" (2015)
- "Fuel to the Fire" (2015)
- "Something for Nothing" (2016)
- "Palms" (2016)
- "Prodigal Son" (2016)
- "Vessels" (2016)
- "Reciprocate" (2017)
- "Tethered" (2017)
- "Deliverance" (2017)
- "Loving Life" (2017)
- "Into the Blue" (2017)
- "Losing Sleep" (2017)
- "Somewhere to Belong" (2017)
- "Oil & Water" (2017)
- "Phenomenal" (2017)
- "Tumbling Down" (2018)
- "One by One" (2018)
- "Kindred" (2018)
- "High Hopes" (2018)
- "73" (2018)
- "Say What's on Your Mind" (2019)
- "Hurts the Most" (2019)
- "Whiskey Regrets" (2020)
- "Wash Over Me" (2022)
- "Freedom" (2022)
- "Every Mountain" (2023)
Songwriting and production credits
edit| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Credits | Written with | Produced with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Guilty" | 2014 | Rag'n'Bone Man | Wolves EP | Co-writer | Rory Graham, Mark Crew, Daniel Priddy | - |
| "Wolves" | Rory Graham, Mark Crew, Daniel Priddy | - | ||||
| "Life in Her Yet" | Rory Graham, Mark Crew, Daniel Priddy | - | ||||
| "Disfigured" | 2015 | Disfigured EP | Rory Graham, Andrew Jackson | - | ||
| "Love Is a Drug" | Mark Feehily | Fire | Mark Feehily, Steve Anderson | - | ||
| "Only You" | Mark Feehily, Steve Anderson | - | ||||
| "Wash the Pain Away" | Mark Feehily, Steve Anderson | - | ||||
| "Cut You Out" | Mark Feehily, Anu Pillai | - | ||||
| "Dynamite" (featuring Pretty Sister) |
2016 | Nause | Non-album single | Jacob Criborn, Leonard Scheja, Sacha Skarbek | - | |
| "Act My Age" | 2017 | Katy Perry | Witness | Co-writer/producer | Katheryn Hudson, Mark Crew, Sarah Hudson | Ilya, Mark Crew |
| "Paralyzed" | 2018 | Kwaye | Love & Affliction EP | Kwayedza Kureya | Henry Guy | |
| "6's to 9's"
(featuring Rationale) |
2019 | Big Wild | Superdream | Co-writer/featured vocals | Jackson Stell | - |
| "Release Me"
(featuring Rationale) |
2020 | Billon | - | Co-writer/producer/featured vocals | Ed Butler | Billon |
| "Dream Killer" | HYYTS | - | Co-writer | Adam Hunter, Josh Grant, Sam Hunter | - | |
| "What the Hell"
(featuring Rationale) |
Ayelle | NOMAD (Mixtape) | Co-writer/producer/featured vocals | Amanda Lundstedt | - | |
| "Choice"
(featuring Rationale) |
- | |||||
| "Lonely People" | HYYTS | - | Co-writer | Adam Hunter, Fin Dow-Smith, Sam Hunter | - | |
| "Amen" | Tom Grennan | Evering Road | Co-writer | Josh Record, Wayne Hector, Lucian Nagy, Tom Grennan | - | |
| "Why Can't We Get Along" | 2021 | Zak Abel | - | Co-writer | Zak Abel, George Moore | - |
| "Esc (Holding Back)"
(featuring Rationale) |
Model Man | Model Man | Co-writer/featured vocals | |||
| "You're Worth it" | 2022 | MORGAN | - | Co-writer | Conor Mellis, George Conway, Morgan Connie Smith, Ofer Shaul Ishai, Precious Danielle | - |
| "Worry" | Ewan Mainwood | Broken EP | Co-writer | Christopher Smith, Ewan Mainwood | - | |
| "Unsaid" | ||||||
| "Girl of Your Dreams" | Dylan | The Greatest Thing I'll Never Learn | Co-writer | Jake Gosling, Dylan | - | |
| "Treat You Bad" | Edward Carlile, Dylan | |||||
| "Home Is Where the Heart Is" | Jake Gosling, Dylan | |||||
| "Unconditional"
(featuring Rationale) |
2023 | Quantic | Dancing While Falling | Co-writer/featured vocals | William Holland | - |
| "Guiding Light" | John Newman | - | Co-writer | Phil Cook, John Newman | - |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Smyth, David (7 June 2016). "Rationale, interview: 'I'm a very pessimistic character, which helps to write the songs I want to write'". London Evening Standard.
- ^ a b Lester, Paul (21 January 2010). "New band of the day: Tinashé (No 709)". The Guardian.
- ^ Mack, Jonno (20 January 2017). "Live Review: Rationale // King Tut's, Glasgow – 20.01.17". Riot Mag.
- ^ Richman, Simmy (22 August 2010). "Album: Tinashé, Saved (Island)". The Independent.
- ^ a b Studarus, Laura (7 June 2016). "Dinner and a Show: Get to know Bastille's first signee, The Rationale". Live Nation TV.
- ^ Pell, Mike (8 June 2016). "Pharrell Williams Loves Him. We Love Him. Get to Know Rationale..." MTV.
- ^ Earls, John (8 June 2016). "Meet Rationale: The new Brit soulman loved by Pharrell, Timberlake and Elton". Loaded Magazine.
- ^ Issom, Eric (24 November 2016). "Rationale Continues to Shine with New Single 'Prodigal Son'". Pigeons and Planes.
- ^ Rossignol, Derrick (7 June 2016). "Rationale announces debut album and shares "Palms"". Pigeons and Planes.
- ^ Feeney, Nolan (14 July 2016). "Breaking Big: Rationale wants to be the next Pharrell Williams — and Katy Perry is already a fan". Entertainment Weekly.[dead link]
- ^ Kelley, Caitlin (5 October 2017). "Rationale Brings the Drama in Gospel-Infused Track 'Oil & Water': Exclusive". Billboard.