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Rationale (musician)

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Rationale
Birth nameTinashe Fazakerley
Born (1984-04-04) 4 April 1984 (age 40)
Highfield, Harare, Zimbabwe
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Websiteiamrationale.com

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]

Early life

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Fazakerley 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

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Tinashé and singing hiatus (2009–2014)

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In 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)

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In 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

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As Tinashé

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Albums

  • Saved (2010)

EPs

  • Saved (2009)
  • Mayday (2010)
  • Zambezi (2010)

Singles

  • "Mayday" (2010)
  • "Zambezi" (2010)
  • "Saved" (2010)

As Rationale

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Albums

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

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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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Lester, Paul (21 January 2010). "New band of the day: Tinashé (No 709)". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Mack, Jonno (20 January 2017). "Live Review: Rationale // King Tut's, Glasgow – 20.01.17". Riot Mag.
  4. ^ Richman, Simmy (22 August 2010). "Album: Tinashé, Saved (Island)". The Independent.
  5. ^ a b Studarus, Laura (7 June 2016). "Dinner and a Show: Get to know Bastille's first signee, The Rationale". Live Nation TV.
  6. ^ Pell, Mike (8 June 2016). "Pharrell Williams Loves Him. We Love Him. Get to Know Rationale..." MTV.
  7. ^ Earls, John (8 June 2016). "Meet Rationale: The new Brit soulman loved by Pharrell, Timberlake and Elton". Loaded Magazine.
  8. ^ Issom, Eric (24 November 2016). "Rationale Continues to Shine with New Single 'Prodigal Son'". Pigeons and Planes.
  9. ^ Rossignol, Derrick (7 June 2016). "Rationale announces debut album and shares "Palms"". Pigeons and Planes.
  10. ^ 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]
  11. ^ Kelley, Caitlin (5 October 2017). "Rationale Brings the Drama in Gospel-Infused Track 'Oil & Water': Exclusive". Billboard.
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