Rachel Goswell

Rachel Goswell (born 16 May 1971) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence as vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band Slowdive. Goswell, along with Neil Halstead, Ian McCutcheon and former Chapterhouse member Simon Rowe became Mojave 3 when Slowdive transitioned to a more country/folk rock style. She released a solo album in 2004, titled Waves Are Universal on 4AD Records.

Goswell was born in Fareham, England. She began playing guitar at age seven, and was trained on classical guitar at age fourteen, along with childhood friend Neil Halstead, with whom she formed Slowdive in 1989. Regarding her musical influences, she stated :"For me personally, from a singing point of view, I was inspired by Siouxsie Sioux". She also stated that Joni Mitchell, Iggy Pop and Nick Cave as being among her favourite musicians.

After Slowdive's dissolution in 1995, Goswell and Halstead formed Mojave 3, an offshoot of Slowdive; the group captured a more folk rock-oriented sound as opposed to Slowdive's shoegaze sound. They released five albums, their last being Puzzles Like You in 2006, before going on a hiatus.

The year 2004 saw Goswell release solo recordings with co-writer Joe Light and producer David Naughton. Nine months after Mojave 3 released Spoon and Rafter, she released The Sleep Shelter EP. Waves Are Universal, her first full-length recording, appeared a month later. Tiny Mix Tapes described the record as "delicate and well-thought out" despite occasionally veering towards "the frankly repulsive world of adult contemporary" while Pitchfork Media thought the album was "warm [and] summery ... agreeable, if not very exciting". Stylus Magazine stated that Waves Are Universal is "a solid album that could appeal to both fans of [Goswell's] previous work and others". In February 2005, a limited edition remix 12" (also available as a download) entitled "Coastline"/"Plucked" was issued and features two mixes apiece from The Earlies and Ulrich Schnauss.

In 2014, Slowdive, with Goswell, reformed for gigs and have declared in interviews that they would be working on new material. The band continue to tour. In 2016 Goswell joined Stuart Braithwaite, Justin Lockey and James Lockey to form the band Minor Victories. Their self-titled debut is set for release in June 2016 on Fat Possum records.

Goswell was married to Air Cuba's Christopher Andrews from 1994 until 2000.

Goswell is partially deaf herself as a result of labyrinthitis (a viral infection) which occurred in 2006. This left her with chronic tinnitus in one ear and she also had debilitating balance problems which required physiotherapy for a year. As a result, Goswell had to stop playing and touring with Mojave 3.

In 2010 Goswell gave birth to a son, Jesse, who has CHARGE syndrome; Jesse is profoundly deaf and has a serious heart condition which resulted in open heart surgery at the age of five months. She is learning British Sign Language and is vocal about the rights of parents of deaf children to have free access to learning sign language. In October 2013 there was a debate in Parliament led by the NDCS (National Deaf Children's Society) where both Rachel and Jesse were mentioned.

Rachel Goswell's 1993 Slowdive guitar rig consisted of a Fender '72 Telecaster Thinline, a Boss OD-2 Turbo Overdrive, a Yamaha FX-500 Multi-FX unit and a Roland JC-77 Jazz Chorus 2x10 combo amp. Since Slowdive reunion in 2014, Rachel Goswell's main guitar on tour is a Custom77 The Roxy – Hollowbody

Slowdive

• Just for a Day (1991)
• Souvlaki (1993)
• Pygmalion (1995)

Mojave 3

• Ask Me Tomorrow (1995)
• Out of Tune (1998)
• Excuses for Travellers (2000)
• Spoon and Rafter (2003)
• Puzzles Like You (2006)

Rachel Goswell

• The Sleep Shelter EP (17 May 2004) 4AD BAD 2402
• Waves Are Universal (14 June 2004) 4AD CAD 2414
• "Coastline"/"Plucked" single (14 February 2005) 4AD TAD 2501