Rich Jacques’ latest single, “Life is a Miracle,” is a vibrant, uplifting ode to friendship, travel, and the unpredictable beauty of life. Inspired by a trip to Barcelona with his co-writer Martijn Tienus Konijnenburg and friends to surprise their good friend Noldi, the song captures the essence of a carefree adventure.

Jacques’ vocals are warm and inviting, perfectly complementing the song’s celebratory mood of late-night dancing, starry skies, and the simple joy of being present in the moment.

The chorus, “Life is a miracle, never know where it goes,” serves as a gentle reminder of life’s impermanence, wrapped in a melody that’s both uplifting and introspective. Jacques’ voice, soft yet resolute, delivers these lines with a sincerity that invites reflection. The contrast between the fast-paced rush of life (“Fast as a lightning bolt”) and the need to sometimes slow down and savor the moment (“But today I take it slow”) is poignantly expressed, creating a universal resonance.

We connected with Rich as he talked a bit about this latest release and then some. What an absolute delight to get a glimpse into his thoughts and insights. Read on…

PRESS PONDER

What’s the most unexpected or surprising thing that happened during the recording process? Going in, I didn’t really know which direction to take the song, and as happens at best, we just zoned out and started throwing things at the wall and ended up with something that sounded really fresh to us. Always a surprise when I land on a sound I hadn’t expected.

Can you share more of the story behind your collaboration with Martijn Tienus Konijnenburg on this track? How did the idea for the Barcelona adventure come about? Tienus started singing this idea of life is a miracle, and as often happens writing with him, he just went into a trance and remembered this event in his life and started scribbling down lyrics. The whole thing was written rather quickly.

You mention that this song is about a surprise trip to Barcelona. How did this real-life event shape the lyrical content and mood of the song? The trip speaks to the mood and spirit of the song which is joy and celebration of friends and life.

Is there a hidden meaning or message that you want listeners to discover in the lyrics? I don’t think we can be reminded enough what a crazy miracle life is. Life is so much weirder than we are able to even think. Even with horrible things happening in the world, there are also blessings everywhere if we choose to look.

Working with longtime collaborator Bill Lefler as a co-producer on this track, what was the dynamic like in the studio compared to the previous releases with him? How did his input influence the final sound of the song? We hadn’t worked together in a while, and there was an excitement about what we could do together. Immediately I could tell he understood what the song needed, and he jumped right to it. Bill is great with unique, quirky percussion ideas.

What would you want your listeners to take away from listening to any of your music? I tend to make music that calms my nervous system. I hope it does the same for others.

PRESS PLAY

If you were to create a musical based on a bizarre or unexpected theme, what would it be? (Think aliens, underwater cities, or the life of a sock.) A musical about time being an illusion and the fallacy of Newtonian physics.

What’s the most memorable or embarrassing onstage mishap you’ve experienced? I played a show at the hotel cafe in Hollywood around 2009. The band played for a couple of minutes before I walked on stage, and as I strummed the first chord on my guitar and was about to sing, I realized my guitar was in an alternate tuning. After the shock of realizing… Oh, this isn’t going to work… I calmly walked off stage, spent a couple minutes re-tuning my guitar while the band still played, and came back thinking… ”well, it can’t get any worse than that”.  Which is such a liberating feeling, and ended up having one of my favorite shows ever.

If you could time travel and attend a legendary music concert, which one would you choose and why? Live aid to see Queen perform. Probably the best it’s ever been done.

Imagine you are transported back to the 1920s and can only bring one modern piece of musical equipment with you. What would you bring, and how do you think it would change the music scene of that era? I think an Akai MPC would blow their minds.

What’s the most unusual or unexpected object that has inspired a song for you? Not really an object, but the false missile alert in Hawaii in 2018. I imagined what would go through my mind if I knew I only had minutes left. (Track: “Oblivion” 2019)