ROSIE DARLING
Exclusive interview with indie pop artist ROSIE DARLING on her EP “Golden Age” and her excitement to perform live again. Rosie also dishes on her process on sharing stories and creating music as she shares the challenges she faced on her journey and how she was able to navigate around them.
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANNA AZARO
Hi Rosie. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi! Thanks for interviewing me. I am so excited to be sharing my next EP “Golden Age” with you! I’ve been living and writing in LA for 4 years now and I can’t believe I’m on my second EP! I am originally from outside of Boston, MA, but knew I would end up in LA at some point in my life to pursue music. I moved here knowing nobody and finally found my home at Nettwerk Music Group over the pandemic! I am constantly inspired by other artists around and I am always trying to push the storytelling boundaries with my songs, musically & lyrically. I’ve been lucky to find a circle of people who support my vision and stories very unconditionally and I am looking forward to the next chapter of this journey which includes touring! I’ll be on my first ever tour this fall alongside Caleb Hearn! After years of living through a pandemic and not being able to go out and perform these songs, I am SO excited to finally be able to connect with people at a show and hear people singing along in real life!
Tell us more about your “Golden Age” EP via NETTWERK featuring your new single “What a Convincing Illusion”
This EP was a different lane for me in that I got a little more outside of my comfort zone with some songs. I wanted to find a way to write songs that were upbeat and “happy” but also still felt like me. I feel like “Golden Age” is everything that I envisioned in that I stayed true to my lyrical inclinations while focusing more on how to elevate the production! “What a Convincing Illusion” is a song that I started very randomly with another artist and friend of mine, Savannah Sgro, and we actually didn’t finish it in one sitting! We sat with it for a while and worked on it over the course of a few sessions and I think this song represents a balance of my first EP “Coping” and the new stuff. It is reminiscent, sound-wise, and I wanted to make sure this EP had a balance and wasn’t just an entirely new style of music for me because I know my safe space in music are ballads that make you want to cry! Haha. I really love “What a Convincing Illusion” though because I think everyone can probably relate to some level and I think it’s easy to listen to or if you need a good cry in your car, this song would work for that too!
How would you describe your music?
I think my music is easy to listen to and hopefully people connect with the lyrics because I spend a huge amount of time working on those! And I really long for that feeling of getting the perfect lyrics with the right melody- because it is so rewarding when I finally figure it out. Songwriting is like a puzzle and I love that about it. I think most of my music is definitely good to listen to on a long car ride or a rainy day, but some more of this new stuff feels happier and something that you’d want to jam to with your friends with the windows down :)
What are the challenges you faced while creating the EP?
Definitely just my own pressure that I put on myself and getting outside of my regular circle of collaborators that I work with. I tend to like to work with the same people out of comfort but I’ve met so many new people over the course of this EP and I’m grateful for that!
How did you rise above these challenges?
I think trusting the universe that things will work out is something I remind myself of a lot! I feel like you can’t mess something up if it’s meant to happen and I think the right songs will rise to the surface when deciding what to release :)
What’s the proudest moment of your career so far?
Singing at Red Rocks with NGHTMRE! What a huge venue that place is!!! Such a beautiful place and the show happened on a full moon, so it was SO magical and I can’t believe it happened! It went by so fast!!!
Where do you get your inspirations from?
Definitely other artists! I like to read a lot of poetry too and sometimes I get most inspired when I’m not trying to force something.
What scares you?
Tour! But in a good way, haha. It is uncharted territory for me but I think it will be so rewarding and so fun to experience that element of making music.
Guilty pleasure?
I love SOUR candy haha. So random but I love it!
Last song that got stuck in your head:
Stick Season by Noah Kahan.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Trust your gut.
What’s your ultimate goal?
To continue writing music and performing and creating stories for people to connect with :)
What are your dream projects?
I would die if I collaborated with LANY!
Is there a skill / talent that a lot of people don’t know about you?
I can walk on my hands for a really long time lol!
Anything else that you want to share to the audience?
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!! I can’t wait to see everyone on tour and I hope you can make it to a show!!!