Start Listening To: Rosie Alena
On her new EP ‘Everyman’, Rosie Alena gets candid about growing through grief in its various forms.
As disruptive as change can be, singer-songwriter Rosie Alena has learned to embrace the messiness that comes with transformation as she channels heartbreak, loss, and a newfound sense of freedom into her latest EP ‘Everyman’. The four-track collection showcases Rosie’s deeply personal process of mourning a relationship, all while rediscovering herself in its absence.
Gracing London stages from the age of fourteen, Rosie has developed a glowing presence around her intricate compositions and captivating vocal stylings which see her draw influence from Joni Mitchell, Sufjan Stevens, and Esperanza Spalding. Her 2022 debut mini-album ‘Pixelated Images’ was a glimpse at her timeless craft, and ‘Everyman’ is a striking evolution which marks a significant turning point in her life.
Rosie joined us to talk about the emotional journey behind ‘Everyman’, how she has grown through her sound, the duality of grief in liberation, and remaining true to her artistry.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music that you make?
My name is Rosie Alena and I’m from London. I’ve always lived in South East London, I haven’t really left. I feel like the music I make has taken different shapes, but at the moment it’s indie/alternative and a bit poppy. My music used to be more psychedelic and folk-inspired. It was longer form. My new EP ‘Everyman’ is shorter, a bit snappier and poppier!
What inspired the shift in sound from your earlier work to ‘Everyman’?
I’ve grown a lot as a songwriter. When I used to write songs, I put this pressure on myself to be a really interesting artist. I’d try to write lyrics that were using a lot of metaphors and were a bit cryptic. I thought that if I wrote that way I’d be interesting. I also had a thing about being a pop artist, like, “no, I’m not pop, I’m different”. I wanted to come across as a bit more obscure and experimental. I wasn’t enjoying writing that way. But the shift wasn’t just because of that, I’ve grown personally as well. I’ve had a lot of big changes which inspired the EP and I’ve found a way to be more open and vulnerable with my work. The concept of my last project was kind of vague, but on ‘Everyman’ I’ve been more upfront and braver with my storytelling. I feel like these songs are little time capsules, and when a song is done it’s done. It may only be a few minutes, but I don’t need to say anything else.
You reference Joni Mitchell and Sufjan Stevens as big sources of inspiration for your work. How do you feel that they’ve influenced your approach to songwriting?
I’d say that Joni Mitchell is a massive influence. It’s the way that she fits the music around her lyrics, or that’s what it feels like. It feels like her lyrics are the most important part of the song. ‘Billboards’, was inspired by a song of hers called ‘People’s Parties’. I love the way that she describes certain characters. In her songs, it’s like you’re really in that zone with her. She creates a specific moment. I also feel like her albums grow with me. My favourite album is ‘Court And Spark’, I listened to it years ago and really loved it. Now after having my own experiences I’m listening to it in a whole new way.
Sufjan Stevens, I just love him. I love the vulnerability in his writing and the softness in the way that he sings. ‘Babies’ on the new EP is quite inspired by Sufjan Stevens. Some of his songs are devastating, but written so beautifully. Taking something devastating and turning it into something beautiful has really inspired me.
On ‘Everyman’, your songs explore the contrast between experiencing both loss and a sense of liberation. Did writing the EP help you process that duality and find closure?
I wrote the songs alongside my grieving process. It feels like they came to me intuitively. I didn’t sit down with the intention of writing the songs, but I felt the need to. ‘Loophole’ is liberating in the sense that it’s a more joyful song about new experiences after becoming single for the first time in six years. It’s that kind of manic high of feeling amazing, but also recognising that under the surface you’re probably not okay. It’s when you feel so happy that you start thinking something isn’t right. When you feel so happy, but something isn’t quite correct. It’s the experience of feeling both liberated but also unsure of what’s coming next, and that being quite scary. But also finding freedom in not knowing what your future is going to look like. Before, when I was in a long-term relationship, I felt like that was my future. I’m coming to terms with the fact that I have no idea what it will be, and I’m finding myself again outside of a relationship.
When you lose people, as in when people actually pass away, that also jolts you. Even though you know that people are going to die, it is really shocking when you have experienced a death that’s really close to you. Death can sometimes jolt you further into life, because you’re aware of your own mortality in a more positive way. The whole EP is primarily about ending a romantic relationship, but the actual song ‘Everyman’ is about different people. Losing people in the sense that they’ve moved away, passed away, it reflects going through grief in different forms.
Having gone through different changes and emotions, when did you feel that you needed to start writing the songs on ‘Everyman’? What kicked that process into gear?
‘Everyman’ was the first song that I wrote. That was mainly influenced by a lot of things happening at once. My dad moved to a different country, my sister moved to Scotland, my Granddad passed away and then my sister also experienced her own loss in her friendship group. The person that I was with at the time was also on tour, so it felt like everyone was leaving in these different ways. That song was an amalgamation of different bits and characters. That initially inspired it. Then I had COVID and was in isolation. I was staying in my friend’s flat and they had a piano. That’s when I finished ‘Everyman’.
Being on tour also gave me a whole new energy because I’d never been on tour before. Often when big shifts occur - whether really exciting or really sad - that’s when I feel super energised to write something. It comes really naturally to me to write fluidly when something major and unexpected happens.
Do you feel that experiencing different emotions throughout the songs on ‘Everyman’ gave you a fresh perspective on the situations that you reflected on?
I do, especially with ‘Billboards’ out now. This was all written about two years ago. Even though it happened a couple of years ago, it’s still something that I’ve carried with me even when the songs were finished. I feel like now that they’re actually released, a chapter is being closed. Not only did I have the release of my music, I could move on emotionally.
What are you hoping for listeners to take away from ‘Everyman’?
I hope that people can relate. I hope that I’ve written in a way that’s personal to me, but also has a universal message. Everyone goes through grief and heartbreak in some way. Whether it’s romantically or not, it’s something that we all have to experience. So I hope that people find a sense of catharsis. Especially with ‘Babies’. That’s one that people seem to connect with people a lot, because I think that’s something we don’t always talk about. When you’re quite young, most people I know aren’t thinking about having children at that age. Even when you’ve been with someone for a few months, in the back of your mind you might think - what would our babies look like? Or, “he’d be a great dad, she’d be a great mum”. You don’t really express it because sometimes it can come across as too much. ‘Babies’ is not just about actually having babies, but the idea of losing a whole future. So I also hope that people are able to see that when something awful happens, you can get through it.
What keeps you hopeful throughout your journey, in both life and music?
What keeps me hopeful is creating things that are true to what I enjoy, and doing it in a very DIY way. I think I’ve found more peace. For a long time, I questioned why I wasn’t further along in my career. I would think that I wanted to make a certain amount of money and play certain festivals. I looked at my career from a business perspective. Which is important if you want to achieve things, but last year and this year I’ve really tried to stay centred and prioritise the fact that I’m primarily an artist. Whether it’s ten people who hear me or thousands, my work is still valid. I’ve surprised myself with how much joy I’ve felt putting ‘Everyman’ out when I wasn’t sure about how it would be received. In terms of my own artistic practice, it keeps me hopeful to know that I can make things that I love and are really true to me while also knowing that it’s being received by people. No matter how many people that may be.
I also teach music and run a community choir. Those are really beautiful ways of seeing people sing purely for the joy of singing. That has definitely kept me hopeful this year. It’s been really important to sing with people and teach songs. To see the joy of music. It’s amazing. I had such a thing against teaching for a while because I thought that if I teach, I’m not letting myself live my dream of having a career in music. But they’ve actually fed into each other really nicely.
What do you love right now?
I love the weather right now. The prospect of warmth coming soon is making me really happy.
What do you hate right now?
I hate posting on Instagram. It’s something that annoys me. I do care about it so it’s always something that I want to look good and sound good, but I find it so tedious. You’re kind of throwing yourself out there, and you never know if one person will see it or a thousand people will see it, no matter how much time you spend on it. I don’t like the unpredictability of it.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Lianne La Havas - Is Your Love Big Enough? It’s an album I discovered when I was fifteen or sixteen. I always go back to it because her songwriting is super strong and her voice is impeccable. She’s one of my favourite vocalists ever, and I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from her. The whole album is also very eclectic. I really enjoy that because I don’t like feeling as though you have to be pigeonholed into one particular genre.
What excites you most about this phase of your musical journey?
What excites me the most is that I don’t feel limited. I feel freer than I’ve ever felt as an artist, and I feel very capable. Doing this EP has made me feel that there’s so much that I can really do. It’s shown me that if I’m going to keep doing this, I don’t have to rely on any one person. It’s a good way to feel, because when I put out the EP I was spending a lot of time waiting to do stuff because I felt like I needed a specific person or thing. Now, I have a lot of brilliant people around me helping me out. I don’t need to find this non-existent person out there in the world, because everyone is just here. I really value community more than I ever have. I’m so lucky with the musicians and creative people that I’ve collaborated with, and I can just continue to make what I want. There’s no time for waiting around. I just want to keep going, so I’m going to.
Photo Credit: Lara Laeverenz
