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Rosey: Singer,
Songwriter, and Free Spirit
By David Chiu
Don't let her name fool you.
Sure this new artist's vibe is upbeat and playful musically speaking,
but there is a down to earth seriousness to her evident on her
debut album Dirty Child. Blended with a confident aura,
good looks, and attitude, Rosey looks poised to be one of the
few new artists that can successfully combine style with substance.
Rosey can be the kindred sister
to Lenny Kravitz and Macy Gray in that she exudes a cool, soulful
vibe to what is essentially rock music. For good measure Rosey
also throws in a little pop, electronic, trip-hop, reggae, Cuban,
klezmer, and standards. As if to show that she is not one-dimensional,
her list of acknowledgements (which filled up two pages in the
CD booklet) included the Beatles, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker,
Bjork, PJ Harvey, and Iggy Pop.
The freewheeling hippie spirit
of the '60s hasn't been lost in her, a rarity in these commercial,
and cynical times. To Rosey, it's all about the freedom to make
your own choices and being enlightened. On that level, Dirty
Child runs the gamut of emotions; on "Love" and
"One" embodies the rapture of being in a romance; "Cozy"
and the title track are like warnings against complacency and
looking within yourself; "This Time," written with
her grandmother in mind, is a reaffirmation of womanhood; and
spiritual bliss is tackled on "Heaven" and "Like
a Dream."
The most unique song to the record
is "My Baby," a charming tune molded in the fashion
of a 1930's pop standard. It's the type of number one would expect
Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald to record. Adding a touch of
authenticity is a slight hiss as to convey the impression that
the song was being played on an old-fashioned turntable.
Though her persona and look may
seem exotic, Rosey comes from humble beginnings. Hailing from
Stamford, Connecticut, she has for one time lived in various
places including Boston, San Francisco, New York City, and Los
Angeles. Her experience as a world music college DJ would be
an influential factor in her sound in addition her diverse musical
heroes. It was, however, working at the various record labels
that would help foster a record deal with Island Records. She
auditioned in the office of Island Records' president Lyor Cohen,
and, as the old adage goes, the rest is history.
Rosey is currently on tour, which
included performing some acoustic sets and opening for British
soul band Morcheeba.
Rosey, how do you describe
your unique, eclectic sound?I
see it as a rock and roll hybrid--it is very bluesy. I like to
call myself a blues singer. It's a mix of sounds.
What was the recording process
with producer Daryl Swann like in making Dirty Child? I told him all
the different kinds of music that I love; he happened to love
that same stuff. too. It 's kind of why we were a good match
for each other. He just kind of helped me get all those sounds
together as one. The one thing that was really important to me
about this record was to be able to represent all of those types
of music that I love and show people that I was diverse.
How much of the lyrics are
based on personal experience and imagination? On this record
a lot of these songs are straight out of personal experiences
that we had. I think imagination goes a long way with that always.
All those things that I'm talking about on the record is very
real to me. A lot of the songs I wrote [were from 1995 to 1997]
and I perform these every night and I still feel like I'm going
to do the same things (laughs) and I am sort of like 'God,
when it is it ever going to change?' Recently I've been writing
a little more whimsically.
Was your grandmother the reason
behind writing "The Time"? It seems to be symbolic
in other ways than just about her?It was totally inspired by her. She grew up during
the Depression. It was important to her that I was happy and
that I was outspoken. I turned that into this story about her
and how lucky we are to be free to speak our minds and have choices.
Tell me what the yearning
"Afterlife" is about?Searching
for peace of mind, not caring so much about what's happening
on the outside. We spend so much time judging other people by
the way they look, that we forget often what our soul is really
yearning for. It's really about just wanting to be free in the
body and not be a slave to all the conformity that is put on
it. Maybe someday there will be freedom after life.
Dirty Child ends with "My Baby," which
sounds like a jazz standard that would be sung by either Billie
Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald. It even has that sound as if it was
played on an old turntable.
I love songs from the '20s and '30s very much. They give me so
much pleasure. I just kind of wanted that song on my record.
All of the stuff that is on there is mutlitracked. And this song
was basically put a band together, recorded it live in one take
and that was it. We recorded it on an old piece of lacquer and
we dirtied it up with cement dust, and we played it on a Victrola,
and we recorded that. The part that was the most important was
how the needle cut the record. It represents the kind of music
that I love.
How much was working at the
record labels helped you as a budding artist?
It kind of gave me more of a
reality trip about the whole thing. I never once thought like
'Well you're going to be a superstar.' 'You're going to be rolling
in money.' I knew the chances of making it is like 1 in 20, I
knew they're not very good. So I walked very steadily and carefully--I
tried to be really humble and kind. I think what really helped
me [working at the labels] was learning enough so that when it
was time for me to speak with these people, I had the total confidence
to do that.
Is it true that you wanted
to work in A&R at Peter Gabriel's Real World Records?
At that time, it was
my dream job. I thought, If I can fly around the world, finding
eclectic talent, and bringing their music to people all over
the world to share it with would be an angelic job.
So being a recording artist
was almost like a second thought?
When I was a little girl,
I dreamt of being a movie star. As I got older I thought I would
be better off being behind the scenes. because I'm kind of like
a control freak. I didn't really know I could write songs until
I picked up a guitar. I started playing and singing right away.
I kind of heard my voice in a different way that I 've never
heard before. It created a whole different vibe that swept me
off my feet.
What impression do you want
people to have after hearing you for the first time?
I really feel like [artists]
have a responsibility...to share something positive to help people.
It sounds clichéd, but I think a lot of songwriters are
stuck in their ego, and it's all about them. I think it's kind
of rude. I'm not going out there and sing about 'my problem,
my problem' and not have an answer.
What is your philosophy on
life? I
really believe that you have to love and accept yourself just
the way that you are. When you can do that, you can help other
people to do such things. I want to be a good Bodhisattva, I
want to spread as much good wisdom that I can and help to free
as many people as I can. We need a lot of affirmation and I want
to tell people that it is all there inside of them.
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