MEET SIDNEY ROSE: MELBOURNE’S NEW INDIE-POP TRAILBLAZER
For some artists, the push and pull of Melbourne’s lockdown measures has stunted creativity, forming mental roadblocks. This was not the case, however, for a newcomer to the scene, Melbourne indie-pop artist Sidney Rose. Described as “pop, but left of centre” by Triple J’s Tommy Faith, Rose has established herself as one to watch with her second single of the year, Guarantee.
Pictured: Sidney Rose has made the most of lockdown, with her new single, Guarantee Image: Sarah Caust
For some artists, the push and pull of Melbourne’s lockdown measures has stunted creativity, forming mental roadblocks. This was not the case, however, for a newcomer to the scene, Melbourne indie-pop artist Sidney Rose. Described as “pop, but left of centre” by Triple J’s Tommy Faith, Rose has established herself as one to watch with her second single of the year, Guarantee.
Produced by Ben Oldland, Guarantee is a captivating indie-pop track, which, believe it or not, was a product of her first time in a recording studio after beginning her project in December 2019.
After chasing musical theatre for three years post high school, Rose found herself more immersed with the notion of storytelling purely through music, and so made the switch to the Australian music scene.
“I think my real passion, at the core, is telling either my story and expressing that... then also being able to then use that [mode of] storytelling to tell other people’s stories, I think of it as a cool craft when you get down to the crux of it.”
Drawing on influences from Canadian musician Lennon Stella and Australia’s own Eliott, Rose blends vulnerable lyricism with alluring hooks.
“What I’ve always found with music is that it’s a lot easier to sing something that’s really raw and honest than it is to sit and say that to someone’s face, so Guarantee wasn’t necessarily written about a certain person,” she said.
Pictured: Rose embraces vulnerability in her track, Guarantee
Image: Sarah Caust
“With Guarantee it was the first time I was really trying to write from just kind of what was in front of me at the time, rather than trying to pull on past experiences.”
Indie-pop as a genre is proving popular among the masses, with artists such as Rose appreciative of the sheer amount of work which goes into creating an indie-pop track.
“Working with Ben on Guarantee I just didn’t understand the full craft of indie pop, there’s so much craft to coming up with hooks that stick with people,” she said.
“And so to try and translate really sad emotional stuff that I write with my guitar and put that into a context, it’s just really cool.”
Navigating the Australian music scene as a young emerging artist during a global pandemic is quite the task, but one which Rose was more than willing to tackle, noting her determination and much-needed optimistic nature.
“I actually set a goal at the start of the year basically to be writing something musical every day, creating in some way, and that’s something that I’ve stuck to and I’m so grateful that I have,” she said.
“I think I’ve been able to stay growing as an artist, because I’ve either created with someone else via Zoom that day or I’ve been forced sometimes to sit at my piano or sit at my guitar and sing and figure something out because I’ve made that commitment to myself.”
The current climate in the Australian music scene has allowed Rose to slowly make her mark and work through moments of personal growth.
“Because I haven’t experienced it in normal life,” she laughed.
“Normal life, whatever that is, I haven’t had anything to compare it to, I’ve really just been able to grow and find ways to do it.”
For the remainder of 2020, Rose has her sight set on collaborations and demos, and eagerly working on her live set for the return of live music, whenever that may be.
“I think at the moment it's still up in the air but I’ve been building up a whole heap of collaborations and demos and things because I’d love to have as much released stuff [as] ready as I can,” she said.
“At the moment it’ll look like a lot more releases and stuff to come out of lockdown – kind of like lockdown babies but [in the form of] songs.”
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PREMIERE: Thea Fitzgerald CLOSES OUT THE BUILDING BLOCKS ERA WITH TWO FRESH VIDEOS
Thea FitzGerald closes out the Building Blocks era with two fresh videos, and we’re pumped to be bringing them to you here first! Better late than never, 23 year old Melbourne singer-songwriter Thea FitzGerald has two brand new videos to round out her debut body of work - Building Blocks.
Thea FitzGerald closes out the Building Blocks era with two fresh videos, and we’re pumped to be bringing them to you here first! Better late than never, 23 year old Melbourne singer-songwriter Thea FitzGerald has two brand new videos to round out her debut body of work - Building Blocks.
Adding to the stunningly vibrant visuals previously released for ‘Stuck’ and ‘Holding Your Hand’, the killer team at Thick Heart Productions have worked with Thea to add to the collection with videos for ‘Breathe’ and ‘Higher Ground’. With a huge focus on colour to build the emotional narrative of each story, these new videos are absolute eye-candy.
The new videos add aesthetic and emotional symmetry to the body of work - the upbeat playfulness of ‘Higher Ground’ bears resemblance to the somewhat chaotic mix of cheek an pain in ‘Holding Your Hand’, whilst the solitary power of ‘Stuck’ is mirrored in the confined discomfort of ‘Breathe’. There’s a stellar cast involved too - Stephanie Wall, Ed McCullough and Sarah FitzGerald beautifully execute the story of Higher Ground, and Tamara Bailey nails her performance in Holding Your Hand.
WATCH THE NEW MUSIC VIDEOS HERE!
If you haven’t yet sussed the Building Blocks EP, you’re bound to love something in there – it’s a catchy fusion of pop, indie and R&B with infectious hooks, and will not disappoint! These new videos are the perfect ending to the Building Blocks chapter, making way for the release of Thea’s highly anticipated second EP later this year!
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GROOVY LOCAL GALS - YERGURL
Victoria’s teen queen, yergurl AKA Fae Scott, is a songwriter, vocalist and producer, making dreamy pop beats in her bedroom. Most recently, yergurl has been peppin’ it up at St Kilda Fest 2020, just before her featured release with Mars And Bones, her announcement of her place on the bill for Grampians Music festival, and (the part that we think is the coolest tbh) her feature on the cover of Beat Magazine.
Victoria’s teen queen, yergurl AKA Fae Scott, is a songwriter, vocalist and producer, making dreamy pop beats in her bedroom.
Yergurl describes the moments of growing up as a rebellious teen and explores the power emotions have over hormonal adolescents, through confronting, raw and honest lyrics. Yergurl’s unique story-telling is paired with atmospheric synths, lo-fi beats and layered, reverb-laden vocals to create pop you could swim in.
Yergurl’s unique sound is derived from her life-long appreciation for pop music, and takes inspiration from the 80s, to horrorcore, alt rock, and the works of The 1975, Charli XCX and Lana Del Rey.
Most recently, yergurl has been peppin’ it up at St Kilda Fest 2020, just before her featured release with Mars And Bones, her announcement of her place on the bill for Grampians Music Festival, and (the part that we think is the coolest tbh) her feature on the cover of Beat Magazine.
“It’s a sound that’s dreamy, atmospheric, other worldy and heavily rooted in pop. It’s a fully immersive and emotive ride that has darkness, radiance and everything in between. If you were to look into space with a ritzy telescope, you’d see yergurl in the middle of the galaxy, lounging on the rings of Saturn.” -Declan Byrne, Triple J
Starting out as an independent bedroom creative from Bendigo, Yergurl has been slowly but surely making her way up the rankings, becoming a Triple J Unearthed finalist, scoring various festival performances and her first headlining show in late 2019, and regularly updating her socials with new covers (including her latest dreamy cover of Metro Station’s ‘Shake It’) and original songs to keep us comin’ back.
You can catch her tracks also featured in our Spotify Playlist dedicated to all Aussie (and a few NZ) acts!
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