Introducing 16-year old Melbourne-based dark jazz/alt-pop singer/songwriter ROSE ARGOE. This emerging songstress is currently working on some new music which we got a chance to learn more about when we had the opportunity of chatting with the singer.. Learn more about her and what she's working on by reading our Q&A interview below:
MHB: Can you introduce yourself to our readers? What do you do and where are you from?
ROSE: Well, my name is Rose Argoe for starters, I'm a singer/songwriter from Melbourne, Australia.
MHB: How long as music been a part of life? How did it come to be a part of your life?
ROSE: Music has been a part of my life ever since I was little, I was doing amatuer musical theatre lessons since I was 6 years old. I remember specifically hearing Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" for the first time during a lunch break in primary school, no joke I fell head over heels in love with her music. It's very theatrical, even though it is pop.
MHB: Who were some of your biggest musical influences growing up?
ROSE: As mentioned before Lady Gaga was probably my first proper "music inspiration" when I was around 8 years old. When I was 12 years old I was watching Troye Sivan on Youtube & following him on Spotify, so I would be getting notifications when he updated his playlist. I remember first hearing "don't wanna be your girl" by Wet, and had to shut my eyes to listen to it. There was something different to that song compared to the shit that was playing on the radio - new & fresh, to me I suppose. It was super in to get vinyls, so I ordered a few off of Amazon along with my terrible black Crosley player - however, those first 3 vinyls (Tove Lo's "Queen of The Clouds, Banks "Goddess" & Lana Del Rey's cult classic "Born to Die) are what really made me get into song writing in particular. Hustler by Josef Salavat will always have a place in my heart, I was up at 4am listening to it alongside Medicine by Broods - when I was 12 it was when I decided I really wanted this to be my career, I had always had this little dream, but this was the time where I said to myself: Look, you're going to do it and you're going to do it well.
MHB: If you could collaborate with any artist of your choosing, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
ROSE: My god that's a hard one, there are so, so many artists I'd die to work with. It would have to be Jonathon Larson, for sure. Rent, the "cult classic" musical released in early 00's, was the last performance I ever did on stage with that musical theatre group I mentioned before. I met my first boyfriend out of it & there are songs he's written that will always, always bring tears to my eyes. Definitely Jonathon, I think we could make some good music.
MHB: Without using any musical terms, how would you describe your sound?
ROSE: Hmmm... Silky and glamorous, yet cold and closed off.
MHB: Can you share a little about your creative process? Where do you get your inspiration from?
ROSE: Oooh la la!! Now here's where everyone learns my dirty secrets: I have synesthesia, so say for instance when I was at a party with this boy - there was a little fire in an empty pool, I was sitting by him and all I could see (because of all the sounds around me) was cherry red. I get into the studio and I say to my producer, Luka: "look, you're gonna think I'm crazy - but we have to get fire, lots of teenagers, glamour and sadness in this one song, and it has to be this ONE colour." He sent me at least 3 instrumentals before I was kinda happy with it, if it doesn't match the colours in my mind when I wrote the lyrics, there's no chance I'm singing on top of it.
MHB: Can you tell us a bit about your single "21st Century Love"? What's it about? What was the inspiration behind it?
ROSE: Well as I was saying: I was at this party with this boy who I'd previously dated, and I was still infatuated with him at this time. He's lovely, charming, a little devilish if you will. We were sitting by this empty pool fire, I was drinking butterscotch schnapps while he was drinking beer. Except for a few kisses and long stares throughout the night, nothing happened except for him spilling beer on my leopard print coat... So I'm sleeping at my friends house and it's like four suburbs away on the train line. I wake up and I'm complaining to my friend called Jess and I'm like, "God, I just wish I could see him you know? There's unfinished business, it's unsettling me and I'm going to go crazy if I don't see him soon." Sure enough he texted me being all like "sorry for being a dick" la la la.. I end up catching the train to his place, I hadn't been there in a month or so before that so I had all this anxious, excited energy. Soon enough I'm laying on his bed with him and he kisses me, and I think to myself: this is nothing like how it is in the old fashioned movies, but it's so precious, I have to write a song about it. So I did. I had to make sure there was that crescendo of strings to match the old fashioned love vibe, because nothing says 21st century love more than "My leopard print coat smells like fire, it's a tad burnt, I haven't slept much at all and I really wanna kiss you". Right?
MHB: What can we expect from you in the near future? Is there an album in the works?
ROSE: You can expect quite a bit from me this year, I hope.. at least. Not an album yet, although to make one would be insane - a pure dream come true. But I do have this song called "Pocket Money" coming out QUITE soon, can't say when.. you know, all that cool sneaky musician shit these days to make hype. This song is really, really cool - it's a big switch from "21st Century Love", I'll give you that. I was around quite a fair few drugs, a fair few people and a fair few trap artists, so it's a change. There's still going to be that sharp weird musical edge that 21st has, but it's more pop, more dance, more vibe & more grind. I hope that people will love it.
MHB: What do you want people to take away from your music?
ROSE: Gosh, I don't think people could really ever take away something from a story.. well, I suppose they could honestly - I've done that many a time with my favourite artists. What can I say, hm: I'm 16.. so let's say this.. everyone goes through heart shattering break-ups, everyone gets infatuated with someone they can't have, some people pull you down the tracks the wrong way. It's me, it's my music, I've been wanting to do this ever since I was a little kid, it's crazy for me to say you can buy my song on iTunes. That's just an honest dream come true.
MHB: Who are some under the radar artists that you are currently listening to or would recommend?
ROSE: OOOH! Let me tell you. There's this one artist from NZ, called "Thomston" and one of his songs called Headspace is literally a dream. I dance to it every night in tears over dumb boys like most teens spend their nights, but like, there's something different in his voice. You can hear the conflicting emotions & the worry he has with this person he's singing to, it's so so special to me at the moment. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. JUST TWO WORDS. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. Their new EP is So true to their sound, yet super fresh. The lyrics are pretty, as always with them - they keep it real, true, a lil romantic & rough. But that's who they are. I love it. There's no "under the radar" artists other than those two really, I mean, does Tove Lo count? Her music is amazing - surely she doesn't. She hasn't broken to the main pop radio in Australia yet, but I'm sure she will, the new electro-pop princess no doubt.
MHB: What song would you pick to be your life's theme song?
ROSE: House of Balloons/Glass table girls by The Weeknd himself. His music was my anthem last year, every single album. Every tear shed and every drug I took, it was to his music. People are going to be like: aight.... bet. That's just a song about getting fucked up & snorting coke: well, you aren't wrong but PLEASE do yourself a favour and listen to his song Echoes of Silence if you haven't heard it. Then tell me his music is just about "fucking girls & taking drugs". He's extremely talented, along with Lana Del Rey, you can't beat those two together.. the true dream team.
MHB: If you got stranded on an island with the choice of only one record to have with you, which you would it be?
ROSE: Hmmm, maybe Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande? I genuinely have listened to that album so many times since I came out and I'm still out here listening to it while falling asleep on the train - either that or House of Balloons EP from The Weeknd, again, you can't get sick of that kind of music. Every song on those two albums have the right kinda placement, it sounds good.
MHB: What does music mean to you?
ROSE: Music is my life, has been since I was little. I've been surrounded with it at primary school doing lip sync competitions, to being on stage singing multiple musical numbers a night getting changed in and out of costumes & having my mic tape fixed, to watching youtubers like Troye & now doing this, dancing on stage singing MY OWN SONGS. I'mma be dead serious and say this but if music wasn't a thing I wouldn't be here, it's extremely powerful. I use it to make me happy, I use it to help me cry, I use it to inspire myself & I use it to relax. It's my therapy.
I personally can't wait to hear what the songstress has in store but in the meantime, check out her single "21st Century Love" below:
To hear more from ROSE ARGOE, be sure to follow her
on SoundCloud, Facebook, and Twitter.