FEATURE: Spotlight: Alessi Rose — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Gunning for DORK

Alessi Rose

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RELEASED on 25th July…

Voyeur is the debut E.P. from the fantastic Alessi Rose. She is one of our brightest young artists. Someone I have just discovered but has been getting a lot of love for a while now. I will come to some interviews with this phenomenal talent. Before that, there is some biography that provides some background of Alessi Rose. I can see her dominating the music scene in years to come:

“Born in Derby, East Midlands, Alessi was drawn to the stage from a young age, enrolling in singing lessons as a child and taking an instant shine to musical theatre. Raised by a mum who loved ‘80s new wave and a dad who loved country music – “My dad put me on to Taylor Swift, which is funny,” she quips – she remembers feeling creative from a young age, entering poetry competitions in school and eventually combining her fondness for that form with the skills she was learning in singing and piano lessons. It was a strike of youthful ingenuity that led to her actually sharing her talent with the world: after seeing Gracie Abrams posting 30-second clips of herself performing to camera, and seeing some flicker of resemblance in Gracie’s conversational, casual style, Alessi decided to start posting videos of herself performing in her bedroom, too. Posting performance videos emboldened Alessi to pursue music for real. Towards the end of lockdown, a friend of her parents had found out that she was interested in music, helped her download music production software and gave her a pair of speakers to use as monitors in her makeshift bedroom studio; slowly, she began to self-produce demos and upload them to BBC Introducing. Dean Jackson started playing Alessi’s bedroom productions, which weren’t even mixed or mastered, every Saturday, an early boost that signalled to Alessi that maybe her dreams of stardom weren’t so far-fetched; she ended 2022 being one of their most played artists of the year, without ever officially releasing any songs. Alessi’s hustler instincts kicked in, and she began trawling the credits of her favourite songs on Spotify and cold-emailing producers she particularly liked, sending hundreds of emails asking if anyone wanted to work with her”.

Six months after her E.P., for your validation, Voyeur is out. There is this momentum forming. It is worth reading some interviews from earlier in the year such as this one. We get an idea of how Alessi Rose was being written about after the release of her previous E.P. Now, with this incredible new E.P. out in the world, there will be many who are picking up on her music for the first time. I am moving to an interview from DIY. From playing at small venues to playing festivals and huge spaces, it has been a whirlwind. This big leap that is richly deserve:

“Now, a mere six months on from unveiling her second project, the pop powerhouse is embracing a new chapter with her latest EP. “‘Voyeur’ is me dealing with [my] transition into being an artist and someone that people look to,” the 22-year-old explains. A body of work that sees her navigate the trials and tribulations of young adulthood while adjusting to being in the public eye, the eight-track project has already sparked discourse online. “I’ve always had a relatively young audience and I think that makes people think that I have to be palatable,” she notes, referencing the degree of controversy surrounding its title. “But I’d rather teach young girls that they don’t have to be palatable and suit everything that people want them to be.”

Deconstructing her relationships and experiences with unguarded candour, the EP lays out Alessi’s uncompromisingly bold vision. “The voyeurism is two-fold; the people who listen to my music become a voyeur in that they know all of these deeply personal things about me, but also I’m a voyeur of myself and my own decisions,” she explains. Between ‘Dumb Girl’’s visceral declaration of “Your tongue fits in my mouth / Like it’s by design”, to the aching frustration of unrequited love on angsty guitar anthem ‘Same Mouth’, or the emotional fallout of a friendship breakup on the ‘90s indie rock-infused ‘Stella’, ‘Voyeur’ finds the singer revelling in her artistic freedom.

Written over the past six months between her hometown and sessions in London and LA, the EP further marks a shift in Alessi’s creative process. “I’ve become a lot more comfortable with the label of pop,” she explains. After initially grappling with whether her lyric-focused writing style could fit within the genre, it was ultimately the time-defying classics of Britney and ‘80s Madonna that reaffirmed her mission. “I don’t think you have to sacrifice anything by calling yourself a pop artist; there’s so much scope”. It’s a statement that comes to light on EP standout ‘Take It or Leave It’, which pairs wittily poetic storytelling with an infectious, hook-driven chorus, issuing a defiant bite-back at a non-committal lover.

Paving the way for a new generation of popstars, Alessi’s confessional anthems continue to resonate on a global scale. With a run of festival dates this summer (including a set at Madrid’s Mad Cool this month) and her third headline tour scheduled for this autumn - alongside a series of dates supporting Tate McRae in North America - hers is a name that’s set to remain on the tip of everyone’s tongue. But, as the crowds proceed to get bigger, it’s the support of her fans (the self-titled ‘delulu girls’) that remain at the centre of it all. “Playing any size venue to people [who are] there for you and [are] passionate about you is the best feeling ever - they’re the reason I do this,” she grins.

Whether it’s making her Glastonbury debut opening the Other Stage or announcing her next single by projecting it onto Wembley Stadium, Alessi Rose has undeniably found her forte in transforming her innermost thoughts into huge pop moments. And, if the last 18 months are anything to go by, it looks like she’s well on her way to headlining arenas herself”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Gunning

Before moving to the final two interviews, it is interesting to note the reaction Alessi Rose got when she played Glastonbury recently. Playing the Other Stage on the Saturday, DORK highlighted an artist who sold out a U.K. and European tour and is primed for seriously huge things. I am going to end with an interview from NME. Before that, People chatted with Alessi Rose about an E.P. where she has truly hit her stride. Perhaps the most personal and authentically ‘her’ work. One that comes off of the back of these incredible sets and some big exposure this year:

"Voyeur feels like the most quintessentially 'me' project that I have released so far. My next wave of music feels self-assured, formed through the sounds I have learned to love whilst spending more and more time in the studio working with my favorite people," she says about the E.P.

"It's pop music but it's lyrically based in my most introspective, raw and sometimes uncomfortable thoughts," she continues. "It also all just feels massive to me. I remember listening to the masters of all of the tracks whilst running over Williamsburg bridge and just feeling emotional and so proud of this thing I'd made."

After supporting Dua Lipa on the European leg of her tour as an opening act, Rose is set to join Tate McRae as she plays in the U.S. this fall.

"My headline shows in New York and L.A. back in April had some of the most lively and passionate crowds I've ever performed for," says the singer, who recently played at Glastonbury.

"I felt nervous up until the very last minute, which is very unlike me but the moment I stepped out, I felt back to normal and empowered and kind of emotional," she adds about her festival set. "I've watched Glastonbury sets on TV with my parents for as long as I can remember, and now I get to perform too."

While in Madrid, Rose performed at the Mad Cool Festival, which marked her first headlining show in Spain.

"They are some of the most passionate, energetic and loving people I am lucky to call fans of my music," says Rose, who got to meet some of the fans at the UMusic Shop.

"It's the best, most special feeling in the world," she adds of seeing them sporting her merch and singing along to her music. "I am endlessly grateful that I get to be around them and understood by them. That's why touring is my favorite part of all of this. I get to see them all".

Before some exciting U.K. dates starting from November and European dates in September, Alessi Rose will play Reading & Leeds next month. You can check out her dates here. This NME cover story spotlighted an artist documenting the messiness and complexities of growing up. One of the fastest-rising artists this country has produced for years, there is a section of the interview that particularly caught my eye. One of the defining aspects of Alessi Rose’s artistry is her lyrics. Confessional and raw, it has connected with so many fans:

“Rose’s meteoric rise thus far is a testament to her deeply confessional brand of songwriting – one that’s allowed her to build a deep connection to her fanbase, who’ve dubbed themselves the “delulu girls”. Her appeal lies in a fortuitous combination of skills: Rose is both a storyteller letting you in on her most intimate thoughts (and occasionally most humiliating experiences) and an architect of endlessly catchy pop hooks – the kind you find yourself humming on your commute after hearing once on the radio. Alongside that, she has the stage presence of a born pop star, unfazed by intimidating, iconic stages.

Mostly, though, it’s an homage to the theme of romantic devotion that serves as her most consistent muse. “I have always been inspired by the relationship between worship and unrequited love,” she explains, tapping into the hivemind of a generation afraid to commit: a 2024 poll from YouGov found that 50 per cent of 18-to-30-year-olds had been in a situationship, a statistic often attributed to their coming of age in a turbulent political period and unstable economic climate.

This penchant for grasping for shreds of attention from situationships feels akin to seeking cosmic signs from a divine force, Rose thinks. “When you are so devoted to a god, you’re giving so much energy, and maybe sometimes you’re not getting the energy back. When I am going through the process of crushing on someone, there is so much energy invested into this thing, and who knows if it even exists.”

Perhaps it’s why Rose is blunt when addressing sex in her music, presenting a stark contrast to the way pop has traditionally skirted around the topic through irony and innuendo. Though infinitely more poetic, the tone of Rose’s lyrics often resembles a particularly candid voice note to a best friend, brimming with horniness, desperation and regret. On ‘Everything Anything’, from her upcoming EP ‘Voyeur’, she’s left confused over someone she “used to have sex” with who now won’t pick up the phone, while on ‘Oh My’, she laments a love interest who “gives me head while I’ve been losin’ mine.”

“It just feels nice to be completely honest,” she says. “I love metaphorical lyrics. I love cheeky, sexy pop songs, but for me, I like to revel in the discomfort and the provocative side of it.”

In some ways, her desire to be upfront comes from a sense of responsibility to her predominantly female and queer fanbase, whom she’s keen to demystify and destigmatise sex for. “I didn’t really get much of a sex education in my school. I knew nothing, and that was quite scary,” she says. “We should talk about sex more. I mean, there’s nothing unnatural about it.”

Inevitably, having a young following introduces pressure to become a role model – something Rose has been grappling with recently. Now, she says she’s keen to take on the title, but as a big sister, hoping you’ll learn from her own excruciating mistakes, rather than a saintlike figure who won’t make any at all. “I don’t think any 16-year-old wants to be spoken to like a 16-year-old, anyway,” she affirms. “When I was a teenager, I would look to movies and books and art when I wanted to feel older and more mature”.

Go and check out Voyeur and follow Alessi Rose. After festival dates and her U.K. shows later in the year, it is onwards and upwards. Not much time to rest, I hope she gets time to reflect on a massive year. Perhaps the most important of her career. The next few years are going to see her go from a promising/rising artist to someone who will stand alongside the biggest artists in the world. Worldwide success and admiration will occur…