Concrete Playground Meets Electronic Musician and Producer, Elizabeth Rose
She’s been compared to Bjork, Fever Ray and Bat for Lashes, but Elizabeth Rose has a sound that’s all her own.
She's been compared to Bjork, Fever Ray and Bat for Lashes, but Elizabeth Rose has a sound that's all her own. Layering whimsical pop riffs with shadowy samples and her own sublime vocals, the 21-year-old Sydney producer has moved from community radio stations to bigger and brighter things in the space of only six months.
Ahead of her first headlining tour, we had a chat to Elizabeth about making songs on GarageBand, the craziness of the Internet and hanging out with Gotye.
How did you get into producing?
I've been playing keyboard and writing music from about the age of seven onwards and have always been interested in learning how to construct a song from scratch. My older brother Anthony is a DJ/producer under the name of Hook N Sling and growing up whilst he was living at home had quite an impact on me — it looked like so much fun to produce music that I wanted to do it too.
I really started getting into proper producing when I was nearing the end of high school back in 2008, on GarageBand, then progressed onto Ableton the following year and have been using that ever since. I'm the kind of person who likes to learn things by myself and do my own thing, so I guess it was kind of a natural progression on from just songwriting — it made sense to produce and mix my work too so I could have a finished song in front of me without having to wait on anyone else.
What is it about a particular track that makes you want to remix it?
It always comes down to the vocal melody and the song meaning for me; they're the two main things I listen out for when listening to a potential remix. From there I get ideas on chord progressions and how I can manipulate the vocals and create my own sound around them.
You've been invited to play at pretty much all the major festivals over the last few months — Peats Ridge, Parklife, Field Day, Harvest and Playground Weekender — which was your favourite to play?
Ooh, this is a toughie — each festival has been incredible in its own way. Well definitely not Playground Weekender because it was cancelled and I was meant to play the main stage — boo! — But in terms of lineup I'd say Harvest was the best. It was the "dream" festival where everyone was there purely to bathe in the awesomeness of each act that graced the stage — I didn't see one fight break out or any boys in tiny shorts/no shirt/muscles out... A rarity these days! I saw Portishead live for the first time at Harvest and it really blew me away, I'll always have that memory with me.
In close second place was Field Day, but only because I got to hang with Gotye and since then he's been giving me great feedback on my demos, which has been invaluable.
You were the only female artist featured on Radar Music's 'Top 20 Aussie Electronic Artists You Need to Know'. How do you think being one of a small number of women producers has affected the reception of your music?
Yeah! There certainly aren't a lot of Aussie female producers out there (yet) but being in the minority has really pushed me into the spotlight as being somewhat "special". I don't know why but it seems to be hard for some people to believe that a girl can sing and write her own music and produce her own stuff. I guess it's quite a masculine job to be a music producer, which people see as being something nerdy. I've always had a tomboy streak in me since primary school so maybe that's where it came from. I'm wanting to push through that stereotype though.
Do you think music blogs are a big part of the reason your music has gained a following so quickly?
I definitely think it's one of the reasons why I've gained such a quick following. It's so bewildering to think that some dude over in the Ukraine could be listening to a bedroom recorded demo of mine right now when I've made the track all the way over here in Australia in my teeny tiny bedroom. Music blogs are a blessing — information can spread like wildfire over the internet, and I also love to discover new music by searching through them too.
How did you come to collaborate with (UK producer) Sinden?
The guys over at EMI music thought it would be a great opportunity for me to work with him as he was looking for a vocalist to work with when he was out here in Sydney late last year. We had two intense studio sessions together and out came this funky little track that I can't wait to share with everyone. I've been very lucky — the folks at EMI have been in contact with me since they found my music on my MySpace page back in 2007. Again, the internet is such a crazy place!
What can we expect from your debut EP?
The Sinden collab is going to be on the EP, which I am really excited about. I'm not going to give too much away, but you can expect a mix of dark, slightly poppy but still experimental and atmospheric sounds from the EP. It's been a long time coming but I finally feel that I am ready to get it out there.
Elizabeth Rose will play Brisbane's Lambda @ Alhambra Lounge on Thursday, 31 May and Sydney's The Standard on Friday, 8 June. To win two tickets to see Elizabeth Rose play in Sydney, make sure you're subscribed to Concrete Playground then email [email protected]
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