Are you ready to dive headfirst into the world of Madeline Rosene!? Well, allow us to be your guides as we navigate through this interview we were lucky enough to do with Madeline Rosene ahead of her album release later this year! We talked all about the album, as well as the latest single, ‘Everyday Existential Crisis.’ We chatted about life after the pandemic, getting back to performing, and so much more!
Madeline Rosene is going to be a name you want to remember, trust us!
Stream ‘Everyday Existential Crisis’ here!
Tell us about the process of choosing the name for the record. Did the song come first, or was the track based on the album name?
I wrote the song first. After I wrote the song, I thought the title was also a great name for my album since it sort of encompasses how my life had been feeling when I wrote all of the songs on the album.
When we reviewed ‘Everyday Existential Crisis’, one thing that we automatically recognized was what an ethereal track it felt like. It’s so calming while at the same time having the deepest meaning. When you’re creating a song, is it clear what mood or vibe you want that track to evoke?
I think that the lyrics really informed the mood of this song. I usually write on acoustic guitar, and I was playing it sort of lightly and singing kind of high and airy because the song is sort of about your life is up in the air, right? So I guess when I write, the mood is usually very present because the lyrics tend to inform the mood for me. Sometimes production changes the mood. If it changes the mood too much, I will know the production isn’t right.
For Everyday Existential Crisis, I thought the simplicity, airiness, and delicate components actually worked well with the depth of the lyrics because life is fragile, and the feelings we have and others have are fragile, and while the music is calm I think it’s evocative and reminds us of this fragility.
From start to finish (if the album is finished), how long has the process been of creating this work of art?
I think it’s been about two and a half years. One of the songs on it (Sugar) is actually almost 5 years old. It was supposed to be on my first album, Raised on Porn, but I couldn’t get the mix and production right until now.
But the album is all finished now, and I’m stoked outta my mind!
What is the track off of the upcoming record you’re most looking forward to seeing fan reactions to?
Can I pick two? I’m really interested to see how people react to ‘Words.’ It’s really a love song, and I don’t really write those very often. I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever written. It deals with mental health and trying to communicate to someone with depression that you love them.
The other one I’m excited to see the reaction for is called Heart on Fire. It’s retro. It has a lot of great instrumentation. My fiancé plays violin and piano on it. He actually wrote it with me. The harmonies are WILD… almost kind of carnivalesque sounding. It sort of reminds me of something Dresden Dolls might do but with fuller production. It also has my favorite lyric I’ve ever written in it: “I don’t want to whine, but I’m uncorked and dry, and it’s pouring out like a fucked up spout that you couldn’t clog if you tried.”
‘Everyday Existential Crisis’ is such an expertly written song, and we know picking favorite lyrics is like picking favorite children, but if you had to highlight a line, is there one that sticks out?
“I don’t want to lie, but it’s too late now you swallowed it- metabolized. What kind of monster am I?”
We know you wrote with your fiancé for a track called ‘Heart on Fire,’ what is the process of writing with your partner like? Is there a level of vulnerability you can have in that writing session that maybe you wouldn’t find with a typical collaborator?
Well, we actually weren’t technically together at the time that we wrote it. He just sent me some really awesome jazzy chords, and I was immediately inspired to write to them and write about him and our tentative relationship. I was so excited while I was writing it that I would record voice memos and send them to him every time I had a new line. I hope we write more songs together.
Writing with people you love is a really special experience. I write a lot with my best friend, Dante Juhkel, and it’s always magical.
Let’s talk ‘Raised on Porn’ now that you have another album coming out. When you look back at your previous record, what are you most proud of?
I’m really proud that it even exists and anybody even bothered to listen to it! But I’m really proud of the song “Talking to Myself.” I never get tired of it. I never thought I would write a song like that. It’s about so many things- feeling like you’re too much, sticking up for yourself even when you’re not perfect, dealing with negativity toward yourself, paranoia about what people think about you, all while wanting to live life fully and feel things and do things in a big and bold way.
Your genre is described as pop-n-roll. Why do you think it’s important to not box yourself in as just a rock artist or just a pop artist? Do you feel like that kind of label limits what people will accept from you?
It’s definitely important. I don’t write music for other people. If I did, maybe the people reading this would have heard of me before. Because of that, I can allow myself to basically just dick around. Maybe I will make a trap-ska album at some point (just kidding…probably..I wonder what that would sound like). I think most artists can do a lot more than what they put out into the world and have a lot of different sounds. But I think they (or their record label or management) decide, “This is your sound,” and then after a while, everything they do sounds so similar.
I just write what comes out of me, and then I work with different producers, and we pick the right sound for that particular song, and because of that, my songs can be kind of all over the place!
I think songs should be treated as individuals.
The last two years of all of our lives living through the COVID-19 panic have felt a bit like an ‘Everyday Existential Crisis,’ is there something you took from this time of isolation that you feel like you wish you had always known?
I learned that I thrive in very noncompetitive, relaxed environments. I learned that I prefer it when there is less pressure to leave the house and constantly be “on.” Don’t know if I wish I had always known that. There’s not much I can do with this information besides continue to be a shut-in!
We know we have the album coming later this year, but in the meantime, what can fans look forward to? Any live shows in the near future?
I have a new single coming out on July 1st! It’s called Franglais, and it’s half in French and half in English.
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