Sidney Rose On Starting A Music Career During A Pandemic
Photo Sidney Rose
By Eva Marchingo
Sidney Rose is ready to cure your pandemic blues with her introspective and pretty pop music. Listening to her new track, Guarantee - set to be released on August 24 - is a validating experience.
The new single hits on one of those universal but rarely talked about feelings, asking whether there’s a point in trying if there is no guarantee of success. Produced by Ben Oldland, Guarantee blends intimate lyrics with rich vocals, a resonant chorus and an undeniably catchy hook.
Pre-single release, Sidney Rose and I sat down in front of our laptops to talk about her whirlwind past few months.
Starting your career during a global pandemic is a unique experience, how have you been finding it?
I’ve come in at a weird time in the industry. With my debut single Bullet, I had already planned the release to come out, and then we went into lockdown.
I was kind of surprised that it still did as well as it did. I had been sitting on Guarantee and kept being like, “We’ll just wait for this lockdown.” At the end of the day, I felt like I needed to continue on that momentum. It’s different but it’s all I know as a muso coming in now. I’m sure as we go, things will open up and it will be even greater.
How have you found fitting into the industry during the pandemic?
It’s been a little bit tricky, but at the same time, it’s made national connections even easier because everyone has a lot more free time and you can all connect via zoom.
Everyone’s back on the same playing field. I have been able to work with different people like Andy Mak, who’s up in Sydney. I was able to connect with him over social media because of the lockdown. That sort of stuff has been phenomenal. I’m grateful for the day and age I’m in.
What inspired you to write Guarantee?
When I first started to write it, I didn’t come in with a full song or anything like that – it was just the word ‘guarantee’. With long-term relationships and your first love, to go from that to then having small dating relationships I started to question whether I’d let a good thing go and if there was any guarantee I was going to find another thing like that.
It was kind of a really depressing way to view it, but I was in that space of not knowing what was going to happen and thinking it was just easier to give up. I think in line with also struggling with mental illness and anxiety, that whole feeling of wanting to take all these steps back and not even try, because I wanted to keep myself safeguarded also inspired the track.
Do you think your mental health helps or hinders your creative process?
I’m very grateful for the struggles I’ve been through because of the perspective it gives. I’ve always asked myself whether I want my music to represent the majority of my headspace now, which is a lot better than it used to be, or if I want to be able to come from [mental health struggles] so that people know they’re not alone in thinking those things.
Seeing all the aspects, I think it’s a lot more real. That’s always what I’ve wanted to be, whether that’s through my music or on social media or just people who meet me – I’m so open about all of it and I want my music to be too. I don’t really shy away from being really honest and in some of my songs my friends are like, “That’s too sad, you can’t put that in a song”. But it’s real and that’s the struggle. I don’t know if it’s exactly [helpful] but I am so grateful and I will always include that because it gives that other perspective.
“As women...almost every person has a story and that’s really sad.”
How have you felt coming into the industry at a time where we’re starting to see a change in the way women are treated in the music scene?
As women… almost every person has a story and that’s really sad. I [wanted to] support all these people and not speak from my experiences. But at the same time, I have my own stories as well outside of [the music industry]. I think it’s a really sad time but at the same time, I’ve been so passionate about this [outside of] my music and I want to bring that through as I come in at this time too.
It just shows that even a worldwide pandemic can’t stop a strong force of women who are going, “hang on, the truth is going to come out and we’re going to be stronger for it.”
What’s next for Sidney Rose?
The biggest thing I can do for myself to grow is to learn and soak up, so I’ve just been trying to organise as many writing session via zoom and connecting with people rather than trying to hone in and start a project that goes from start to finish.
At the moment it’s just finding out my sound and experimenting. I’m keeping my options open and trying to connect with as many people as I can, and trying to find my sound a little bit more and my voice in this new space.
Guarantee is out on August 24.