Ethel Cain, WILLOW, Deftones: Louisiana to London singer-songwriter I Am Roze shares the songs that influenced their new EP, “Social Commentary”.
I Am Roze’s voice is absolutely stunning. Sometimes soft, sometimes strained, always controlled and full of character, the Louisiana-raised, London-based talent is quickly showing themselves as peerless. A huge 2024 saw them reach virality with a COLORS show, and now they’ve shared a glistening new EP, “Social Commentary”, an opus with a gut-punching emotionality and provoking potency. Wonderland asked the singer-songwriter to share the tracks that influenced the EP’s making.
Listen to “Social Commentary”…
I Am Roze’s On Repeat…
Deftones – ‘Hole in the Earth”
I always aspire to make music that reflects what I listen to. When I listen to Deftones, it feels like finally being able to scratch that one part of your back you couldn’t reach— my brain just completely shuts off and I love every second of it.
Pinegrove – “Need 2”
With this song, I really like that it is up to your own personal interpretation. I like that it challenges the idea of “Why do I feel the need to say something that matters…that’s important”. Even though it’s enough to make music that sounds good, I feel like there aren’t enough people talking about how they actually feel.
Ethel Cain – “Ptolemaea”
I just love the genuine rage in this song! Ethel is absolutely amazing at invoking whatever feeling she wants you to experience through her work, and that is what I strive to do with my art and this upcoming project!
Hozier – “NFWMB”
Hozier’s poetry is just…simply a level that I can only aspire to reach. He paints such sonic landscapes with his words and I love how you really have to listen to what he’s saying, even if it’s a couple of times, to fully digest all the nuance and layers to his craft.
Lizzy McAlpine – “You Forced Me To”
I love her attention to space in music and how she uses emptiness as an instrument. Whether it is her harmonies or instrument choices, she layers sound impeccably with such phenomenal attention to detail. When I’m writing my music, it makes me more aware of the texture of sound and how I can use silence as an instrument, too.
WILLOW – “symptom of life”
I just love when Black women are in spaces that people don’t expect them to be in. I love how WILLOW pushes boundaries and this album is just such a small, genre-bending fraction of what she is capable of. For me, I just love making music. I could care less what category it’s in, I just make what feels true to me in that moment.
CARI – “Bleeding”
I love her for the same reason I love Hozier—it’s the word choice. The way she crafts a story. I am always thinking about how I can use my vocabulary to my advantage to say exactly what I mean without leaving room for the listener to misconstrue what I say.
boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”
Honestly? This is just another genre that I want to dip my toes in. I love testing the boundaries of my versatility and this is a sound that I would really like to emulate.
Bon Iver, St. Vincent – “Rosyln”
You know when you hear something and you can immediately envision a landscape where it would play? That’s this song. It’s the mist in the trees. It’s the waters of Washington. When people press play on my songs, I want them to be able to actually see the worlds I create through my sound.
Paris Paloma – “notre dame”
Her music is another textural art piece for me. I have auditory processing issues, so I don’t always understand what’s being said to me. Through her instrumentation, clarity, and how she writes, I can receive everything she is giving me with crystal clarity. When I sing, even if we don’t speak the same language, I want you to still be able to understand me. I want you to be able to really feel those emotions
