Hey Rowan, welcome to Music Crowns! How are you doing?
Thank you! I am most well, and happy to be chatting with you.
Who is an influence to you?
Musically: Sting, Radiohead, Lana Del Rey, U2, VAST.
Philosophically: Jordan Peterson
Fictionally: J.R.R. Tolkien, Frances Hardinge
What does your new single ‘Empire’ mean to you?
Empire is the first of a 3 (or more) single project that I’ve been waiting a long time to unveil. So it means a sense of excitement and relief that I finally get to share what I’ve been working on for the past several months.
What message are you conveying with the track?
This song is about the pursuit of excellence, the pursuit of bettering ourselves, in our own personal ways, often against our own natures. When people do this, I believe they get a little closer to the powerful, enlightened forces of good that we could be; a figurative empire of angels on earth.
How did you first find your passion to create?
Some of my earliest memories were of sitting alone and drawing – usually strange creatures, or complex machines that didn’t exist. Creating was always simply a need of mine, like eating, and when I discovered music, it became the next evolution of my creative journey. In recent times, I’ve combined my love of music with a new-found passion for videography and amateur filmmaking. I directed, co-filmed and edited the music video for my latest single Empire, and I think it’s my best one so far, although I still have a long way to go!
What was the moment that you knew you wanted to make music as a career?
Good question. Probably two moments: my high school band Cynosure’s first-ever performance, which was at our school’s variety show – we had rehearsed really hard, and when the audience applauded enthusiastically for us, and genuinely liked what we were doing, I felt like we were on to something.
And secondly, when I auditioned for a professional rock musical theatre production called ‘The Guitar That Rocked The World’ at age 16, and got the lead role – that felt like a sign that I could actually make a career out of music.
How has your upbringing directed the way you create?
My parents are musicians, and they were playing live in restaurants and bars before I was born, and even while my mom was heavily pregnant with me. So the door was always open for me to start playing music. And both of my parents were very supportive of my creative pursuits, which was a great help.
How would you define your style?
I describe my music as ‘Story-Driven Dream Folk Pop’.
My (current) brand style is ‘apocalyptic fairytale’.
What artists would you file yourself next to?
I get compared to John Mayer and Ed Sheeran a lot. My new single ‘Empire’ could maybe fit into a playlist alongside Tom Odell and Sam Fender.
Check out ‘Empire’ here:
