NEWS
Rosalia: 'I miss being on stage, I miss being in the street talking to my friends'
15 April 2020
Rosalía spoke to Zane Lowe via FaceTime on Apple Music as part of a new initiative during lockdown called ‘At Home With…’.
In today’s interview, the Spanish star talks about how she’s handling quarantine living in Miami while missing her family who are in Barcelona. She also discusses her upcoming collaboration with Billie Eilish, how she almost released a club track with Travis Scott, why Frank Ocean is her favourite artist, her thoughts on Kanye’s evolution, why she loves pop music and more.
On Finishing Her Collaboration With Billie Eilish…
I feel like there's so many things going on it's hard to focus, but at the same time I feel blessed that I'm at home, that I'm safe, and that I can make music and I have all this time. I have this little studio, this little set-up that I did here in one room. I have the basics - just the midi keyboard, the computer, just with the mic, and I do my basics and try to do all the vocal production for the next record. I'm working on that on the next record. And I'm trying to finish. During these two last weeks I have been trying to finish the Billie Eilish collab. I think it's getting quite close. I think that the arrangements, I think that yesterday I finished the arrangements. I feel like the production, the sound design is almost done, so I just need Billie maybe send the vocals and they send me the ideas that they want to add because we are there. I hope that Billie sends me her thing.
On Her Favourite Artist, Frank Ocean…
I think he's so special when he does songs as minimal and emotional as that. I love that there's so much space for the emotion, and I feel like also the way the pocket that he has is crazy. He is special I think because not only as a musician and how great he is as a musician, but his vision. I think that he always has vision and the sound design and the performance are amazing. I think he's super-complete and special, he's my favourite musician, he's amazing. I think every musician that is connected with the moment that we are living who says that Frank Ocean didn't influence you, I think is a lie. I think he influenced my generation for sure. I need to spend quality time making music and spending time to keep studying, listening records, or playing instruments, or just singing and just writing. So I think that I don't want to spend time in things that are not that because that's my priority. So I try to do as much as possible to keep my energy making music, as simple as that.
On How She’s Handling Quarantine & Missing Family…
I feel blessed that I'm at home safe because I'm far from home - I'm in Miami and my family is in Barcelona and I miss them so much. I miss having my mum, I miss spending time with my sister, but it's okay because they are safe and I can call them every day. I'm FaceTiming them every day, so thank God we are all safe. I think that when you cannot do something it also is when you want to do it, right? Now that we cannot leave the house is when maybe you feel like you want to do it the most, which is crazy, but as a musician I feel like we spend a lot of time isolated studying music or producing or recording. We do it a lot, but at the same time, I miss being on stage, I miss being in the street talking to my friends. I need the simple things like being always surrounded by the people that I really, really love. That's something that is so basic for me, so I feel like if I don't have that I feel like I'm less grounded. At the same time, if I'm not making music I don't feel grounded.
On Kanye West’s Evolution…
I think that this is so interesting, that shift in Kanye West's career, and I really believe in artists that they just, while they grow as a person, while they grow and they don't have 20 years, they have maybe 40, their music changed too and their sound changed too. And I think that the smartest thing is to evolve constantly, to evolve, evolve, evolve. If you are in your 40s, your point of view about life is just different. You can be more reckless when you're younger. You can be more selfish, you can be more of a narcissist, because youth allows a little bit of that. But at the same time, when you are older, I think that you just evolve and I think that your sound and your lyrics have to evolve with you. And that's why I really like Kanye, I really enjoy this chapter in Kanye's music.
On Almost Releasing a Club Song With Travis Scott…
I was supposed to release a song with him last month. I was supposed to release a song that I think is for the club, super-aggressive, that I've been working on for a really long time. I was like, "This song is so aggressive" ... It has an energy, I think, that is so specific for a certain moment, that I didn't feel like it was right to release, and I didn't feel like it was connected with what was going on in the world in that moment. I was really worried about, "Okay, what's my next ... What am I going to do? Because I'm in Miami, but my family's in Spain. I don't know what's going to happen in the world. What's going on? I don't understand.” I was worried. I was like a little bit sad, and I was not feeling it. I decided to stop everything. I tell everybody, "No. I need to release something different. I need to release something else, another song. This is not the time. You know what I mean? So I decided to work on a song that I was working on months, months, months ago that I started with Frank Dukes from our Frank Dukes sample. I was just two weeks quarantined, two weeks working at home, back and forth, in distance with Frank Dukes, and I finished Dolerme. I decided to release Dolerme, but I want to release the Travis song, because we worked on this song, that it feels kind of … I had a lot of fun with him in studio, and I love his energy. I love working with him. But I think that he's very creative, too, and he gives a lot. I think that artists in general, we all want to be in constant dialogue with other artists, in order to keep creating.
On Mariah Carey & Her Love of Pop Music…
I love that hook [on "Always Be My Baby”]. I love that hook. When I hear that hook, I feel like why I didn't write that. Yes, I'm jealous. I feel like, oh, it's so good. When pop music is great, it's really great. It just fulfils you. I feel like that song is great. It's just a great song. I love pop music. I grew up listening to pop music. I grew up listening to Estopada. It's a classic from Spain, but at the same time, I love Frank Sinatra. I love Britney Spears. I love Beyonce. I love Rihanna. I love, I don't know, Simon and Garfunkel or, I don't know, like Popcaan. I mean, I love everything. I love Bach. I love all kinds of music. I just love it. So I don't like when there's a prejudice of, oh, pop music, eh, pop is, nah. Pop is, when it's good, it's good. I think that it doesn't matter which genre you are talking about. I think it's about artists. It's the approach. It's how you do it. It's not what you do but how you do it.
In today’s interview, the Spanish star talks about how she’s handling quarantine living in Miami while missing her family who are in Barcelona. She also discusses her upcoming collaboration with Billie Eilish, how she almost released a club track with Travis Scott, why Frank Ocean is her favourite artist, her thoughts on Kanye’s evolution, why she loves pop music and more.
On Finishing Her Collaboration With Billie Eilish…
I feel like there's so many things going on it's hard to focus, but at the same time I feel blessed that I'm at home, that I'm safe, and that I can make music and I have all this time. I have this little studio, this little set-up that I did here in one room. I have the basics - just the midi keyboard, the computer, just with the mic, and I do my basics and try to do all the vocal production for the next record. I'm working on that on the next record. And I'm trying to finish. During these two last weeks I have been trying to finish the Billie Eilish collab. I think it's getting quite close. I think that the arrangements, I think that yesterday I finished the arrangements. I feel like the production, the sound design is almost done, so I just need Billie maybe send the vocals and they send me the ideas that they want to add because we are there. I hope that Billie sends me her thing.
On Her Favourite Artist, Frank Ocean…
I think he's so special when he does songs as minimal and emotional as that. I love that there's so much space for the emotion, and I feel like also the way the pocket that he has is crazy. He is special I think because not only as a musician and how great he is as a musician, but his vision. I think that he always has vision and the sound design and the performance are amazing. I think he's super-complete and special, he's my favourite musician, he's amazing. I think every musician that is connected with the moment that we are living who says that Frank Ocean didn't influence you, I think is a lie. I think he influenced my generation for sure. I need to spend quality time making music and spending time to keep studying, listening records, or playing instruments, or just singing and just writing. So I think that I don't want to spend time in things that are not that because that's my priority. So I try to do as much as possible to keep my energy making music, as simple as that.
On How She’s Handling Quarantine & Missing Family…
I feel blessed that I'm at home safe because I'm far from home - I'm in Miami and my family is in Barcelona and I miss them so much. I miss having my mum, I miss spending time with my sister, but it's okay because they are safe and I can call them every day. I'm FaceTiming them every day, so thank God we are all safe. I think that when you cannot do something it also is when you want to do it, right? Now that we cannot leave the house is when maybe you feel like you want to do it the most, which is crazy, but as a musician I feel like we spend a lot of time isolated studying music or producing or recording. We do it a lot, but at the same time, I miss being on stage, I miss being in the street talking to my friends. I need the simple things like being always surrounded by the people that I really, really love. That's something that is so basic for me, so I feel like if I don't have that I feel like I'm less grounded. At the same time, if I'm not making music I don't feel grounded.
On Kanye West’s Evolution…
I think that this is so interesting, that shift in Kanye West's career, and I really believe in artists that they just, while they grow as a person, while they grow and they don't have 20 years, they have maybe 40, their music changed too and their sound changed too. And I think that the smartest thing is to evolve constantly, to evolve, evolve, evolve. If you are in your 40s, your point of view about life is just different. You can be more reckless when you're younger. You can be more selfish, you can be more of a narcissist, because youth allows a little bit of that. But at the same time, when you are older, I think that you just evolve and I think that your sound and your lyrics have to evolve with you. And that's why I really like Kanye, I really enjoy this chapter in Kanye's music.
On Almost Releasing a Club Song With Travis Scott…
I was supposed to release a song with him last month. I was supposed to release a song that I think is for the club, super-aggressive, that I've been working on for a really long time. I was like, "This song is so aggressive" ... It has an energy, I think, that is so specific for a certain moment, that I didn't feel like it was right to release, and I didn't feel like it was connected with what was going on in the world in that moment. I was really worried about, "Okay, what's my next ... What am I going to do? Because I'm in Miami, but my family's in Spain. I don't know what's going to happen in the world. What's going on? I don't understand.” I was worried. I was like a little bit sad, and I was not feeling it. I decided to stop everything. I tell everybody, "No. I need to release something different. I need to release something else, another song. This is not the time. You know what I mean? So I decided to work on a song that I was working on months, months, months ago that I started with Frank Dukes from our Frank Dukes sample. I was just two weeks quarantined, two weeks working at home, back and forth, in distance with Frank Dukes, and I finished Dolerme. I decided to release Dolerme, but I want to release the Travis song, because we worked on this song, that it feels kind of … I had a lot of fun with him in studio, and I love his energy. I love working with him. But I think that he's very creative, too, and he gives a lot. I think that artists in general, we all want to be in constant dialogue with other artists, in order to keep creating.
On Mariah Carey & Her Love of Pop Music…
I love that hook [on "Always Be My Baby”]. I love that hook. When I hear that hook, I feel like why I didn't write that. Yes, I'm jealous. I feel like, oh, it's so good. When pop music is great, it's really great. It just fulfils you. I feel like that song is great. It's just a great song. I love pop music. I grew up listening to pop music. I grew up listening to Estopada. It's a classic from Spain, but at the same time, I love Frank Sinatra. I love Britney Spears. I love Beyonce. I love Rihanna. I love, I don't know, Simon and Garfunkel or, I don't know, like Popcaan. I mean, I love everything. I love Bach. I love all kinds of music. I just love it. So I don't like when there's a prejudice of, oh, pop music, eh, pop is, nah. Pop is, when it's good, it's good. I think that it doesn't matter which genre you are talking about. I think it's about artists. It's the approach. It's how you do it. It's not what you do but how you do it.