FEATURE: Spotlight: Izzi De-Rosa — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Izzi De-Rosa

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HAVING released some terrific music…

that displays huge promise, I wanted to spotlight the great Izzi De-Rosa. Although a lot of talk last year centred around the song Love & Roulette, she also released the excellent I Don’t Care. Not averse to describing her sound as ‘Brat Pop’, the North London artists has a big 2022 ahead! With new tracks, surely, on her mind and a bigger project likely, it is a great time to discover the music of De-Rosa. She has a growing and loyal army of fans who are recognising her work and sharing it. I think that there are some wonderfully interesting Pop artists around. Many are taking from the ‘80s or ‘90s, yet De-Rosa is someone inspired by the ‘00s. As she was a child then, inspired by the amazing Pop coming up early this century, it is no surprise that she would look to incorporate that into her own aesthetic. Reminding me of a cross between Britney Spears, Nelly Furtado with some Avril Lavigne in there, in fact, it is hard to actually compare her with anyone else (I hope she is not offended by those comparisons!). With a fresh and vibrant sound, I am looking forward to hearing an E.P. or album. As more live performances are occurring this year, it is a great time for De-Rosa to showcase her material and connect with fans in the live arena. If ‘Brat Pop’ is going to become a bigger sound – which I think it will -, then I feel De-Rosa is at the forefront. There are not many interviews with her available online. That will change as we go through this year. I am, therefore, going to source quite heavily from a great interview NOTION conducted last year. First, here is a bit more information about a wonderful young woman:

“Izzi De-Rosa is a British artist that developed her distinct and alluring sound in the underground Leeds scene, before returning to her home town of London. De-Rosa’s music features a signature combination of complex jazz-inspired techniques with endearing soulful melodies. De-Rosa’s commandeering attitude on the track illustrates the singer/songwriter’s empowering qualities. This is mixed with buoyant lyricism and a mature self-awareness that is instantly appealing to a variety of ears. The vocalist has been generating a buzz amongst her growing following, teasing supporters with a number of unreleased projects”.

Rather than Izzi De-Rosa’s music being throwback or endlessly nostalgic, it is actually a perfect cocktail of the best of the ‘00s Pop and R&B scene with one eye very much on the present. Recently, she has teased that a rather good demo has been recorded. With an energy and affectionate fanbase behind her, that is going to translate into some incredible music from a rising star. Back in July, NOTION sat down with De-Rosa and asked about her musical influences and the brilliant single, Love & Roulette:

“If you’re a fan of early 2000s pop, chances are you will love Izzi De-Rosa. The self-confessed “sasspot” and “brat” is one to watch, throwing back to a uniquely British sound of pop. Dubbed “Brat Pop” by myself and Izzi during the course of our interview, her sound favours the early noughties’ era-defining aesthetic. Think bright pink velour tracksuits, Bratz, Freaky Friday, and the likes of Brad Pitt, the Sugababes, Destiny’s Child, and Christina Aguilera at events like the GRAMMYs, where they radiate an aura of effortless coolness.

The North London native studied Philosophy at the University of Leeds, before scrambling to transition to music after two weeks on a masters course, where she became deeply embedded in the Leeds music scene, part of a collective of artists. Relocating back home within the first lockdown, she began to find her voice, her sound, and define her aesthetic. Her debut track “Love & Roulette” landed a spot on the Spotify UK playlist, and a clip of her showing the song to her crush (in which he is the subject of a verse) went viral, as it currently stands at 10.1m views. This resulted in a deal with Atlantic Records UK.

“Talk to me about the response to “Love & Roulette”.

I just keep pinching myself, it’s so unreal. I’ve been using TikTok to just get my name out there and I haven’t released any music – I’ve just been using it for things like creating songs about things I see around London, and my tattoos and stuff. I had this song, and I love it so I put the video up of me showing this guy that I’d been hanging out with a verse I’d written about him.

I don’t even know why I did it, and I don’t know what came over me because it was like the third time we’d hung out. “Can I record your reaction?” I said, and I don’t think enough people realize that it was so genuine. He’s also a musician so I think he thought that it was like a promo thing – he did not realize it was about him!

The video went crazy. I didn’t really expect it to have that reaction. I just thought I’d get a few views. But within a week, it was at almost 2 million views. My first thought was “Shit, this is crazy!” Because of the algorithm, you blow up like 2 or 3 weeks later, so I just thought the reaction it originally got was what it got. The links in the comments of people making their own are really cute. It really messed up my release schedule – I was going to release more jazz music over the year, and eventually became more of a pop artist.

The universe just throws these situations at you. I just think everything happens for a reason.

It’s mad to see how instrumental TikTok is becoming to a lot of artists now.

I got a lot of followers and then attention from labels, and back in the day to get that attention, especially from labels, you had to graft for years and years, to create a body of work like a mixtape to then present to them.

@izziderosa i probably shouldnt be showing u guys this but im so in luv with the song🥺❤️‍🩹 #newmusic #ukpop #ukartist #poprock ♬ original sound - Izzi De-Rosa🌹

You writing a song with things you see around London is taking off on TikTok – is this part of your actual process?

With those ones, I just go for a walk looking for something to write about, but the songs I make as a musician are based on my real life. In terms of writing my music, something will happen to me and I’ll write about that. The TikToks are really to keep people engaged, saying “I’m still writing and I’m going to show you what I can do”. It’s quite a nice way to show off your music without ruining the hype around a natural release.

For my music – and it’s cringy to say this, but – it’s almost therapy for me. I want to process my emotions and the events that I’ve gone through in day-to-day life through writing. When I release it and see it connect with people, I’m so elated. I feel like we’re all so busy with life that we forget that we’re all sharing this same experience. Those feelings of heartbreak, anger, or falling in love are universal. When I write about those things that are just so personal to me, it’s so amazing to see people print their own experiences onto that.

Tell me about the formative years of uni and the effect the city of Leeds had on you.

I did my undergrad at Leeds in Philosophy, and I ended up staying there for 5 years. I was on an MA course and I had an existential crisis, so I scrambled to get into the music college. I had to go as far as tracking down the Head of Year’s number and calling him! From there I spent a lot of time in the Leeds music scene.

Then I moved back to London in the midst of the first lockdown. But in Leeds, I was in a music collective, and I see it as my training ground, just doing gigs 3 nights a week. But I went back to London and spent the rest of the lockdown writing in my bedroom finding my sound, my aesthetic and just transitioning into a professional artist.

“You’ve said you were born in the wrong era – which is the best era?

The early 2000s was a cool combination of grunge and pink things, watching movies like Freaky Friday. Britney Spears in velour tracksuits and the Barbie aesthetic – I love that fusion. Some people now will be one or the other, and back then everyone looked so effortlessly cool. Think videos of Christina Aguilera at the GRAMMYS. Now everyone tries to follow the trend, but back then everyone owned the trend. Musicians and actors of that era all have their own thing going on, the likes of Destiny’s Child and Lindsay Lohan”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ollo Weg for NOTION

Someone that I am keen to interview and see live soon (as I am based in North London myself), I am predicting some big things for Izzi De-Rosa this year. I think that she will get some good festival bookings, in addition to seeing radio stations turn onto her music in a big way. I feel that everyone from BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, and BBC Radio 6 Music could spin her music, such is its appeal and range. That would bring her to a massive audience and, as such, confirm her as a serious proposition! As more material comes, so too will honours, bookings and huge accolades. Make sure you follow De-Rosa, as she is someone who will be on the scene for years to come. It will be interesting seeing how her sound evolves and moves on. At the moment, even though these are fairly early days, she has that confidence and talent that you cannot knock or ignore. With a style (both visual and audio) that is her own, look out for De-Rosa! In that NOTION interview, she came across as such an incredibly bright and hungry artist. Someone who, no doubt, was raised around so much music and drank it in as a child, there was a part of her that knew that she had to follow that career path and put her own music out there. Dreams are turning into reality for the London-based artist. If you are seeking a new talent to follow in 2022, then I can definitely recommend…