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Arrica
Rose's Low as the Moon - Her Best Album Yet! |
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The name of the album is Low as
the Moon, but after listening to Arrica Rose’s new album you will be
on a high. Each album by the California singer, songwriter and musician,
just seems to keep getting better.
From the hypnotic, rich vocals of “All and None of These Things,”
featuring some scantling guitars by Rose and Marc Thomas, to the
intriguing retro vibe of “Bobby,” written with Dan Garcia and “X-Ray
Eyes,” an introspective journey from childhood through youth and beyond,
there is not one weak song on this entire album. The latter song
showcases Rose’s rich vocals and her ability to tell a story that leaves
a powerful impression on her listeners and if you have never heard
Kaitlin Wolfberg play the violin then you are in for a real treat.
In describing Low as the Moon,
Arrica Rose says, “I think for me the theme became reaching for the
silver lining when it seems to be the most obscured and finding the
brighter side when hope seems to be lost. I went through some
challenging times and people around me were going through challenging
times. There was a point when I did not want to be working on anything
and I used this set of songs to help pull me through that place that I
was in. It was cathartic. It helped me to process some of the things
that I was going through at the time.
In her songwriting Arrica Rose likes to create word pictures with tones
and shades others seldom, if ever use and it draws the listener in.
“I am trying to provoke a feeling. I am not trying to be so precise in
my wording in an actual scenario, but I am trying to describe said
scenario that will capture the most feeling for my listeners. I utilize
that in songs,” she says.
Arrica Rose talks about one of her songs, “Whole Lot of Lows,” from the
new album, and the
companion video featuring a dark haired little girl
whom one can easily imagine being Rose when she was a child.
“(The little girl in the video) is one of my best friends’ daughters.
The idea started with thinking about how much freedom you have as a kid.
With me or with others as well you get lost in a song and when you feel
carefree. She has an amazing personality and she is the sweetest little
girl. She loves to perform and when I had this idea brewing I thought oh
my goodness she is going to be the perfect little girl to be in this. My
friend was all for it, as long as her daughter wanted to do it. Sure
enough she was so excited about the idea. That is how it call came to
pass.
What is funny is, people before have thought my best friend and I were
related, because we are about the same height, we both have dark hair
and dark eyes. There is a similarity and her daughter and I have some
resemblance, which worked out more perfectly that I could have asked
for.
I had a blast (directing the video). I have some background in film
production, but I don’t always utilize the skills.
I went to film school for college and one of the ways that I
transitioned into doing more music is by doing music for everyone’s
films. Directing and writing is something that I went to USC film school
for, but then I made this transition more into music. I really enjoy
going back now and then (to film) and that is something I am exploring
more these days,” she says.
The song “Whole Lot of Lows,” is built upon a very strong, but not
overpowering instrumental foundation over which Arrica Rose’s ethereal,
dreamy vocals are laid.
Rose says, “That is very much what we were going for, that driving
rhythmic quality that comes from the percussion and the bass and this
other dreamy aspect that comes from the synth, guitars and the vocals as
well.”
Rose continues to talk about “Whole Lot of Lows,” saying, “The song
started out as a poem that I had written. I often keep notes in my
journal and on my phone. There are so many places where I write down
different ideas. I had written the beginning of the song, light flowers,
long winded and clearly using long winded in a way that one would ever
use when talking about flowers. I had written this poem and it is about
trying to find you in a set of completely different circumstances. You
are going to somewhere completely new and blossoming all over again.
It is like when you are having one of those days when you are wondering
about flowers and leaves blowing around in the front yard. You think
about how something that looks dead is blowing to maybe down the street
to be planted and start anew, just when we thought this thing was over
with. It is very much about cycles in life. It is a visual that I am
trying to create with the perspective things do not necessarily end, but
it is potentially the beginning of something else.
(As for the words) “Whole Lot of Lows,” I had been at a local pub and
there was this woman talking about a “Whole Lotta’ Love,” and she was
excited about that song and she said it many, many times in a row. I had
recently been going through a lot and the phrase whole lot of lows came
into my head while I was having this conversation. I went home and I
wrote it down on the same page with that poem that I had initially
started. Instantly, it made sense that it should all go together. I
started to come up with a melody that suited the juxtaposition of these
two pieces. I put it all together and hence the song “Whole Lot of
Lows.”
The song “Bobby,” written by Arrica Rose and Dan Garcia may be the most
intriguing song on the album with its fifties / sixties vibe and
“Bobby’s” obscure sexual orientation. We are never certain if Bobby is a
man, a woman, transgendered, gay or straight. All we know for sure is
that “Bobby” is headed out the door for a night of fun.
“It has a Phil Spector girl group quality. That was definitely something
that we wanted to capture with the song. It started off as part of a
melody that Dan sang to me and he gave me a few chord ideas that he was
putting together with it. It evolved from there. I wanted to create a
sugary, sweet, fifties style of song. If you get in there further, you
go wait a second, who exactly is Bobby? Is Bobby a man or a woman? Is
Bobby both? I wanted it to be more complicated than the simplicity of
the song, but that simplicity is brilliant and I am a huge fan of it. I
thought it could be a fun way to put a spin on that genre.
I would hate to say this is what the song means, because I want it to
mean many different things,” explains Rose.
“Glitter Gold,” is stunning in its elegance and beauty and it is also
deep.
“It was one of those songs that I wrote to try to pull myself through
when I was forgetting how to have a good day and to be in a positive
place. I wrote that song as a reminder to let go of all the negativity
and to find something to pull me through and to stop focusing on the
things that I don’t have, but to focus on the things that I do have,”
she says.
One can easily envision the eighth track on the album, “When You’re
Gone,” sending the mosh pit at Arrica Rose’s concerts into a dance
frenzy. The musicians on this album take their playing yet another level
and in a surreal fashion Rose manages to retain an element of ethereal
with her vocals while rocking out this tune.
Arrica Rose takes time to talk about the people who contributed to
Low as the Moon, “Dan Garcia
is a very instrumental part of the project. We have worked together for
many albums now and the reason we continue to work together is because
it works so well for us.
Harry Kim (trumpet) is so great and I have Dan to thank for Harry
playing on my record. Dan has been making records for a while and he has
a connection to a lot of these musicians, to these pros who have been
around for many moons. He has worked with Harry Kim and he was the one
who was able to bring him into a session to play on this record,” she
says.
Violinist Kaitlin Wolfberg has established herself as a virtuoso
musician has performed with Arrica Rose live, as well as on previous
records and Rose describes her as, “an amazing musician and a sweet
human. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with her.”
The other member of the superb horns duo on the album is trombonist
Arturo Velasco, who along with Harry Kim has been playing on Arrica
Rose’s albums for the past five years.
“Steve Giles who plays bass on this record has also been involved on
several albums. He is comfortable playing something incredibly simple,
but he will also show up with a pedal board and all of these other ideas
and textures. He will try different things. He is such an asset to have
in the studio.
“Tripp Beam
(drummer) is great and prior to Tripp, Ryan Brown who was the very first
dot ever played on
all of my records. Ryan’s now playing and touring with Dweezil
Zappa. Tripp kindly was able to step in, without skipping a beat (she
laughs at the unintended pun).
Marc Thomas has been the lead guitar player and he has been playing with
me for about seven years. His style and sound is a big part of what I do
as well.
In addition to her vocals, Arrica Rose plays keyboards and omnichord on
her album.
“The omnichord is a thing that has become a big part of our sound. It is
such a fun instrument. It is like an electric autoharp. The one that I
have is a mid ‘80s model. With one finger you press down a key and you
are playing a chord and there is a little track pad with all of the
individual notes. There is an ethereal, dreamy quality with all of those
little notes when you play them. You can run your finger down and it
makes this magical sound with the notes running into each other. If you
very carefully play it you can also select individual notes. It is on a
lot of the songs on the record. It has been on my albums since I
acquired it, which was about six or seven years ago,” she says.
What’s up next for
Arrica Rose?
“I just got back from LA (she now lives in Oakland, California), as I am
mixing an album for my other project (Deer County). We are finishing up
a record.
Please take time to visit Arrica Rose’s
website here. Bottom Photo
by Brooke Nipar
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These
songs are specifically written for this record. Everybody in the band
and the producer that I work with everyone was going through a bit of
upheaval, so it took a while to make this record. I started writing
these songs around 2015. I worked on this collection of songs for about
six months to a year and then we started making the record.” 