Singapore – Intense emotional growth is often the best fuel for a musician’s creative fire, and indie-pop songstress Rosie Darling has certainly turned pain into beauty on her latest single “Coping”. The song is out now via Nettwerk Records, who announced her signing early this month.
“I heard ‘Coping’ and I just about fell over. We sent the offer within one day, if not hours. It was just one of those moments where you hear a song and understand immediately who the fully realized artist is,” says Tom Gates, SVP A&R + Strategy at Nettwerk Records.
In just three weeks, “Coping” has racked up over 1 million streams on Spotify. The song is a fitting introduction to the emotional and sonic range that Rosie Darling is capable of hitting. A piano-based ballad, it’s a slow and steady burn that eventually builds into a more percussive and dramatic chorus. But it never loses the intimacy it started with. What it begins to display is the lyrical dexterity that Rosie possesses. To fully visualize a story, no space is wasted and it’s a compelling way to pull the listener in.
As Rosie notes, “If I’m not inclined to think about what the visuals are or just the colors, then it’s probably not that good of a song.” To paint those visuals, Rosie uses, as she says, “scene-setting lyrics to bring the listener into a space where they can relate and process whichever familiar feeling that specific song evokes.” For example, on “Coping,” the verse lyric is “I miss waiting for you in the lobby of your old apartment, drawing shapes into the carpet.” That kind of specificity is the bridge that authentically links the artist and audience, and it’s a strength that Rosie displays throughout the upcoming EP.
A talented team of songwriters, producers and engineers reached out, wanting to collaborate with Rosie on her first single as an artist. The song is co-written with Justin Gammella (Lennon Stella, Ashe, Blake Rose), produced by Andy Seltzer (Chelsea Cutler, Shallou, Joan), mixed by Michael Brauer (Coldplay, Florence and the Machine, Vance Joy), and mastered by Joe Laporta (Halsey, JP Saxe, Gracie Abrams).
Directed by Claire Schmitt (blackbear, Quinn XCII, Anson Seabra, LAUV), the official music video is a reflection of the times. Speaking to PopMatters, Rosie says, “Since the pandemic was almost at its peak, we ended up shooting many of the scenes in my apartment. I had my friend Kirk Cedric shooting me while Claire was on Zoom. We hooked the camera up to Zoom so Claire could watch the shots in real-time as she was in New York, and we were in LA. We shot for two days at my apartment, the beach, and on the roof of a parking garage. Staying socially-distanced was probably the hardest part, but we did it.”
“Coping” by Rosie Darling
Like many artists, Rosie grew up in a creative and bustling household. Around the age of twelve, her dad taught her a few chords on the guitar, and those lessons, coupled with the rise of mega singer-songwriters like Taylor Swift, propelled Rosie into her own storytelling. At fourteen, she got into the studio and found that the recording process came naturally to her. In her words, the studio is her safe place. After casually writing and performing throughout the rest of high school and college, Rosie decided to pursue music more seriously, toplining on some tracks and connecting with producers. In 2017, Rosie and producer OKO released “L.A.,” and at about three million streams on Spotify, the track has done well considering the pair released it entirely on their own. Later in 2019, Rosie wrote “Never Be The Same” for EDM duo Tritonal, and the track hit number one on SiriusXM’s BPM radio in the States.
After moving to Los Angeles from the East Coast, Rosie took on the daunting task of networking in a city that is notoriously spread out and filled to the brim with other artists on the rise. After only two years in LA, Rosie has built a strong network of producers and songwriters, crediting her success to her focus and determination, along with a bit of risk-taking. But fully pursuing a passion can come with a price, and Rosie has poured all the loss and love of the past couple of years into her forthcoming debut EP.
