Vocalist Abbie Rose, guitarist Nick Crowe and backing vocalist Maeve Brennan make up the trio of musicians that are Abbie and the Roses. Following the success of their first two studio releases and one live acoustic track, the band sit down with us to discuss their latest offering,
‘Next To Me’.
How’re you all feeling today? & How are you feeling about your latest release?
“We are feeling good thank you, with the end of lockdown on the horizon we are looking forward to getting back onto the stage again soon. We are overwhelmed with love and support we’ve received so far for our new release, we’re keen to keep sharing and keep growing but so far so good! “
Could you tell us a something about yourselves that we couldn’t find from a social media stalking sesh?
Haha sure!
Abbie: “Hi, I’m the lead singer, I think online I come across quite confident and bubbly but I am actually quite shy! I live with my mum still, she’s my best pal.. and I spend a lot of my time biking around London or snowboarding with my sister Charlie (she lives in the mountains of northern Japan!)”
Maeve: “Sooooo on social media you will see me as a singer/songwriter but in reality I’m still a duty manager at a trampoline park and I really enjoy it! Obviously one day I hope to leave for music but until then you’re always welcome to come and see me for a bounce!“
Nick: “I am actually a qualified mental health nurse and still do that sometimes. Otherwise I am making music, I started producing from home during the first lockdown and this is the first release from that music.”
Abbie & the Roses formed back in 2018, how did the band come together?
“So Nick and Abbie met through a mutual friend Joe Grouse (who also produced our first single and mixed our new single) after we collaborated on a few tracks we decided to form the band… After that Abs posted on Facebook a looking for a backing vocalist / pianist & Maeve dropped her a line, and so the story goes!“
Why ‘& the Roses’?
“Before the band was formed Abbie’s stage name was Abbie Rose, we sort of played with that and came up with Abbie and The Roses. We wanted to make sure the name was open and allowed for more members to join depending on where & when we are at with shows and our career but with keeping Abbie as the lead singer. So The Roses were born. We like to think of our fans of The Roses too, anyone can join our club. “
What was the songwriting process for ‘Next To Me’ like, did you all chip in or did one person take charge?
“Nick actually came with the idea, as soon as we heard it we all fell in love with the mellow vibes. It felt like it captured our lockdown mood perfectly. After a few lyric changes and some production tweaks we all collaborated to create what is now ‘Next To Me’ despite Nick having come up with the initial idea we all felt it hit home with how we were feeling with lockdown there was someone we all wanted a little bit closer !
Tell us a bit about what this song means to you in your own words?
Abbie – “for me it’s about my sister, she’s over in Japan and I haven’t seen her for a year. FaceTime is a god send but it’s really rough having your family a million miles away. That and also being on stage, I definitely thrive off human interaction so being cooped up it’s hard mentally. I am looking forward to being back on stage singing to everyone again soon!“
Maeve – “As I live in Brighton I’m a little bit further away from the other guys in London, it’s been a difficult being away from them. This song meant a lot to me so when we were recording I knew we would be able to get the crew back together!”
Nick – “I am proud of the nostalgic sound the song captured about the first lockdown and not being able to develop new relationships or be there for loved ones.”
Any tips for other artists on staying creative and motivated throughout all these lockdowns?
“I guess we would say use your time wisely! Reevaluate what you want, who you are and think of the time as a blessing to hone in your craft and develop yourself. The world was moving so quickly it was quite nice for us to step out and breathe and create while everyone else had stopped too.“
What can fans expect to see next from Abbie & the Roses?
“More music! We have a body of work we have worked on during lockdown and we can’t wait to share it ‘Next To Me’ was the first of many! We are hoping to get another song out around April/May and every couple months or so after that. Also it would be great to be back on stages this summer, we had a few confirmed in 2020 but they were cancelled so we are waiting to see what this summer holds!
Keep an eye on our socials for updates and don’t forget to follow us on Spotify and other streaming platforms.”
Listen to ‘Next to Me’ by Abbie and the Roses
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