Get To Know Get to Know… Stella Rose

With her debut ‘Eyes of Glass’ newly out in the world, dig into the New Yorker’s dark pop universe.

Words: Lisa Wright
8th June 2023

Hello and welcome to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… which aims to get you a little bit closer to the buzziest new acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.

Stella Rose has grown up with rock royalty; the daughter of Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, it’s no surprise that music of the decidedly noir-ish variety runs in her blood. But the New York singer has also been carving out her own sonic identity, rooted in dramatic pop and a powerfully arresting vocal at all turns.

Fresh from the release of her debut ‘Eyes of Glass’ via KRO Records, we dropped Stella a line to chat musical obsessions and early memories.

What’s your earliest musical memory?
One of my favourite early musical memories is when I saw Mazzy Star. I was living in Los Angeles at the time, feeling lost and disconnected from the world. It was my first show alone. It was strange to not have someone to share it with. Sitting in church pews, with no faces I recognised around me, it was dark and Hope Sandoval was in the shadows, just projections of colour painted across her. It’s something that I will never forget.

Who were some artists that inspired you when you were just starting out (and why)?
‘Bubblegum’ by Mark Lanagan has been in my rotation of records since I first discovered it at home in my family record collection. When I listen to music, I really crush hard. The few songs, or record as a whole, becomes the soundtrack to the days, weeks, maybe months, that play ahead.

The second track on Side One of ‘Bubblegum’, ‘Hit the City’, is a silver lining of two of my most admired storytellers. Call it a song, a poem, maybe something that was scribbled on a napkin found crumbled in a jacket pocket, either way the songs on this record are undeniably beautiful.

My latest obsession is with the track ‘Comforter’ from the record ‘Every Day I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came’ by Jesu. It is one of those songs that I can play repeatedly and never get tired of. The lyrics don’t exist until well into the song, it’s all atmosphere; the storytelling is in the sounds. I am in love with the way it makes me feel, I can rely on it to bring me to that place of ease.

Sometimes things that inspire can be metaphysical, not reached through material reality. I guess what I am saying is that inspiration is spiritual, you can’t always explain why.

Is there a visual world to what you’re trying to create? If so, how would you describe it?
Performance allows me to express desires that otherwise exist only in the mind. There aren’t any rules to where you can go or who you should be. I think that is the beauty of it and also what makes it so terrifying. It is my attempt to show the world from my eyes.

Who would be your dream collaborator?
Miss PJ Harvey.

In school, what would you have been voted Most Likely To…?
Live in black and white.

We’re coming round for dinner, what are you cooking?
Cake and coffee

If people could take away one thing from your music, what would it be?
To read between the lines.

‘Eyes of Glass’ is out now via KRO Records.

Tags: Stella Rose, Features, Interviews, Neu, Get to Know