Press and radio
“She has an amazing voice and an incredible presence”
Guy Garvey
Review of ‘Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be / Silver Dagger’ in Shindig! Magazine, September 2024
Simply seeing the title of the top side here immediately sparked memories of this writer’s ’70s childhood – a time when this 18th century nursery rhyme was a staple part of the aural diet, usually served up as a bouncy singalong.
Here, however, in less than two minutes, London-based songstress Rosie Alena transforms the tune, bringing out the slow yearn and fret at the heart of the lyrics. Backed only by the stark, sparse cello of Haydn Wynn, the ache in her voice is transfixing and takes the listener straight back to the deep, dark roots of English folk music. ‘Silver Dagger’ is an old American folk ballad that exists in many different iterations, with the Joan Baez version being perhaps the best known. In the song, the female narrator turns down a potential suitor, having been warned off men by her heart-broken mother – across a haunting swirl of almost ambient string arrangements.
- Hugh Dellar
Feature and interview, SelOut (Issue 15), 1st March 2024
Rosie’s music is atmospheric. Growing up in Crystal Palace, with her ‘real soul in Deptford’ she’s gearing up for a year of new music. We hung out at my work (pretty cool) Monday evening and spun some yarn. Here’s a snippet.
- Rhys Timson
‘Babies’ on Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, BBC Radio 6 Music, 14th January 2024
Last week I played a song by Rosie Alena - who is an artist I have worked with - who, unbelievably is without management or a record label at the moment. I played this beautiful song ‘Babies’, and it got such an amazing response I thought I’d play it again [...] A gorgeous voice and a beautiful, sad song.
- Guy Garvey
‘Babies’ on Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, BBC Radio 6 Music, 7th January 2024
Rosie Alena is a singer-songwriter from London. She takes her influences from Joni Mitchell, Angel Olsen, Tori Amos, Sufjan Stevens, Esperanza Spalding. She played her first gig when she was fourteen. I worked with her on some soundtrack that me and my best mate Peter Jobson did. She’s tremendously talented. She sent me her forthcoming EP called Everyman. Unbelievably, she is currently without management or label. Once again, this is Rosie Alena. I’m going to let the song do the talking for her. She has an amazing voice and an incredible presence and in the style of a lot of the songwriters she just named as an influence in her biography she gives of herself in her writing. This is the exquisite ‘Babies’ from Rosie Alena.
- Guy Garvey
Rosie Alena: The Cinematic Side, Wax, 14th June 2022
As a performer, Rosie is also a spectacle to behold. A few weeks after the interview, I was lucky enough to see her perform live at Soup Kitchen in Manchester as a support act for Indigo de Souza. [...] Her performance upheld the solar system of worlds that she has intricately crafted in her mini album and left us all with entranced smiles.
- Weng U Pun
Rosie Alena confronts social media’s unrealistic ideals on “Adore Me”, Line of Best Fit, 2nd December 2021
Listening through to “Adore Me”, you can tell that Rosie views her music as an extension of herself. With most of her tracks starting out as inner monologues before sculpting them into musical arrangements, this raw emotion carries through, taking the listener on a journey through her innermost thoughts.
- Bryony Holdsworth
Feature in So Young Issue Thirty-Four, 2021
Track Of The Day 13/9 – Rosie Alena, Clash, 13th September 2021
A song about embracing relationships while acknowledging your own needs, in her words ‘God’s Garden’ says “I love you, but I also love myself, so here’s a few terms and conditions to ensure we don’t wither and wilt like a plant without water.”
- Robin Murray
London’s Rosie Alena Shares New Single ‘The Light’ via untitled (recs), So Young Magazine 21 July 2021
Featuring long-time collaborator, Morgan Simpson (black midi), ‘The Light’ is the perfect dose of vitamin-D inducing delight. After the nebulous, perpetual anxiety and seemingly never-ending state of lockdown, ‘The Light’ flings the shadows themselves into the depths of another realm.
- Brad Sked