Known for her upbeat, EDM style music, artist ROZES begins to shift the focus of her music towards something more stripped down and personal with her latest single, a power ballad focusing on mental health entitled ‘Call Me’ that will be released on Friday, June 7th.
ROZES had the opportunity to write her newest single at an all-female writing camp called She Is The Music, which is run by Alicia Keys. At the camp, ROZES spent a week working on her songwriting with other females in the industry, with the goal of giving women a step up in an industry where they are underrepresented.
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“When I was there it was probably the first time I was ever in a full female writing session, as sad is, that is to say, to be honest,” said ROZES, “It affected it because it wasn’t like I was in a room full of men who had to write through hypotheticals. It was something that we could all talk about and be on the same page and really understand, the struggles of mental health, not only as a human but as a woman in the industry.”
With the release of ‘Call Me’, ROZES hopes to spread the message to not only reach out when you need help but to also remind people to check in on their friends and loved ones that might be experiencing mental health issues.
Imma say it here bc I need you to know, I’ve been there before, I’ve tried to face it alone, but your mind is not a game ya gotta play on your own. // CALL ME. FRIDAY ☎️🌹 pic.twitter.com/RJFsFQLK6k
— ROZES (@ROZESsounds) June 3, 2019
“I’ve had a lot of friends struggling with mental health lately, and I myself have been as well, and in the industry around that time, we were kind of facing a lot of people with suicide, and it seems to be this kind of poison word that everybody doesn’t want to talk about. It felt like with ‘Call Me’ I really wanted to touch upon that depression is a real thing that should be talked about and not kind of pushed aside and a ‘poisonous’ type of conversation,” said ROZES.
Mental health has always been a prominent topic in the 26-year-old’s life as she has dealt with her own mental health issues since a young age. During a phone interview, ROZES shared that when she was growing up, she was bullied and constantly felt lonely. However, she had music as an escape and has now been able to turn her experiences into something tangible that other people can relate to as well.
“My voice always felt like it didn’t matter,” said ROZES, “So now that I’m taking that and turning it into strength, and being able to speak out and have other people who were going through the same thing also talk about it with me feels amazing, and it feels like I’m making a difference.”
‘Call Me’ isn’t the first time that ROZES has stepped away from her well-known EDM style of music, however. Earlier this year she released the single ‘Halfway There’, a song about continuing to persevere through challenging times. The single was later picked up by the New York City Women’s March and used as their official anthem.
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“I guess I just felt like at this time in my life, and honestly in this time politically, growing up, I have the chance to say something, and I have the chance to be an influence,” said ROZES about using her music for more activism based efforts. “I see so many celebrities that use their platform for dieting teas and things like that and I just thought to myself these people need somebody with a voice to speak to them on a real level. So I just felt I needed to be there for the person that I was growing up, that I needed.”
Although this development is fairly new, ROZES shares that she plans to keep using her platform to spread the message about more important issues. For her, it is almost an obligation to stand up for what she believes in her audiences.
Being that her music and lyrics come from such a personal place, ROZES has had some difficulties getting to a point where she can be so vulnerable with her audiences. For her, when she is getting judged by critics or fans, it is harder to just brush it off, since she puts so much of her real self into her work.
“There’s some empowerment that comes with that where it’s like this is me, who gives a damn kind of thing, but then there’s also the side of me that seeks approval like every other normal human being, and really hopes that the things I’m saying really resonate well and doesn’t put me up for scrutiny,” said ROZES.
ROZES hopes that with ‘Call Me’, this level of realness will help her connect with her audience even more, as she knows firsthand the struggles some of them might be facing as well.
“I know there’s going to be people out there that say well it’s not that easy to reach out and call somebody when you’re dealing with mental health, and the fact is that I know that, I’ve been there,” said ROZES, “Every now and then you check in on those people who you think are doing fine because, behind the screen, a lot of strong people are struggling too. I guess I just want people to know that I understand how hard it is to reach out, but sometimes maybe that’s all it takes.”
‘Call Me’ will be available for streaming and purchase on Friday, June 7th.
You can stream ‘Call Me’ here:
Featured Image via ROZES Instagram Page
