A Conversation with Belle Roscoe
A Conversation with Belle Roscoe
Uniting the sun-kissed folk-rock of the ‘70s West Coast scene with the grittier edge of modern Americana, Belle Roscoe are poised to make a big impression in 2023.
Originally from Melbourne and now based in London, Belle Roscoe have been making music together since childhood. That close connection has given them a rare musical intuition and has allowed them to establish the exact sound that they wanted to achieve. Their early releases have included a collab with the ‘70s icon France Gall, an inventive fresh take on The Stones Roses’ anthem ‘I Am The Resurrection’ and an impassioned version of John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’. Meanwhile, notable live moments have included several sets at the Australian Pavilion during Expo 2020 Dubai (which was rescheduled to 2022) and a one-day tour of London’s River Lea during the lockdown, during which their four-piece band played three sets on top of a narrowboat, Isle of Wight Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.
Recently releasing their new single “The Birds“. The track will feature on their new EP ‘Talking To The Walrus’ which follows later this year, with both releases coming via a new deal with Regent Street Records.
NSG had the chance recently to catch up with the brother and sister duo to talk about their musical journey to date.
NSG: Good morning and how are you, what have you been doing today and how’s that going?
BR: Hey, we are at the horse track today – trying to win enough money to finish our music video. It was a slow start but we are currently up!
NSG: Where did you grow up what was it like?
BR: We grew up in Melbourne, Australia. Beaches, Trees, blue sky, free and creative. It was an amazing childhood. All the extended family played music so we kind of felt like we were destined to be doing this.
NSG: You recently released you’re new single titled “The Birds” from your upcoming EP ‘Talking To The Walrus’. Could you tell us a bit about the single, what is it about?
BR: It’s a song about human flight – The Birds was written about refugees fleeing their homes due to civil unrest and climate change. It’s a song that tackles empathy and human bravery.
NSG: You guys are brother and sister right? Like historically there are not many duos of brother and sister, are there? Off the top of my head, all I can think of is The Carpenters! Can I ask what is it about being brother and sister that makes your band work and what are the pros and cons, if any?
BR: The Carpenters were amazing… our parents used to play their records! You’re a team for better or worse when you create with family. The sibling bond is undeniable, there is an unexplainable musical instinct that happens when we perform. Especially when we are harmonising. You have your ups and downs like any family relationship but you know that ultimately you are on the same path and want the same result. In the end, if you can make it work with a sibling there is no better band to be in.
NSG: You recorded your new EP at ‘The Bomb Shelter‘ in Nashville just before the first lockdown, calling on high-end collaborators including the Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Ross-Spang amongst others to work with you. Nashville is a place many artists dream to record at, can I ask what was it really like to record there and how does it differ from other places to record, say like London?
BR: We met Matt through Jason Isbell’s manager. We met her while we were hiding out and performing in Cuba back in 2017. So, she hooked it all up. The experience was just as we’d hoped it would be. We were in and out in 4 days. No computers were opened… straight to tape full band. It was all about capturing the live energy and going for broke. Matt is a big believer in getting it on the spot and not fixing it in the mix. So, we really finessed and sculpted the sounds and just hit record. We surprised ourselves when we got a few songs on the first take. We joke that no computers were harmed during the making of this record.
NSG: How do you go about writing a song, do you have a set process?
BR: Time is the only necessity when it comes to songwriting for us. When we actually sit down and do it, we are prolific. Other than that, we just vibe off some ideas and it seems to flow. We always write with 1 guitar and our voices. If that sounds right, we know we are on to a good thing.
(Belle Roscoe)
NSG: We’re a Uk music magazine, based in Liverpool and we were wondering if you’d ever been here and do you have any plans to visit us anytime soon?
BR: We were talking about booking a show in Liverpool only last week. We would love to visit… Apparently, it’s already changed so much? We just hope there is still some of that ‘Northern Soul’ that we’ve heard so much about.
NSG: How would you personally describe your sound?
BR: Most people say we are like Fleetwood Mac without the sexual tension! Which makes us laugh. Honestly, we are a little rockier than that. We like to think we fit somewhere in the Indie Folk/Rock scene. But to be honest we slip in and out of most genres from time to time. We like to keep the process creative and surprise our fans.
NSG: If you had not become musician’s, what other career do you think you’d have chosen?
BR: We often joke about how educated and multi-skilled most musicians are! We each have a couple of degrees (nothing to do with music!) and could have chosen different paths… certainly more lucrative! But the artist’s vein runs deep, we also both produce, write, paint, direct and design… So, we like to imagine that we are also successful in one of those fields, taking over Hollywood &/or the literary world together… meanwhile occupying a small stand in Montmartre, Paris where we paint caricatures of unsuspecting tourists. We never dreamed of investment banking.
NSG: If you could sit down for dinner with any three people from history, past or present who would they be and why?
BR: Hmmm… do we go with the dinner that turns into the ultimate jam or are we looking for intellectual stimulation… Let’s go for both.
Elvis would always be first on the list, cause he’s a good polite southern boy and would probably help with the dishes (and we both have always LOVED him). Jesus. Let’s see what all the fuss is about. Surely, he can hold a tune, and at the least provide an endless supply of wine! Patti Smith. Because a controversial, existential, poet/punk star should bring some decent socialist conversation to the table. How did we do?
NSG: How is the rest of 2023 looking for you?
BR: We hope everything goes according to plan and we are really busy. We will be releasing more music in the coming months, performing in the UK and Europe. And with any luck back in the studio working on another record. In between, we have some other interesting projects we are secretly working on 😉
NSG: Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
BR: No, just that Mojo (our Walrus spirit animal) wanted to say hi. And remind everyone to give ‘The Birds’ plenty of spins. We all need to shine a light on the world right now. This is the best way we know how.
Thanks for the chat.
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