Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosa Mystica.
Hi Rosa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started teaching myself piano when I was 12 from YouTube. Amy Lee from Evanescence was my idol and inspiration at the time (still is)! I was attracted to the dark, heavy, but ethereal energy behind her music. I took classical voice lessons during this time and joined an all girl pop-rock band called Against the Current with my sister and childhood girlfriends. It was a fun period.
We wrote all of our own songs and played all of our own instruments. We performed around the New England area and even had a show in California and Rome. After high school, we all went our separate ways into different career paths. Music was something that never really left my consciousness though, and in the back of my mind even while I studied Social Work in my undergrad, I knew my true desire was to be a successful singer-songwriter and musician. Around my sophomore year of college, I started writing my own songs for my first solo music project outside of that band. The idea of this project came out of my own life experiences at the time. I was heavily inspired by rock n’ roll culture and had a lot of adventures during this time. My best friend and I were following bands around, living really free and impulsively. Looking back, I felt I was coping with heartbreak, the end of youth and innocence, and losing true love in myriad of crazy, emotionally intense, and fun ways. I had always been writing poetry, lyrics, and melodies my whole life, but this is when I really started to take it seriously and build a musical world around my inspirations both aesthetically and musically.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think any artist will tell you that their road hasn’t been easy. Otherwise, they wouldn’t really be an artist and feel drawn to art as an outlet of emotional expression. I’m really no different. I feel my emotions intensely. When I lost true love for the first time in high school, it really changed the mood and atmosphere of my inner world. I do feel when he broke my heart, he made me a poet forever. That was the start of a lot of creative energy for me. In addition to that, I’ve had many setbacks. I had to fight to stay an artist. Society has a way of really pressuring you into a job or career that’s not instinctually you. I felt I was on a conveyor belt of sorts- go to college, get into debt, get a job, have a family, purchase material things…keep the cycle going. That wasn’t me. I had to claw my way out by all means necessary. I quit my social work job, moved to NYC then LA…and I’m not looking back.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m Rosa Mystica, and I am singer-songwriter and musician. I call my music melancholic rock n’ roll. I think what makes me different from other artists right now is my desire to bring more of a rock sound back to music. In the 90’s and early 2000’s, we had a lot of really strong female-fronted acts/bands in the public sphere. Fiona Apple, The Cranberries, The La’s, Dixie Chicks, Mazzy Star, Hole, Garbage, Evanescence. I mean- the list is endless!! My vision is to add a touch of melancholy to a rock sound. I love the bands that came out of Manchester, like Oasis, Stone Roses. They heavily inspire my style and music. I love British bands in general. My favorite band is Radiohead- they are one of my biggest influences. Essentially, I want to bring guitar back front and center, with a touch of divine feminine energy.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me means being 100% authentically myself.
Contact Info:
- Email: rosaxmystica@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosaxmystica
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosaxmystica
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rosaxmystica
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCheynRbbvrKUmd8_sCI-e5w?view_as=subscriber
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rosaxmystica
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