Introducing Annaliese Rose, and get the first look at her debut EP, Whole

If you're yet to be acquainted, consider this the perfect time to introduce yourself to the emotion-drenched musical world of Melbourne's Annaliese Rose. After years of crafting herself a sound, the last twelve months have seen her showcase it to the world in an 'official' sense, introducing us to her guitar-backed moments of beauty with Let Me Leave last year, and this year's follow-up, I Feel All the Wrong Things at All the Wrong Times - a song with not just a long name, but a longing effect on anyone's heart-strings once they listen to it; her touching lyricism and remarkable songwriting moving forward in a vein similar to Julia Jacklin's more tender moments or PJ Harvey.

Today, we premiere her debut EP Whole, a five-track exploration of the many facets her music holds, from tender moments of emotive folk to moments more upbeat and captivating in accessible terms, providing the perfect introduction to her music if you're yet to familiarise yourself. "Earlier in the month, I released the single from the EP called I Feel All the Wrong Things at All the Wrong Times. It's a song I wrote at a point in my life when I was having so many clashing thoughts, it felt like they were trying to battle it out in my brain, that I honestly didn't know what to make of them," she says on the EP. "In an attempt to try to understand and simplify them, I came up with the concept for the song - this idea of feeling so much love for someone that it doesn't matter what else is going on, all you focus on is your admiration for them. It wasn't a reflection of what was happening in my mind at the time, but it helped me understand my state better than I did before."

Whole, while also being an exploration of her sounds as a musician, is also an exploration of her emotions as a person, showcasing an incomparable vulnerability that only adds a deeper touch to the collection of tracks. They're hauntingly personal and open, but stripped back to their very roots, letting you find yourself in the delicate chords and soft vocals. "The title track from the EP is another really special track to me. I remember writing it immediately after graduating high school in 2017, as in spending my schoolies trip alone in my room with my guitar. It was right after a major shift in my life that came really unexpected, and I remember feeling so devastated but also having to grapple with the reality that I am my own person, and I have to learn to feel complete with that," she explains. "In retrospect it was such a big learning experience, and I hope that emotion is conveyed through the track. Connor really helped bring this one to life when he came up with the idea of the arpeggiator, something I never would have thought could work with my music, but I'm really glad it did."

Dive into the EP below, and introduce yourself to the rising name while you're at it:

Tell us about yourself?

My name is Annaliese, I'm from Melbourne, Australia where I grew up in the Western suburbs. I started writing songs in my bedroom when I had too much to say and didn't know how to say it, and it's stuck ever since.

What’s the vibe music-wise?

I have always loved music that almost pours out of someone, Bon Iver and Nick Cave are great examples. Melody is so important to me because singing becomes so cathartic, so I find myself writing swooning vocal melodies a fair bit. When learning how to pair those with different styles of production and instrumentation, I just fell for folk and music that sounds like memories.

What are your production and writing processes like?

It really changes for every single song I write, as I have random ideas popping out of nowhere. For a lot of this EP, I started with messing around on an acoustic guitar and writing the melody before refining the lyrics later on in the process. My incredibly talented friend Connor produced this EP with me and really helped solidify my visions for what I wanted to hear. We were both really excited to branch out and try something new with the sound, so I would just show up to his house and we'd sit in his room for hours playing with synthesisers and whatever else caught our eye- and then suddenly the EP was complete.

Can you tell us about your new ep, Whole?

Whole is a collection of my thoughts and ramblings for the past two years, it's been some time since I released new music and I really wanted to be entirely proud of what I put out next. Thematically, it deals with learning to exist alone- being okay with that, and celebrating letting go of strings that tied you down before. I think it's so different to anything I've done before, and I thank Connor for helping be apart of that and joining me in building something new.

Any tour dates coming up?

I'll be launching the EP on the 25th of July at the Grace Darling, a venue in Collingwood that I adore. I'll be playing with a full band for the first time in a long time which I'm also stoked about.

What does 2019 have in store for you?

I've spent the first half of this year polishing the EP and finally completing it, so I'm really hoping to get the chance to play it live as much as possible. At the same time, I'm already working on new music and getting excited about future releases down the track.

Where can we find more of your music?

My new EP is available on all streaming services from the 18th of July, including Spotify and Apple Music. I'm also active on Facebook and Instagram and keep those platforms very updated on what's going on for me, and what is to come.

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