Blake Rose is about to make some serious noise. The rising alt-pop star, has recently released his new EP You’ll Get It When You’re Older, which is a project that perfectly demonstrates his deeply poignant and affecting lyrical style.
Fresh from supporting Mimi Webb on her sold-out European tour this spring, the Australian-born singer sits down with us to discuss the moving-yet-hopeful themes that inspired the EP, the importance of creative control and the joys of finally receiving his own room on tour.
Hi Blake, how is your year going so far?
My year has been going amazing. I released my second EP You’ll Get It When You’re Older, and I just got off of touring, opening for Mimi Webb!
Congratulations on releasing your new EP! What’s the inspiration behind this particular set of songs?
The EP is mainly inspired by my experience growing up around my sister’s battle with addiction. When I was fourteen and my sister was twenty-three, I went on a road trip around Australia with my parents and she joined us half way through the trip. She was in a really bad way when she arrived, to the point where I felt I didn’t really know her anymore, which was heartbreaking.
We ended up having a long conversation about her addiction which was the first time we’d ever talked about it properly. She tried explaining things but I was still struggling to understand, so eventually she ended the conversation by saying, ‘You’ll Get It When You’re Older’. My sister is doing amazing now and with her blessing and encouragement this EP has become a message that we both want to share with the world. I would wish nothing more than for this to EP to serve as a beacon of hope for anyone who is battling addiction and those surrounding them, that you can make it out of the other side of this and there can be life on the other side of being an addict.
You took reins as producer on this EP, what was that experience like for you?
I’ve always produced my own music so nothing really changed with this record. If anything I collaborated more than I usually do, which was a fun experience and it felt good to have some other cooks in the kitchen to bounce ideas off!
Considering you produce your own music, is creative control important to you?
Yes, very important to me. If I don’t have control of what is happening with the music it usually never sounds like me and I end up hating the song.
Your lyrics and themes are often very personal, do you find it important to be vulnerable in your music?
Yes, vulnerability is super important to me. I want to give the people who listen to my music insight into my world and the things I think about so they can get to know who I am. All I hope is that people can find some catharsis in my lyrics.
You’ll Get it When You’re Older, is your follow up to A World Gone By, which was released in 2021. Do you feel like you’ve grown musically since that release?
Yes, I feel like I’ve definitely grown a lot musically. I feel like I’m exploring subject matters that are a lot more mature and vulnerable than I have in the past. I also feel my production style has matured a lot.
Where did your love for music first come from and when did you first realise it was a career you wanted to pursue?
Growing up, I was always pretty musical but I didn’t realise I wanted to pursue it until I was a teenager. I started playing the didgeridoo when I was very young, sang in local youth talent contests and learned the cello in primary school. Acoustic guitar was probably the first thing that really sparked a deeper interest in music. I started teaching myself when I was about 13 after I went to a friend's house and he showed me a few chords which got me hooked.
Not too long after that, my family and I went on a three month road trip around Australia and I decided to bring a guitar that my Dad’s friend had gifted me, along with my laptop. I started writing songs and experimenting with music production on GarageBand in the back seat of the car while we traveled and by the end of the trip I realised I wanted to do music for the rest of my life. I also started busking on this trip which birthed my love for performing and after witnessing artists like Ed Sheeran perform live, the fire was burning red hot. All I wanted to do was make a career in music.
You’ve mentioned supporting Mimi Webb on tour this spring, how have the live shows been for you?
The tour has been phenomenal. The crowds have been incredibly kind to me and Mimi is just the best. I also got to bring my drummer from Australia and my guitarist from America, so there were a lot of worlds colliding which was fun! I also got my own room on this tour which never happens!
Are there any particular venues or nights that were memorable to you? Either on this tour or previously?
On this tour Plymouth was the highlight for sure! It was a massive crowd and everyone was very hyped up. It was an extremely fun crowd to play to and was also a huge stage so there was a lot of room to move. The band and I had such a fun time!
As a singer/songwriter do you have expectations on where your music will take you? Do you have an end goal in mind or something particular you want to achieve as a musician?
I don’t have any expectations but my dream is just to be able to play big shows for the rest of my life and positively impact people’s lives with my music!
You'll Get It When You're Older is out now
Words by Joshua Evans
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