Rosie Lowe takes a deep breathe, opens the doors and lets the outside world come flooding in on latest release Lover, Other. Signed to indie label Blue Flowers, the majority of this album was recorded on the road, a freewheeling journey between London, Spain and Sri Lanka as the artist and her collaborators embraced imperfection and particular challenges analogue sampling along the way. Reflecting the joy of its creation, Lover, Other sees Lowe return with a sound that is energised and revitalised, as much as it still distinctively her very own.
Lover, Other is your first release for Blue Flowers since you moved there in 2022. When did the gestation period start for this album, and was there a particular sound or ambience you were chasing?
This album process started at the beginning of 2022 when I first went to Can Obert; a residential space in Catalonia, Spain. I had recently released a collaborative album; Son with Duval Timothy, and the process of making that informed how I wanted to make this record. I wanted to be able to travel and respond to my surroundings wherever I found myself, so I put together a studio in a suitcase. I travelled from London to Spain, Florence, Berlin, the south of France, Sri Lanka, and back to Spain many more times. I knew I didn’t want to record this album in a soundproofed studio — that didn’t inspire me. I wanted to leave doors open, let my surroundings in and keep it raw. I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted this album to be, but I know that everything can change in a moment so I made a commitment to myself to have the most fun I possibly could. And I did, I had a lot of fun.
Where was the favourite place that you recorded?
Can Obert — the residential — has to be the favourite place I’ve ever written or recorded. I returned there a lot to write and record over the album process, and it became a second home to me. I wrote a lot of the record with Uma Bunnag and Luke Bower who ran the residential, and we had the most beautiful time together. Making this album has been a beautiful reminder that the more open and present you are in a process, the better the results.
You’ve spoken about using more analogue techniques on this album to counter the desire to reach for perfectionism — how did this play out in the studio?
I bought a SP-2400 which was an integral part of how a lot of the record was made — it took me away from the computer and allowed me to sample and to make ideas quickly. I recorded a lot of the vocals with other people in the room too, which stopped me from getting in my head and kept the feeling much more live and performative.
What was your approach to sampling on this album?
I’ve always loved sampling and it’s been a part of my work previously, but I’ve definitely leant into it more this time. [The] SP-2400 as part of my studio-in-a-suitcase allowed me to sample from records, my voice and Zoom recordings on the go; and to create ideas quickly and intuitively. Naturally, when you’re travelling around and spending a lot of time with collaborators, you’re sharing music over lunch, dinner, car rides and much of the music we sampled came from sharing the records we love and then feeling inspired to re-imagine the moments that resonated.
Lover, Other is also the first of your albums that you produced yourself — how did you find the process of taking control while also letting go and allowing natural mistakes in?
I handled lots of aspects of the production on this record, but much of it was in collaboration with Harvey Grant and D’Monk. Because I don’t see myself as solely a producer I think it stopped me from getting too obsessive about fiddling with the production. I knew I wanted the album to feel raw and undone at the seams, so I mostly just let the songs lead the choices I was making. I also found out I was pregnant during the process, so that gave me a hard deadline to get the album produced, mixed and mastered before my due date. That was helpful, having a clear finish line.
Throughout your career you’ve had an incredible list of collaborators, from Jay Electronica to Duval Timothy. What were the collaborations that took place behind the scenes of this album, and is there a dream artist or artists you’d like to work with?
The four collaborators on this album weren’t known to me previously but became a second family to me. They’re people I hope to collaborate with for many years to come. Music has allowed me to create such deep and meaningful friendships, and I will never take that for granted. I’m always keen to collaborate with people that I find inspiring and that are pushing musical boundaries, so Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, Tirzah would be some dream collaborators.
In previous interviews you’ve spoken about working part time to support your career, as well as your studies in psychotherapy and research into the pharaohs for YU. How important is it for you as an artist to have other outlets outside of music, and how do you feel they’ve influenced your work?
My music and the way I write is very much in response to whatever is going on in my life in that moment in time, so I feel it’s important for me to be living life outside of music too. That in turn, influences the music. I always remember Dave Okumu saying to me that there are seasons for creating and seasons to be inspired and those two things are always in flow. I try not to put myself under too much pressure to be on and don’t push myself if I don’t feel inspired to write. Writing is hugely sacred to me, so I want it to come from a need and a desire to create instead of a pressure.
How do you feel living in London has influenced your sound?
I spent a lot of time coming up and down to London when I was younger, for gigs, to stay with my sister or friends, so my move never felt like a huge shock. I’ve now been living in London longer than I ever lived in Devon, so I see both places as my home — I wouldn’t want to do one without the other. My dad was very dedicated to taking us to live music, we were lucky enough to see artists James Brown, Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse, as well as Joshua Redman, Soweto Kinch and Jill Scott. It was the best musical education I could have asked for.
What can we expect from your upcoming live shows (in April 2025)?
It’s been a lot of fun reimagining the album for a live setting. I’ve got my two collaborators on stage with me (D’Monk and Harvey Grant) and a lot of analogue gear! There’s no track on the show, so we’re playing everything and there’s lots of opportunities for interpretation, which is what excites me about live music. I want to be able to respond to the audience and the energy they are giving; it’s a beautiful exchange.
