The Quiet Confidence of Ethan Rose
For Ethan Rose, producing timeless music is his goal which is why he’s consumed with his vision. With the help of his tight-knit team, he’s created a comprehensive plan that’s helped him constantly build on the art he’s creating. After spending years fine-tuning his craft while simultaneously learning about the business side of music, Ethan Rose is now more confident than ever in his vision. I caught up with the RnB artist to understand his upbringing, influences, how to be sustainable as an artist, and his goals.
All photos taken from Instagram: @ethanjoeyrose
Your sound pulls from different genres and one instrument I hear clearly throughout your songs is the guitar. You must have a pretty great team that knows you enough to know your sound and what will and won’t work. How did you meet your producer?
I met the executive producer of my first three singles, Aaron Dean, through my friends Matan and Eldan who actually all went to school together. They knew he was talented and thought we’d collab well sonically, so they linked us two and in the first studio session we finished a song in a couple hours, which was something special because a lot of times it’s not like that. There’s a lot that goes into the back end of music and the synergy involved in it. There will be times where 90% of a studio session is mixing vocals for a particular part of a song that I recorded like five times, and picking the best sounding cut from it. It could be really tedious or smooth and that’s why hav- ing a great team and support system really helps.
It’s funny with creativity because there’ll be times where you’re staring at your computer for hours and have nothing. I find what works for me is stepping away and clearing my mind then all these ideas come to me. That’s just my process and what works for me, but what is your creative process like when it comes to creating music?
Sometimes I’ll get the baseline of the beat and write something to it and we’ll go right in to record, but a lot of times my best melodies come to me in the shower or while I’m on a drive. I’ll usually sing them into a voice note then send them to one of my producers and they’ll either start working on something immediately, or we’ll wait until we’re in the studio with my engineer, Dan D’souza. The studio sessions are so import- ant because we get into a rhythm, whether that’s just laying down a certain melody for the breakdown or adding in some runs, maybe even some harmonies that we haven’t thought of prior. So it’s collaborative but the process is always changing.
It sounds like a very organic process that’s strategically laid out. Was music always in the plan for you?
Sort of! I was always into writing music and freestyling with my boys when I was younger, but I never took it seriously. Enough time passed and I still had a passion for music so I found an engineer and recorded a rap song in my first session and went into the second session wanting to try to sing. I recorded the song and end- ed up impressing myself, so I kept making R&B music and eventually dropped one of the songs which gained a lot of traction - but at the time being in the music industry was just a dream and not necessarily a goal. The song got picked up by a few YouTube collectives, one of which was called Trillion, and in the first week it picked up something like 50,000 streams with no marketing behind it. Ever since then I began to realize my potential and turned my dream into a goal.
Sometimes all it takes is a little confidence boost for you to get out of your head and with Toronto having such a great scene for creativity and music alike, the city is becoming global. It also helps that there’s labels like XO and OVO, which your sound is comparable to, is that where you draw your influences from?
I definitely get told that my vibe emulates artists like PARTYNEXTDOOR, The Weeknd, and Drake, but I draw a lot of my influence from artists that my grandfather put me onto like Car- los Santana and Julio Iglsias. I’m just blessed to be able to make R&B music because it’s a genre that’s helped me through some tough times. I’m a big overthinker so the slow tempo of the songs helps my mind slow down when it’s running too fast for my own good. So, if I’m able to do that with my music and help others, then there’s nothing better in the world than that feeling. I used to be really sensitive as a child and people would always call me out on it, so I kind of grew to shut down that vulnerable side of me. Music is the avenue that lets me step out of the shell, so its therapeutic for me.
I’m super sensitive too and get emotional over things I shouldn’t (laughs). But the fact that you use music as an outlet instead of drowning in your sorrows is powerful. Now that your music is gaining traction and you’ve found your own lane, is it any easier to deal with being vulnerable?
At the end of the day I’m going to be me whether I have one, or a hundred million streams, but age and wisdom is key to dealing with vulnerabilities because they come with life experience. Thats why you see a lot of older song- writers writing hits for younger artists. It’s just about getting the reps in for younger artists. It’s just about getting the reps in.
You have to get those reps in so you know where you stand in your own life. It doesn’t matter how many times you fail because at least you’re trying and when it comes to some- thing you genuinely want, then why not give it a try?
One of the reasons I love writing is because my words are going to live a lot longer than me, so I think it’s about cementing your legacy. Frank Sinatra passed away long before I was born but I’ll still listen to his songs, and they’ll resonate with me. So, I’m trying to do the same thing every time I go into the studio, just trying to create something that’s lasting.
You have to have a good understanding of yourself to create something that’ll stand the test of time. Nowadays though, you sort of have to understand marketing since it’s a crucial part of the rollout. How involved are you with that process?
I’m involved from beginning to end. As far as the cover art goes, my singles “Dangerous” and “Attention” I put together on my own, and “Serenade” I made from my apartment with my cousin, Shaun Beno. My team is typically pretty tight knit as far as creative direction goes but were always open for collaboration because that’s when the magic happens. There’s been times where we’ll hire someone to help out but they just want complete creative control, rather than making the process collaborative so we just butt heads.
“One of the reasons I love writing is because my words are going to live a lot longer than me, so it’s about cementing your legacy.”
That vision can take you so far depending on how serious and involved you are which is why having people that understand your goals is important.
If you’re in the music business you’re essentially an entrepreneur, so it’s on you to wear all the hats. You have to be willing to go the extra mile to make your art stand out because there is a lot of art you’re competing with? Even if you’re not learning the design elements your vision is anoth- er aspect of creativity that you need to make sure is right. Look at Tik- Tok, it changed everything because before you needed a label to get the attention of an audience but now it’s reversed.
Navigating through all the different platforms could be challenging but it’s also essential living in this digital age. One of the things Covid taught me is to roll with whatever life throws my way-I mean that’s just the way I always approached my life anyways-but it sped things up and if you weren’t ready, then you were left behind. If you focus on the negative more negative will come, it’s all about mindset.
We live in a time where attention spans are getting shorter, and things are moving fast. So you have to be able to adapt and it took me a while to understand that but once I grasped hold of that concept I never looked back. As an artist you can’t really spend too much time thinking about the past because it’ll hold you back from trying to plan your next move.
Growth in any capacity is integral to understanding who we are, and it can affect relationships. Your four songs on Spotify deal with relationships so I’m wondering, was there ever a time where you lost yourself or found the other person in the relationship losing themselves?
It was never like that for me, but in my early relationships there was always an internal struggle of love and lust. I was younger and people around me would always tell me to have fun instead of being committed. When its coming from people you look up to, it sort of stays with you. In my music you hear that tug of war between love and lust, and when you’re young you don’t really know what you want so it gets compound- ed that much more. As far as finding your match goes, a man with hustle needs a woman with vision. I’m someone who has trouble opening up to others but when you do, a lot of the time you’ll realize that you’re not going through it alone.
Navigating through your own emotions could get difficult but then add another’s in the mix and it could be that much tougher if you’re not grounded. Which is why communication in any relationship is so important. What do you think one thing any relationship has to have to be a good one?
Support is definitely up there for me. I could never be in an intimate relationship with someone that’s trying to hinder my music career and the same goes for my friendships or my creative team. When it comes to music having another pair of ears is important because they’re able to be my audience and because my team is so tight, they’re honest with me. So I would say support and open communication are the two most important things.
When you feel supported, that’s when the best work/relationships come out. Now you mentioned you’re an overthinker, does that affect your music?
Oh yeah for sure (laughs)! I spent just over a couple of years really figuring out who I want to be as an artist from my look, to social media and marketing, to writing. I have songs from that time that I fell out of love with because I’m not at that point in my life anymore. However, funny enough, the next song I’m releasing is from years ago but if it wasn’t for my team supporting me and telling me that it’s a hit that just needs to be reworked, it would have never come out. As an artist you kind be an overthinker to some capacity and analyze your work because you’re always going to want to put out the best art possible. It’s one thing to get an audience that likes your music, but once you lost your audience because they don’t like what you’re putting out, then it’s a lot harder getting them back. At the end of the day the music business is just that and like any business, you need to analyze and take your time to make moves, so your business doesn’t go under. Chess not checkers.
You need a sort of business plan that guides you otherwise little distractions will throw you off course. Do you have short or long- term goals that you want to hit?
In five years’ time, I am going to be the most sought out songwriter in the industry. I’m already there, time just hasn’t caught up yet. In terms of short-term goals, I want to put out the best music possible and spread love all while being authentic.
