In the wake of releasing her new EP, I Know What I Want, the singer-songwriter discusses collaborating with Sam Evian, experiencing heartache in a new place and the platonic-versus-romantic debate revolving around her hit single, “We Hug Now.”
You might know Sydney Rose from the way by which her music underscores the current internet’s most sinister, heartbreaking edits. But for Rose herself, the power of her music is fully realized when stripped back to her lyrics and sound alone. In the past, this has taken the form of sharing acoustic covers off of her 2023 debut album One Sided or the demos pulled directly from recordings on her phone on her 2024 EP, voice notes. On her newest project, the EP I Know What I Want, Rose retreated to the Catskills to record with artist and producer Sam Evian. Their collaboration brings forward a soft and somber production style that only builds on the sincerity of her work.
I Know What I Want is largely inspired by Rose’s adolescence and eventual experience moving from Georgia to Nashville to pursue her music. It pulls from the contours of many different kinds of heartbreak — from losing a fledgling relationship in “Thank You for Trying” and longing for childhood and family in “5 More Minutes,” to the broken aftermath of a formative friendship on the now-viral single “We Hug Now.” Her sound is reminiscent of the clarion notes of Phoebe Bridgers and for listeners who love the hazy lyrical nostalgia of artists like Big Thief. Most pertinently, however, Rose’s new EP is for individuals who will be inclined to listen and recall. Her songs evoke feelings of remembrance with painful specificity while also welcoming the possibility for personal interpretation — listeners can reminisce and fill her songs with meaning all their own.
Rose spoke to the Knockturnal about her experiences with virality, seeking to tell stories through production and her hopes for her upcoming global tour.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
The Knockturnal: What was your experience like in recording this EP with Sam Evian, and what is your favorite thing about being able to experiment with different intricacies of production style?
Sydney Rose: It was so fun to work with him because I had never done something like that, where I went to stay at someone’s house in the middle of nowhere to record music. All I really knew was doing sessions here in Nashville and in New York. I really wanted to do something different and try it out and see if it even works, see if I even like it. Being there was just so refreshing. It felt like there was no pressure. I stayed in Sam’s house with him and his partner, and, like, we watched “Severance” together. We ate meals together, and we took walks. And then we would be like, “Okay, you feel up for recording?” Every single song that we did was just one take, and it was just calm and collected. It was simple and stripped down like I really wanted it to be. It just felt so nice being there with Sam. I felt like he brought out the best of me with my singing. And I recommend it to anyone, truly. The EP wouldn’t be the same without Sam at all.
The Knockturnal: It seems to serve as a contrast from your fall 2024 EP, voice notes. And you’ve also released acoustic covers of “We Hug Now” and of “5 More Minutes.” What do you enjoy most about exploring your songs from a more stripped-back perspective?
Rose: The reason why I wanted to do it was because when I first started doing music when I was like 16, the only thing I did was record a voice memo on my phone and then release it. I loved how simple it was and how my voice sounded. It just made me the happiest. Then I started doing more produced stuff, a couple of things with other people. And I really did love it, but I wanted to really go back to my roots and see how it felt doing what I wanted to do. For me, it has worked out, and it’s felt like the best and the most comfortable that I’ve ever sounded.
The Knockturnal: Since you’re exploring memories or telling stories across this EP with different degrees of distance from who you are now at 22, from a songwriting perspective, does your creative process change when seeking inspiration from memories that are still fresh, as compared to when you’re reminiscing on times that you have had the chance to reflect on?
Rose: When I was done with my album [2023’s One Sided], I started writing music not really thinking about what I wanted to write — just about what I was feeling at the time. And then when it came time for me to make this EP, it all just made sense that everything that I was feeling was the fact that I moved to Nashville, and all I wanted to do was be a kid again, go back home and not really be here. I came here to do music, and that’s what I want to do. The whole point of the EP is, like, “I know what I want, I know what I want to do.” But again, it’s really difficult because I’m growing up. I don’t really want to grow up. I want to be a kid again.
The Knockturnal: “Dogs I Pass On The Street” especially seems to really connect to that idea of missing family and home. What was your writing process behind that song in particular?
Rose: I wrote that song with Hannah Cole, and it was the week I was moving into [my current house in Nashville] in October of 2023. It was the first time I was moving anywhere away from my parents and all that I’ve ever known. And before she came over, I came up with the first verse, the part where I’m crying about dogs. I would love to be a dog. They don’t know that they’re not with their mothers. And we kind of just wrote the rest of the song with the sense that I came here to do music, and that’s what I want to do, and that the phone lines are going to get really, really long, and not going to see my family that much anymore. It’s all gonna suck a little bit, but “I know what I want.” Writing that song and its timing are so cool to me, and the fact that [the lyrics] are the title of the EP resonates with everything that’s happening to me now and what happened a year and a half ago.
The Knockturnal: The attention on “We Hug Now” isn’t your first experience with virality — your cover of Sleeping At Last’s “Turning page” found traction back in 2022. Is there anything that feels different this time around as new fans begin to engage with and discover your previous work, especially because this time around, that attention is for an original song?
Rose: Yes, I think that’s how it feels different. It’s that I made the song. It’s like the “Sydney Rose genre,” and it’s getting people to also listen to my other stuff. It has felt very overwhelming, but I just feel very happy that people can relate to the song. That’s kind of the reason why I make music. And so it’s been very cool, a little bit stressful.
The Knockturnal: Most recently, you released the music video for “We Hug Now.” What was your experience recording that video, and how do you hope that it brings another dimension to the song?
Rose: It’s exactly how I feel when I hear the song. [I was with] my friend Sophia — who is literally in the music video — and we sat in my bed, and just wrote out how I would want the music video to go and [the team] kind of took it and ran with it. It’s like my Pinterest board came to life. Everything that I wrote down came to life. I’m so happy with the way it came out, because it’s exactly how I felt when I wrote the song and how I feel when I listened to the song. I finally got to do my moment where I look out the window longingly while listening to a really sad song. And the fact that people are like, “Oh my God, it’s a friendship breakup song,” even though it’s kind of maybe a little bit obvious, it’s just nice for people to be like, “Oh my God, it’s confirmed.”
The Knockturnal: Has the blowup of “We Hug Now” and your EP as a result impacted your goals or priorities as an artist, or changed the way you see your craft?
Rose: Not really. I mean, it felt like such a blessing. The day the song was released, I went to the Catskills and I recorded the EP. A lot of stuff was happening on my phone, but I really just put it away and tried not to listen to any of it while it was all going on. I made the EP, like, as me, as I could do it. I was scared that the EP maybe was too [much more] stripped down than “We Hug Now,” but I really didn’t feel any pressure to change anything, because I had no idea that “We Hug Now” would blow up, and I made the song out of my experience. We produced it in the way that I wanted it produced. And that’s just how all of my other music is gonna go, you know? So I feel very confident in the new stuff that I will be making, and maybe I will crash out soon about it all, but I feel very confident that I’m gonna keep making music that feels like me.
The Knockturnal: You’ll be leaving for the summer on tour across the US and abroad. What are you most looking forward to about traveling and sharing these new songs live?
Rose: I’m so excited — I’ve never been to Europe. I’m just excited to sing to people, and for people to sing to me back. Growing up, going to shows has been my favorite thing, and I completely know what it feels like to be in a room with your favorite artist singing the songs live, and having a whole community come together and just sing songs. I feel like it’s just the coolest thing ever, and to be able to host a show and do that with my own music is crazy, but I’m so very excited to be that kind of person for people. I really hope it’s all fun and I don’t freak out, but I think it’ll be really great.
Photo Courtesy: Universal Music Group
