A Quick Chat with Tya Rose

The Other Side feels like a new direction for you. What inspired you to write a song about the otherworldly feeling of falling in love?

I suppose you can never really time or force these things. The songwriting happened pretty naturally and rather quickly one afternoon while I was in the midst of navigating the trope of wanting someone I couldn't have.

The lyrics pretty much fell out of the pen onto the paper I was using. For me, writing tends to happen when I'm dealing with a situation that I don't know what to do about, so I just write. It's always a really cathartic experience for me, and it's my only real safe space where I can express everything honestly and unabashedly.

You produced and recorded the track in your bedroom. What was the most rewarding part of creating the song yourself?

Making music tends to happen for me when I have something to say and I don't know how to say it. Creating something tangible to express how I feel is always the silver lining to any anguish I deal with, and it's not only the most rewarding part of the process but also the one that keeps me sane.

The production went through several versions before you were happy with it. What was the breakthrough moment that made everything click?

I think it came about when I added the guitar riff to the track. Once that happened, the track really started to come together. It really brought an element that cuts through the twinkling keys and gave the track a bit of grit and rawness that brought it to the next level.

The accompanying visuals were shot in a graveyard in Newtown with a strong supernatural aesthetic. How do those visuals connect to the song's themes?

My love for the occult is something that I want to showcase in my work. The cemetery itself was a beautiful location, really rich in history, and the architecture of some of the headstones was absolutely stunning. It felt really fitting for the shoot to interact with the setting as it stood instead of using props or adding any other frills. I guess it was just the most obvious place to capture the essence of what the track is and how it stands to be.

You cite artists like Empara Mi, LEXXE and PVRIS as influences. What elements of their work have had the biggest impact on your music?

These artists do such an amazing job of working a degree of darkness and mysticism into their work—visually, lyrically and sonically. Once again, I feel very tied to the occult and want to showcase my devotion to all things unexplainable and magical in my work.

The Other Side is designed to be more upbeat and danceable than some of your previous releases. How do you hope listeners respond when they hear it?

I just want people to have fun with it. It's a billet doux that people can dance and sing to, and I hope the listeners love it just as much as I loved making it.