Rosi Golan found tremendous success early on in her career. Her first two albums, 2008’s The Drifter and the Gypsy and 2011’s Lead Balloon (featuring a special appearance by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol), and her 2013 EP, Fortuna, were widely tapped for television shows and films, among them, One Tree Hill, Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy, Nashville, Vampire Diaries, Ghost Whisperer, Dear John, and Drop Dead Divas. Her song “Can’t Go Back” was covered by Little Big Town for their platinum-selling album Tornado, while Eurovision winner Lena recorded Rosi’s song “Bee” for her platinum album My Cassette Player.
Her success doesn’t stop there. Rosi garnered a nomination for the prestigious Ivor Novello award for co-writing the song “Let Me Out” (Ben’s Brother), has won numerous kudos from such prestigious publications as Interview, Paste, Us Weekly, and Marie Claire, received an Indie Spotlight Artist feature on iTunes, and even found her music used in a popular worldwide ad campaign for Pantene. Those triumphs led to performances at Madison Square Garden and “Live on Letterman” alongside Snow Patrol, and an extensive series of tours in the United States and abroad with the likes of William Fitzsimmons, Todd Snider, Mindy Smith, Greg Laswell, Joshua Radin, and Carina Round, among others.
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Rosi Golan about her newest release, influences, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and streams can be found below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am originally from Israel. My style has kind of shifter over the years from singer/songwriter to more in the direction of pop.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I have always loved writing and eventually found my way into singing. Once I put two and two together, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
I would say more than anything the soundscape has changed. And the way I recorded this was different from any other experience I have had making music. I did specifically set out to change the tone with this record. I changed, I felt the music needed to reflect that.
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
I think we all face challenges these days in the digital world. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of releases that happen every week and the amount of content constantly coming out. On the other hand, you can also discover so much more music this way as well. It’s a double edged sword.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
I have a website, I’m on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon….. The list goes on haha
Anything else before we sign off?
Check out my new record, Collecting Bullets. ? xx
