I like to let each album be its own thing, but at the same time, I want them to feel like they belong together in a certain way. It’s a balancing act, I think, between evolution and continuity. I want each record to feel like a new chapter, but also like a continuation of the story that’s been building. I like to think of it as evolving the sound rather than just changing it completely.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of creating Rose Main Reading Room for you personally?
I think the most rewarding part has been the response we’ve gotten so far. People seem to really like the record, and I feel like we accomplished what we set out to do with it. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking when you release new music and put it out into the world, so it’s really nice to see that people are connecting with it and enjoying it. It’s also been really fun to play these new songs live and see how they translate in a live setting. Overall, I’m just really proud of the album and happy with how it turned out.
Looking ahead, what are your hopes and plans for Peel Dream Magazine in the future?
Well, we’re going to keep touring and playing shows as much as we can. We’re also already starting to think about the next record and what direction we want to go in next. I think we’re going to continue exploring new sounds and pushing ourselves to try new things. I’m excited to see where the music takes us next and to continue evolving as a band.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us, Joseph. We’re looking forward to seeing where Peel Dream Magazine goes next!
” Having Olivia and the other collaborators on this record really helped to break up that monotony. Their voices and their playing added different textures and colors that I couldn’t have achieved on my own. Olivia’s voice in particular added a whole new dimension to the songs she sang on. It was like adding a new layer of paint to a canvas that was already pretty full. It made the songs feel more dynamic and alive.
In terms of aesthetic, having different musicians with different styles and backgrounds brought in new ideas and influences that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. It helped to push the sound of the record in new directions and kept things interesting for me as a songwriter and producer. It was a really collaborative process, and I think the record is stronger because of it.
Overall, I think having collaborators on Rose Main Reading Room really helped to shape the record into something more than I could have imagined on my own. Their presence added depth, complexity, and diversity to the songs, and I’m really grateful for their contributions. What inspired you to explore those themes, and how did you approach translating those ideas into the music itself?
I think that what happened was, in the second half of the record, I started to feel like I needed to expand the scope a bit. I wanted to delve into bigger themes and ideas. ‘Lie in the Gutter’ was definitely the first one where I started to do that. It’s funny because, in my mind, that song is about a guy who’s just being lazy and not doing anything, but I wrote it in such a way that it could be about whatever you wanted it to be about. In the lyrics, I talk about looking at the stars and seeing everything, and it’s just kind of this cosmic moment. It’s like, “Oh, well, maybe he’s been lying in the gutter all along because he’s been looking at the stars and contemplating the universe.”
So, as I was writing the second half of the record, I started to think about how to expand the themes. I wanted to explore bigger ideas and see if I could make it all feel connected. I think it’s cool when you can have a record that starts in one place and ends in another and feels like a journey. I wanted to try to do that, and I think that’s where a lot of those cosmic and existential themes came from.
It’s interesting how you were able to take those personal memories and experiences and weave them into these larger, more universal themes.
Yeah, I think that’s the beauty of music – you can take something really personal and make it feel universal. I mean, at the end of the day, we’re all human, and we all have our own experiences and emotions. So, even though the songs on this record are very personal to me, I think that people can still find something in them that resonates with their own lives. I think that’s one of the amazing things about music – it can bring people together and make them feel connected, even if they’re coming from completely different places.
With all these different elements and influences coming together on the record, what do you hope listeners take away from it?
I think that, more than anything, I just hope that people enjoy the music. I put a lot of time and effort into this record, and I really poured my heart and soul into it. So, if people can listen to it and connect with it in some way, whether that’s through the lyrics, the melodies, or just the overall vibe of the music, then I’ll be really happy. I think that music has the power to bring people together and make them feel something, and if this record can do that for even just one person, then I’ll consider it a success.
Ultimately, I hope that listeners can take something positive away from this record, whether that’s a feeling of nostalgia, a sense of connection, or just a moment of pure enjoyment. I think that music is such a powerful medium, and I feel really lucky to be able to share my music with the world. I hope that people can listen to this record and find something in it that speaks to them and makes them feel something special.
Esa es una buena pregunta. Definitivamente luché mucho con la secuencia de las canciones y probé todo tipo de cosas. En un momento, incluso intentamos tener “Lie in the Gutter” como la primera canción. La respuesta breve es que esas canciones no están ahí porque necesitaban estar, como un determinado ambiente o perspectiva. Y no sé si hay necesariamente un mensaje completo en el que el disco se apoya con esas últimas tres canciones, aunque me gusta la secuencia y cómo se vuelve más optimista y existencial hacia el final. “Counting Sheep” siempre me ha parecido una especie de canción de cuna, yendo a dormir, todo está bien, una canción reconfortante. Así que quería que fuera la última pista. Pero más allá de eso, no estoy realmente seguro. Es gracioso, en un momento realmente no me gustó cómo salió la canción “Lie in the Gutter”, e incluso no quería que estuviera en el álbum. Creo que por eso la coloqué al final en la secuencia, porque no quería que la gente la escuchara o algo así.
Pero se convirtió en el primer sencillo.
Sí, al final la discográfica dijo que querían que fuera el primer sencillo. Y yo estaba como, “¡Maldita sea!” Pero creo que es un momento muy agradable como limpiador de paladar en donde ocurre en el disco. Literalmente fue como hacer trueque; todos los días estaba consultando a diferentes personas sobre cuál debería ser la secuencia del álbum. No estaba seguro de si las 15 canciones podían convivir juntas bajo un mismo techo, pero cada vez que intentaba quitar algo o cambiarlo, parecía que faltaba algo.
Me gusta ese término, “alivio cósmico”, que utilizas en “Lie in the Gutter”, y siento que es parte de lo que hace que todo lo que sigue se vea bajo esta luz reveladora y positiva. Incluso si no fue intencional, ¿sientes que es una perspectiva que intentaste mantener en general?
Sí, creo que sí. Creo que soy algo romántico y optimista por naturaleza. También soy pesimista, también; hay cosas como “Running in Place” y “Machine Repeating”, que están más en el extremo opuesto del espectro. Todo es auténtico a mi personalidad. Pero al final del día, una vez que he procesado algo y he estado molesto por algo, generalmente quiero seguir adelante, seguir con mi vida y encontrar la felicidad. Definitivamente así es como quería que se sintiera el final.
Esta entrevista ha sido editada y condensada para mayor claridad y longitud.
El Rose Main Reading Room de Peel Dream Magazine ya está disponible a través de Topshelf Records.