Meet the Rosellas - Manchester's emerging stars

Manchester's music scene will forever be iconic, filled with bands that will carve their place in the city's history books, from Joy Division to Oasis. All the way through to this very day, excellence surrounds the city's name. Could The Rosellas be the band to follow in the footsteps of these greats? An emerging Mancunian talent striking through, possessing a relentless spark that holds no limits on the potential for this group. We recently had the opportunity to speak to Rosellas guitarist Euan to discuss the ins and outs of the band, including future plans and live performances.

Q - What band would you love to open for in the future?

Euan - I'd love to support Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band. He's someone who I really look up to as a songwriter, and I recently saw him at Gorilla in Manchester, and he and the band blew me away. Another one would be The War on Drugs. They're unbelievable live, and I think our sound would complement theirs to some degree. We definitely take inspiration from their atmospherics, so it would be unreal to support them.

Q - What artists did you love when you were younger? Did any family members' music taste shape/influence you?

Euan - The first band that really got me into music was Oasis. I remember hearing Live Forever, and it was like a proper lightbulb moment. I still love them now, and they've shaped a lot of what we try and do (as I'm sure they have with every other band since). I think my dad was a big influence on me, subconsciously. He used to play a lot of 80s stuff; he was a big Echo & The Bunnymen fan, as well as a lot of The Smiths and The Pale Fountains. I don't think I really understood it properly then, but now I'm glad he used to play that stuff, because I hear a lot of those bands in my own writing.

Q - What would be your dream venue to play?

Euan - It's always been our ambition to play the M.E.N. (or the AO Arena, whatever it's called now). That would be a real "we've made it" moment. Coming from Manchester, it's always carried that extra weight, and it would be very special to play there. I remember going to see Noel Gallagher play there when I was 16, and it really made me realise music was what I wanted to do.

Q- If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?

Euan - There's a lot to pick from! I don't like how people create an opinion on you based solely off Spotify numbers and TikTok followers. It seems less people are now bothered about the music you're making and more bothered about how you're doing on social media. Musicians are expected to be content creators now, and it's not an easy job. I think less emphasis is placed on musicianship and songwriting ability and more on this kind of thing.

I also think festivals should make more of an effort to promote upcoming bands instead of wheeling out the old timers for the headline slots.

Q - Do you ever change song lyrics during live performances?

Euan - Yeah, all the time. We love using extended intros / outros to our tunes, as well as blending songs together. It makes it more interesting for us and the audience. We did a full band intimate acoustic show at Whiskey Jar in Manchester a couple of years ago, where we completely reworked loads of our songs, and that was a lot of fun. We're trying to bring that set out as an album at some point, so that's one to keep an eye on.

Q - What is your favourite song to perform?

Euan - We used to do a cover of True Faith by New Order, which I used to love playing. We played it on one of our tours, and it always went off! Of ours, I always like playing Born Under A Cloud. It's the song that's been a constant in our set since we wrote it 4 years ago, and it always gets a good reaction from the crowd.

Q - Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration?

Euan - Comes from anywhere really. It's corny to say, but when you're a songwriter, you're constantly looking and listening for inspiration. Me and Drew tend to write mostly from personal experience; it comes a lot more naturally to us. One thing I used to do a lot was mindlessly noodle on my guitar in front of the TV, turn the volume down, and put the subtitles on, and just sing what they say! Most of the time it's rubbish but I've stumbled across some good lines doing that.

Q - What do you believe sets you apart from other bands?

Euan - I'd say our live shows. We've gigged relentlessly since lockdown restrictions were lifted, playing every small venue up and down the country, and it's showing in how accomplished we are becoming live. I've not seen many other bands clocking up the same mileage as we have. We also take the sound of our shows very seriously. We're trying to create a 'show' for people who come to see us, not just a setlist of songs. We like the songs to flow into each other; we create atmospherics, and for big shows, we have visuals as well. It's all about creating an experience for us that lifts it beyond your average gig.

Q - What are your plans for the future with music? Can we expect any new releases soon?

Euan - That's the idea. We're in the process of writing an EP, which we hope to record next month (July) and have the first single out by our headline show at Manchester Academy 2 in November. We're also trying to release a live version of our latest single, Is It Any Wonder?, from a show at the 02 Apollo we played back in February, which has the show Duddell Orchestra playing on, which sounds massive. We'll hopefully get that out over the next couple of months.

Q - Final question away from the music is Manchester blue or red?

Euan - I'm a big Hull City fan, so I don't like either. Drew and Luis are both United fans, and Ollie's a blue. We once watched a derby together in our rehearsal room, which was tense.

The boys are playing a monumental hometown headline show at Manchester's Academy 2, on the 24th of November later this year. Tickets to the band's biggest headline gig to date can be purchased here: https://www.rosellasband.com/.