Diandra Interviews Mi’Chel Rose: The Resilience of Music
Frankly, this year has been horrible. 2020 will go down as the moment when the world felt stopped, and humanity had to reckon with what it loves to most forget: its own fragility. Yet, Mi’ Chel Rose is 100% emblematic of resilience. She is bright, friendly, and warm, despite having a year of chaos that would cripple others. She is Strength incarnate because when life dealt her incredibly cold blows, she, somehow, found the boldness to bring the heat. From disco to marriage and grief, I spoke to Mi’Chel Rose on what makes her want to move despite all the reasons to feel stopped. Seriously! This a great read below!
Diandra: Congrats on the marriage! How does it feel to honeymoon in these pandemic times?
Mi’Chel Rose: It was fun believe it or not. There were no real distractions. We just had a wonderful time at the resort, but the heat here is different from Texas Heat. Here, there is no place where you don’t feel the heat so having a mask could feel difficult sometimes. It has inspired a lot of music, and I am actually working on a podcast. So, I was able to go on the side of the road, look at the view, and do the podcast. At every moment, I have been able to find serenity and do a lot of work.
Mi’chel Rose – LIT (Official Music Video)
Diandra: Any particular themes that you’ve noticed in your new work?
Mi’Chel Rose: Definitely, Zen! All my music is going for a freedom of mind standpoint because that is all we can do right now. There is so much music swinging around in my head, and because people are so desperate to get out and do something the next single, for my upcoming EP, will be “Three, Two, One! Let’s Have Some Fun!” This song is going to be really interesting when people are actually able to go out. People are going to be ready to party. So I am focusing on the energy people will have when that finally happens.
Diandra: I heard you were starting a podcast.
Mi’Chel Rose: When I first started out in the industry, I was a lead singer for quite a few bands. The energy you get from a live audience is so different, and what I have found is that the podcast makes me so vulnerable now. As artists, we really hide behind the music, but, in this pandemic, I really wanted to be vulnerable and I felt I had to be. Just before the pandemic, in January, I lost my mom and my grandmother. So before everyone had to stop and sit, I was already going through this impression that the world had stopped.
I always thought my world would stop after my mother died. She was my biggest cheerleader. Just to have to sit and go through that was a totally different experience than I thought it would be. Starting a podcast, I came from a really internal standpoint. I had so much inside of me that I wanted to get out, and I want it to be inspiring and be open and true.I am proud. The podcast was a stepping stone for me to vocalize my emotions and my mental transitions. I found myself making sure that I journaled and wrote out my gratitude. I do that everyday to start my day.
From January 1, I saw her suffer for two weeks straight. I was going to work and then going to the hospital, and I was journaling to make sure that I had a positive light. I needed to feel grateful for SOMETHING! It gave me so much peace. It helped.
Juneteenth Performance by :Mi’Chel Rose
Diandra You have had a year! You suffered the losses of your mom and grandma and then get married, and it sounds like you are using the podcast to reconcile with all that. And you have gone into the EDM WORLD! A world that is not known for those darker sentiments.
Mi’Chel Rose: Yes! What is so interesting about that is, before I started writing EDM, my main focus was to always make people happy through my music. No Matter What! I wanted people to get on the dance floor, and traversing so many diverse genres before I got into EDM music, it feels like my world. You can’t do anything but have a good time, and that is what I believe life is all about. Having your boundaries and morals, but not limiting yourself to a good time.
Diandra: The EDM World is such a divisive world because some people love its euphoric nature and others do not. How would you describe it as a world.?
Mi’Chel Rose: I believe that if the world turned into a full EDM festival, how could you not let your hair down. In the very beginning, if you don’t allow yourself to embrace it, that is the restriction. Just embrace for the moment, and I want people to learn that as a skill: embrace the moment. If more people did that, we would be living in an EDM world. That is the beauty of it.
When you go to an EDM festival, you will always see someone that looks like you and they are moving. They are not just standing, they are having a sense of something you want; they are into their music and friends. At an EDM festival, there is no standstill. It is a world of its own with non-stop movement. If you are not moving through life, then you are stopping life. That is what it is to me!
Mi’chel Rose “Strawberries & Whip Cream” Official Music Video
Diandra: I mean it is a world KNOWN for the feathers and glitter and nudity. I have seen people wear glitter like its a cover-up. Very body- positive!
Mi’Chel Rose: You know, what is so interesting! Don’t Judge Me! Since, I have been married, my husband has been like, “Put on Some Clothes!” I’m like, “You get married, you get more naked right.” (We die laughing!) It is true. We were in the 8th floor of our resort, and I was like windows opened, living free, and he was like, “They can see up here!” And I was like, “Well, alright!”
Diandra: The EDM world is all about skin and is much about letting it hang in beauty and liberty. And i noticed, that very similarly, you use disco as an inspiration, which promotes the same ideal.
Mi’Chel Rose: I love Motown. I love the Disco Era. It was the most colorful time: the disco ball, the bell-bottoms, the mini-skirts! I love Donna Summer. She is my girl, and I performed a lot of disco hits through the years. You have to change with the time, but you also have to pay homage.
Diandra: I LOVE DONNA SUMMER! It is a nice touch to the EDM sound. It is a unique marriage of sounds that I don’t think most people see work together, but you are tapping into it.
Mi’Chel Rose: That hit my heart. Thank you so much! I hope more people see my music like that!
Diandra: Fave disco song!
Mi’Chel Rose: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
Diandra: So Good! Even today, there have not been enough songs that so beautifully put moving on from a man, and I feel like your music definitely goes into that love confidence. Like you are going to own you! When do you feel you got to that confidence?
Mi’Chel Rose: Oh, Man! Believe it or not, I found myself feeling that way when I was creating “Lit.” To go so boldly into a genre or music that I love, I was like, “Go all in or don’t go at all!” I like to party. I like to drink! I don’t care what nobody else thinks because I am going to be lit. My producer at the time said, “This is going to be a hit!” I was like this is good and exactly what I want. If you hear that song in the club you are going to be dancing and looking for a drink and not thinking about what other think of you. I want people who have never heard an EDM song to find themselves in a liberal state and give into a moment of being LIT!
