Pop to Heal Hearts: Aro Rose
My fav break-up song for the longest time has been Lorde’s ‘Hard Feelings’… until last week. Last week, I was bumping random songs on Spotify… I guess you could call it, “looking for a safe painkiller”… when I found this track, ‘Damaged’, by artist Aro Rose. What really had me shook was how the number captured my emotional space so perfectly, from the pensive violin and wistful piano interwoven in the opening, all the way to lines like, “Nothing good ever lasts… So I have to leave you in the past…”
Well, so I put the artist’s entire list of songs on a playlist, which quickly climbed to the top of my favorites list as I listened. ‘Ghost of You’, whose upbeat trumpet notes should have been at odds with the anguished lyrics, but instead melded strangely to evoke the sense of Christmas with no presents… ‘R.I.P.’ with its powerful salute to a dead relationship, evocative of James Blunt’s ‘Goodbye My Lover’… ‘Trapped in My Head’ which captures the frustration of being stuck in a place in your mind, reminding me of the feel of the 1978 classic ‘There’s No Way Out of Here’… the vulnerability and fragile reach for self-expression of ‘Tarrant’… ‘Falling Apart’ that spoke of the hidden pain of a dysfunctional love… every track had something I could relate to, something that resonated deeply with me.
Wanting to know more about the musician behind the music, I got in touch with Aro Rose on Instagram. As I learned more about the artist, I came to appreciate why I (and countless other listeners) could connect so deeply to her music… here I’m sharing some snippets from our chat that paint a clear picture.
Aro Rose, as she shared with me, has been passionate about music from an early age, playing the piano as a child. To this day, every song she has composed has been created on the piano. What’s more, her songs reflect her lived experience, rather than simply mirroring trends or latching onto fads… and this is exactly why Aro Rose’s audience on Spotify has grown by leaps and bounds since her first single released in 2021.
Asked about her creative inspiration, Aro’s answer is surprisingly unconventional: Rather than being pigeonholed by taking specific artists to be her role models, Aro declares that she draws inspiration from any and all artists whose particular works elicit her admiration. This also explains why her music has a varied and eclectic sound. With her avowed mission being to reach out and make a difference to people’s lives, Aro uses her expressive voice and emotional background scores to make an impact through her music.
About the future of her music, Aro Rose is clear about one thing: She is intent on her goal of reaching out, and plans to continue releasing music that has deeper meaning for her audience, rather than aiming for the more selfish goal of building visibility through momentary engagement or superficial entertainment. Given my first-hand experience with the deeper connection that her music inspires, I know that her growing fanbase is eagerly looking forward to more of her music that touches the soul. Keep the flow going, Aro Rose, we hear you.
