“One of the first records I considered mine was a Frank Sinatra 45 of “New York New York.” At age 5, I stole it from my parents and wore it out on my Fisher Price record player. I’d belt out my duet with Frank and even had a special red velvet dress I wore for these “performances.”
“Records were always playing on my family’s record player as well: Dusty Springfield, Billie Holiday, Simon and Garfunkel, and a promotional copy of Madonna’s Like a Virgin on white vinyl that my parents’ friend, who worked at Motown Records, gave them.
At 13, my record collection began to expand dramatically. I discovered punk rock and all its post-punk / post-hardcore related genres, independent labels, and mail ordering records. For my 14th birthday my parents gave me an all-in-one stereo with a record player on top that lived in my bedroom.
It began with compilations from K records, TeenBeat, and Kill Rock Stars, and spiraled into a collection of music from bands like Unwound, Tortoise, Superchunk, Sonic Youth, Cap’n Jazz, Low, Palace Brothers, Come, and many more. My parents also noticed my growing obsession with vinyl and gave me records from their collection that they considered essentials like Elvis Presley, Fleetwood Mac, Julie London, Edith Piaf, Bruce Springsteen, and Dolly Parton.
My collection quickly became vast and eclectic. As a teenager it was punk rock that I more obviously identified with. I played in a punk band and spent my weekends at shows of bands I was discovering through friends and indie labels. But an equal part of my heart belonged to the classic part of my collection that my folks set me on the path to. And so in the same day my record player might spin Glen Campbell and Jawbreaker, Fugazi and Harry Nilsson, Slint and The Andrew Sisters, Elliot Smith and The Ronettes, Blonde Redhead and Roy Orbison, Bikini Kill and Rickie Lee Jones.
Not surprisingly, I found myself with a diverse selection of new songs for my upcoming release. I was living in both Northern and Southern California and I was inspired by the change, writing more uptempo songs than usual. I was also constantly missing what I left behind in my back and forth travel and writing darker downtempo songs under that influence. Instead of trying to find my way to the middle, I was encouraged by my producer Daniel Garcia to embrace the extremes as well as my long-lasting love for records. Although Wavefunction may be enjoyed sequentially and digitally, this collection of tracks came to be specifically designed and arranged for vinyl. There are two album covers, each side of the record has a distinct mood, and there’s no particular side where the story begins or ends.
Now of all of my releases, Wavefunction feels the most personal. It mirrors the 2 sides we sometimes find in our one person, the 2 cities that I spend my time in, and the diversity of my influences and my record collection.”
—Arrica Rose
Arrica Rose’s Wavefunction arrives in stores on November 4. Preorder the vinyl edition right here.
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PHOTO: BROOKE NIPAR
