Introducing:ROOUE

Above: Picture by Katie Boner

Rising twin-sister duo ROOUE is back with their most fearless release yet, “Would I?”—a high-energy electro-pop anthem tackling female rage, toxic masculinity, and societal expectations. With their signature blend of infectious beats and unapologetic lyricism, Lulu and Ro O’Connor create a world where suppressed anger transforms into an empowering, rebellious soundtrack.

“This song imagines an alternate universe where we finally act on our intrusive thoughts and anger,” the duo shares. “We had so much fun letting go and exploring what it feels like to stop being painfully polite.”

After a breakthrough year that saw their debut EP Juxtaposition garner over 5 million Irish radio impacts and chart success with “So Bad”, ROOUE is ready to take their bold sound global. “Would I?” is out now—stream it everywhere and let the fire within ignite.

1. "‘Would I?’ addresses themes like female rage and the impact of toxic masculinity. Can you share what inspired you to tackle these themes in such a bold and honest way?"

We are sickly polite people in day to day life and feel that women in the working world have to be perfect and have to manage their emotions because we can be titled over emotional and bossy. We had such fun writing this song, we listed silly things we would do if we were to give into our anger. 

2. "Your music combines gritty electronic production with raw, fearless lyrics. How do you balance these intense themes with the playful, almost cathartic approach you mentioned in writing 'would I?'

We are super positive people in day to day life but lyrically try to focus on things we are struggling with. We use songwriting as an outlet but still keep our day to day sense of fun and positivity in our music. 

3. "Growing up with a jazz-loving father and a mother who is a music psychotherapist, how did this musical environment shape the sounds and messages you bring into ROOUE’s work?"

For us every childhood memory was surrounded by music. Every occasion was soundtracked by an eclectic mix of music. We feel that this has fueled our musicianship and relationship with music and the power it can have on people. We believe that having positive messages and vulnerability in music is essential to being our authentic selves. 

4. "You’ve been named as 'Ones to Watch' and have had significant success on the charts and radio in Ireland. How has the positive reception of your music influenced your creative direction, especially in tracks like 'would I?'

Releasing music is such an interesting process. Putting every emotion and vulnerable moments we feel into a song for everyone to hear and judge can be really hard. We have had to separate it into two, when the song is in the creation process it is ours and no ones opinion can be put into the mix but when it is out its no longer ours and almost have to let it go. We try to write what feels good regardless of what people may think. It feels amazing to know that people have enjoyed some of the tracks we have released, it's such a cool process. 

5. "Your music has been described as both ‘gritty’ and ‘glistening.’ How do you go about crafting this unique sound, and what role do each of you play in the songwriting and production process?"

Every song is different for us. We feel that after so many years of songwriting we have found a genre that comes easy to us and just organically happens. When it comes to songwriting we always write together. We kind of yin and yang if that makes sense? Some lyrical concepts can come from one of our life experiences at the time and openly talk about how that made us feel and how to put that into song.