Introducing: Rosie Alena

Rosie Alena’s Everyman EP is a striking meditation on change, loss, and self-discovery. With a newfound maturity in both songwriting and style, the project sees Rosie navigate the pivotal moments that come with letting go—of routines, relationships, and imagined futures.

At the heart of the EP is Babies, a hauntingly intimate single that explores the grief of a life unlived. Written in the wake of a long-term breakup, Rosie captures the painful process of detangling from someone you once saw forever with. Mournful yet cathartic, Babies sits in that loss, embracing its weight while finding solace in moving forward.

Despite its melancholic undercurrent, Everyman radiates a quiet confidence—an acceptance of change, a reclamation of freedom, and a fearless embrace of what’s next. Rosie Alena is stepping into a new era, and this EP proves she’s more assured than ever.

‘Babies’ is a deeply personal and emotional track. Can you tell us more about the moment or experience that inspired you to write it?

‘Babies’ came to me after attempting to painfully unravel myself from a long term romantic relationship. I was still in love with the person I used to be with but I knew in my heart that it wasn’t right for us to be together anymore. We needed to grow and allow ourselves time to blossom and thrive separately. 

It was initially written as a poem on a plane back from a festival that I had been to with my ex-boyfriend. We had already broken up by the time we got to the festival so it was a strange experience - spending time with each other as disconnected lovers. I was beginning to feel the real weight of the separation and was faced with the nauseating reality that nothing would be the same again. Our shared imagined future had completely shattered; the places we’d live together and the babies I thought I’d have.

Your new EP, Everyman, explores themes of loss, change, and personal growth. How has this project challenged or shaped you as an artist?

This EP was written in the space of about a year; running alongside many pivotal moments and shifts that took place in such a short amount of time. In swift succession, my Dad moved to a different country, my very special Papa (grandad) passed away, my sister moved to a different country, I moved out of my family home for the first time, I ended a working relationship with one of my main collaborators and then I broke up with my long term boyfriend of six years and I was single for the first time in my adult life.

The songs just spilled out of me in reaction to the grief, heartbreak and simultaneous liberation I was experiencing. It was definitely a new challenge to write about such personal ordeals, to allow raw emotion to lead the process and not over complicate things. Trying to convey everything I felt in just four short songs went against some of my older long form writing habits but I really enjoy how concise they are; like neat little time capsules.It’s undeniable that this process has shaped me not only as an artist, but as a person. I feel more free in my approach to creating.

Your music blends elements of folk, indie, and jazz, drawing comparisons to artists like Joni Mitchell and Sufjan Stevens. How would you describe your sound in your own words, and what influences shaped this latest release?

For someone who is in love with listening to and making music, I’ve always found it tricky to know what genre something is or even how to categorise my own music. It’s important to me to remain fluid and not be pigeonholed, especially as I am inspired by such a range of different artists and hope my music will span across many genres over the course of my career. 

My debut mini album, Pixelated Images, was an amalgamation of psychedelic folk, jazz, pop, rock and musical theatre; it was also quite dense and orchestral. Everyman is poppier, lighter, in a more obvious alternative/indie space and with elements of folk rock.  The influence of Joni Mitchell and Sufjan Stevens still reign true but I would say more specifically for this latest release, artists like Aldous Harding, Cate Le Bon and Marlon Williams really inspired me.

You've performed at major festivals like Glastonbury and Primavera, as well as toured with artists like Alex Cameron and Katy J Pearson. How have these experiences influenced your live performance and creative process?

Performing across Europe on Alex’s tour, the UK with Katy and at major festivals as well as bookshops and empty rooms has equipped me to make the most of all kinds of venues and stages. The more I play, the feeling to do it straight away again is hard to shake. I actually feel my most present and centred when travelling on tour, and I find writing on tour really enjoyable. It’s hard to separate the live show and my creative process because they need each other to exist. I’m ready to take these new songs away from home with me. Although that can be daunting, it’s exhilarating too.

Plum Cuts has been home to some incredible artists, and you’ve worked closely with producer Oli Barton-Wood. What has that collaboration brought to Everyman, and how does it compare to your past work?

I’ve been lucky to work with Oli on Pixelated Images and Everyman. Oli really understood the weight of this record. The major difference between these projects comes down to how hands on we’ve been with every step of its creation. Pixelated Images had a lot of contributors whereas the team we built around Everyman includes some long-time musical collaborators who are very close friends like Oli - Daniel Rogerson and Casper Miles were essential too as co-producers, players and friends. I’ve had to think in a true DIY way with Everyman, which I think has somehow made me feel less constricted. Every decision along the way, pitching ideas in the studio down to deciding to screenprint the sleeve and design the cover myself has been a kind of freedom that only comes from working with your immediate surroundings.