Rowan Drake Uncovers the Vulnerable Truths of Love in His Latest Singles “Heartbeat” and “Part of You”
Photo by Chase Denton
New York born, LA based singer-songwriter Rowan Drake is emotionally transparent in his latest singles “Heartbeat” and “Part of You.” Influenced by the intense feelings of a deeply loving relationship from his hometown, the songs discuss the range of feelings that transpire in the wake of heartbreak and sacrifice. He first released “Part of You” on April 14th, a song that touches on the harsher realities of love that are imbued with jealousy and insecurity. Rowan remarks that while these feelings may feel cruel, it is important to discuss them as they are a part of the obstacles within a relationship. “Heartbeat,” released on May 12th, implores the unspoken truths told by our bodies, or in this case, our hearts. Rowan dials down to the detail of how our hearts race or are calm in different, exciting moments. Partnered with the release of “Heartbeat,” Rowan also announced his debut 9-track EP that will be out on June 9th. In a conversation with Unpublished Magazine, Rowan dove into these new singles, future touring, and his upcoming EP.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into music?
[ROWAN]: I'm Rowan. I'm a 19 year old from upstate New York living in Los Angeles. And it's been a long road, I guess. Honestly, music has always just been a massive part of my life, I kind of grew up in a very musical household. My parents weren't musicians, but just big lovers of music and really just surrounded me as a child with instruments and access to music. So, kind of switching from listening to music to creating music was never really a question. And it just felt very natural. But music has always been in my life through a lot of different time periods. It's kind of one of the most consistent things and it wasn't until a few years ago that I really started to kind of take it seriously. I met my best friend and one of my main collaborators in our scene our sophomore year of high school and we just started kind of creating music together and skipping class. After we graduated high school, we moved out to Los Angeles. It's been hectic, I think it's been a transition for me from when I first started creating music, it was just because I loved creating music. And now it's almost a bit more out of necessity because life is challenging and music is a really good way for me to pour myself out there and just free up my emotions and my brain a little bit.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How has it been moving to LA from Upstate New York? Have you made any favorite spots?
[ROWAN]: Honestly, I'm very much more of a New York soul. I think I've struggled out here a lot in just finding a community and figuring out the flow of this place. I think where I grew up, it's a small town full of waterfalls and streams. It's just a beautiful place where nobody tries to be anything. They're just very much themselves and coming out here was a big change because we're all very much doing the same things every day. And that's been really challenging for me. But I will say, there's some beautiful spots out here. So I regularly try to escape to the ocean, just to some secluded beach. I drive up to Santa Barbara a lot and I go hiking in the woods up there. So, I will say California has some amazing things. But, I'm not the biggest fan of living here.
[UNPUBLISHED]: For someone who is unfamiliar with your music, how would you describe your sound?
[ROWAN]: I'm a very firm believer that everyone who listens to music kind of hears completely different things and takes things completely different. I would say for now I make alternative pop, sometimes folk pop. And I would just say it's a collection of guitars and pianos and strange sounds and me trying to just say exactly how I feel in the best way.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You just released a song on April 14th called “Part of You.” How does it feel to have it out? How have people reacted to it?
[ROWAN]: It feels really good to have it out. It's the sad truth that I feel a lot of musicians feel that by the time a song comes out into the world, we're already so on to the next thing just because there's a lot behind the scenes from creating a song to releasing it into the world. But, that song, it's hard. When I wrote it, I was just in not a very good moment, I was just feeling very insecure and jealous. A lot of the things I said in that song are very specific to the feelings I had in that moment. So, sometimes I listen back on that song and it just feels very cruel to me. I love the person I'm talking about and sometimes when I listen to that song, it's just the opposite of love to me. So, that's been difficult. But I will say that for everybody who's in those moments where that song kind of was created from, I do think it will help you through those moments. So, I'm a little mixed emotions on that one.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Did making that song feel cathartic in a way?
[ROWAN]: Yeah, it definitely was. It's just challenging because it's a song on my debut EP, which is very exciting. But the EP, I made for me and for this girl who all the songs are about named Ella. So the reason I created it was kind of because I just wanted to create a time capsule piece that she can look back on. All the songs are quite intense but I still just wanted her to see how much I cared and how much I really was just trying to embody all of the love into something. So "Part of You" is challenging just because it feels like the one song that's the most just cruel, I think is the best word for it. And I just hope that it doesn't make a little bit of a stain on the project. Because it does talk about part of a relationship and the end of a relationship that we tend to skip over and not really talk to people about. But I don't know, I guess if I felt it then it's honest and it might as well be said. But, it is challenging.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You have a song coming out called “Heartbeat.” I absolutely loved listening to it – can you share with us some of your inspiration and creative process for this song?
[ROWAN]: It was probably the last song to be made on the project. I didn't even necessarily know if it was going to be on the project. But, it was a more recent one. I went back home and was spending a lot of time with this girl and it was just like a really small moment, but, it stuck with me. I was flying back to LA and I was about to say goodbye to her. I don't know what it was but when I was holding her, about to leave, I just noticed that her heart was very slow. It was calm. And I felt like in that moment, and memory can sometimes serve us incorrectly, but I always felt like it had maybe raced a little bit more when in moments like that. And you know, there's that feeling of young love where you embrace somebody for the first time in all these special moments. If you tune into it, you can actively feel the other person's heart just racing, like they're so nervous and excited and there's all these emotions. It was sad to me, it was like a little pit drop in my stomach when I realized that excitement had gone away. So this song was kind of an exaggeration of what that feeling was because I think sometimes the body or the heartbeat will tell the truth a little bit more than we tend to sometimes with our own words.
[UNPUBLISHED]: A lot of songs in your discography have a vulnerable component to them. Is it ever hard to be vulnerable in your songwriting or is it something that comes naturally to you?
[ROWAN]: Well, with this project and all of the songs I've made in the past year and a half, it's been quite easy, because I'm making them for this person. All I want is for myself to be able to communicate with this girl Ella, exactly how I'm feeling. And I honestly am not really thinking about anybody else picking up on those things. So, I'm just trying to ask myself in my head, how do I say this in a way that she will feel every word and understand all the emotions behind this? So, in that sense, it's been quite easy, because I feel like as long as I'm being honest with her then it kind of translates as a sub product.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What can fans expect from your upcoming EP?
[ROWAN]: I think what really helped me finish this EP and be a bit more decisive with the songs and the name was when I realized that I'm just creating it for Ella. And so I would say, I do hope anybody who finds it, utilizes it and has comfort and safety in it. But, at the same time, I made it for her and that's the only person with this specific project that I really want to hear it and feel something with it. But, I do think that we all have more similar experiences than we imagined. So, I do think some people are going to find some safety in it and I'm excited for that. I would hope that people, even if they went through a very tough experience with a loved one, with a partner, I would hope that they realize there's a lot of beauty there and that's just because you cared about that person. It's not always healthy and it's not always good. But, that doesn't disqualify the love in any way. So, I just hope they kind of go into it understanding that I care a lot about this person and the songs are just trying to show some of the more intense emotions towards the end.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve been putting music out for some years now, what is something you would have told yourself when you first started putting out music?
[ROWAN]: It's definitely a more personal thing and maybe it can apply to people. But, I sacrificed a lot when I first started making music. I sacrificed a lot to get to this point, a lot of relationships, especially the one with this girl and I don't know if I would have done it in the same way. I would just say to myself, that it's amazing what you're doing and it's amazing to dream. But, don't hurt other people in the process. I am sad to say that I did hurt someone who I cared a lot about in the process of getting to here. So, I would just tell that person to tell myself then to just be more light with everything and just love the people around you while you're doing it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: For people who want to experience your music live, do you plan on touring or performing in the future?
[ROWAN]: So, I'm going to do a few small shows this summer. But, I would say that starting in the fall and just for the foreseeable future, I will be starting that whole circuit. So, I would say people can start to look out for things like that starting in the fall and just until the end of time.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What have you been listening to? What’s been inspiring you?
[ROWAN]: I would say lately it's been artists like Jeff Buckley and his album Grace, Bon Iver and all of his earlier bodies of work. Mazzy Star, Radiohead specifically, The Bends and OK Computer. There's an artist Nick Drake who has an album called Pink Moon. Those are just a few off the top of the head.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are you most excited about for the future?
[ROWAN]: I'm most excited to rediscover myself. I've been a little bit lost lately and I think I'm just excited to rediscover myself.
