Q&A: Quelle Rox + "Space Parade"
☆ By ASTRID ORTEGA ☆
VELVET AND SILK FILLS HER VOICE- The latinx Brooklyn-based artist, Quelle Rox, combines her mesmerizing vocals, relatable lyrics and hazy dreamlike beats to take you to her dream world with her bedroom pop melodies.
Quelle Rox’s music is special as she creates warmth within her songs that capture her personality like her latest single, “Space Parade,” her first track in both Spanish and English. She takes pride in her culture and doesn’t hold back to share that piece of her with her audience and her music.
Quelle Rox is a fresh sound in own genre, her unique sound has led her to have a supportive and loyal audience. We only expect her to get even more praise with new music she’ll be creating. But for now, listen to “Space Parade” and read below to hear what Quelle Rox has to say about her music, being an artist and more.
LUNA: Congrats on your latest release “Space Parade”! This is your first track in both Spanish & English - what inspired you to tap into your native tongue?
QUELLE ROX: Thank you so much! I’m a very proud Latina, I come from an amazing Puerto Rican / Cuban family. My culture is a huge part of who I am. When I was younger I used to wear these big gold hoops that said Puerto Rico on them haha (need to cop me some new ones). It was a way to wear my culture proudly. By creating a bilingual track, it allows me to wear my culture proudly through my lyrics and music, a medium in which I aspire to be the most authentic as possible.
LUNA: How has your cultural background played into your artistry?
QUELLE ROX: I have such a support system with my family-- I feel like Latinos tend to go all out. When I had basketball games growing up, all my uncles and aunts and cousins would show up and be in the bleachers. They were always the loudest ones haha. And I feel like that upbringing influenced me to pursue my dreams because I knew I had people who showed me that they supported me in my goals and through life.
In terms of my music, I feel like growing up with strong Latina women as examples-- my mom, grandma and my aunts -- has made my music more spicier and allowed me to approach a career like music more boldly. My mom also played a lot of Latin music growing up as well, like El Gran Combo, Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Hector Lavoe, Mark Anthony, Willie Colon and more and so I think on that level I got to hear people like me doing what I want to do. If I can be that source of inspiration for other Latino kids that’d be dope.
LUNA: “Space Parade” explores unrequited love and finding peace in the midnight sky. Can you share a bit more about the making of this track?
QUELLE ROX: Yeah! I was at a music festival in 2017, called Gratitude, and it was probably the best experience of my life-- such beautiful vibes, energy, people, and music. And it was a very colorful experience ;) However, amidst all this beauty, I was grappling with heartbreak and loneliness in my personal life. But on that weekend, those feelings kind of just dissipated. I remember looking into the stars and they were shining so bright and it felt like there was so much more in the universe beyond me, as well as beautiful beings surrounding me in the present, and it provided me with a sense of calm and acceptance and euphoria to be quite honest.. When I got back from the festival, I still felt very connected to this experience, and shortly after “Space Parade” was born. I had many different versions of the song and I never released any of them but I always knew I wanted to put it on my debut EP, and so chose to revive it this year and reworked the entire beat but I kept the lyrics the same.
LUNA: What role does the listener play in your creative process? Are you thinking about them when writing?
QUELLE ROX: I don’t think about the listener when writing and that’s only because I want to provide them with the most authentic and genuine experience possible. And so I purposely don’t think about them in the writing process in order to preserve what flows from the heart without being compromised in any way.
LUNA: You got a lot more into production after graduating from NYU. What are some of the main things you've seen your sound evolve?
QUELLE ROX: My sound has gotten a little more refined, I used to be the queen of reverb and hazy dazy music and now I’m turning into a pop queen! Just kidding, but my music is definitely more uptempo these days. ;)
LUNA: There’s tentative plans for your EP to release in February - exciting! What can you share about this project when compared to the singles you already have out?
QUELLE ROX: The EP is finalized and I think it has a beautiful story and the tracklisting really does evolve from start to finish and takes you on a journey. There's a good combination of slow vibey music but there’s also a really cool unique sonic landscape that I’ve included on a couple tracks that are much different than anything I’ve ever put out before and I’m really excited to share them! They’re like typical Quelle Rox tracks but on crack haha.
LUNA: What’s the end goal for yourself as a musician?
QUELLE ROX: Be respected, make authentic music, get that bag, and buy my momma a house!
LUNA: Are there any other creative outlets you’d like to explore more and possibly tie into your music more?
QUELLE ROX: I’m definitely a music gal and my brain is 99.9% music so not sure if I have the space for other outlets hehehe but I would like to dabble in making videos a bit more (I shot and edited my “Rollercoaster of a Ride” video at home) and that was super fun, so I’ll probably continue doing mini video edits like that to compliment my sound. Visuals are a really important part of the music so it’s fun to be able to find the imagery that speaks to me most and compile it into a visual story.
LUNA: Just a lil fun one - what five items (not survival based) would you bring to a deserted island?
QUELLE ROX: An endless supply of sandwiches
The Office running on a endless loop
My puppy Cosmos! <3
Journal (for the musixxx)
And a boat to sail tf away!
LUNA: As the year winds down and you continue to put out music, what are your intentions for the rest of the year?
QUELLE ROX: I plan to finalize all my musical projects, maybe sign a record deal, fall more deeply in love with my new puppy Cosmos day by day, engage in more self care (yoga / meditation) and go home for the holidays and spend quality time with the fam bam and rest up so I can come back to NY a refreshed queen!
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From Pavietra 🕊️ https://t.co/BXVgWlZud8 -
slowthai by Rosie Matheson 🤩 https://t.co/z7SDfFQ5iF
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RT @i_D: Ian Kenneth Bird photographs young punks on Polaroid: https://t.co/MKT0tMUqO9 https://t.co/a0tTl12ML5
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RT @AnOtherMagazine: #DreamHome – this isolated idyll in the mountains of Lanzarote 🌵 📸 via Nowness, photography by Clemence Blr 🔁 https://t.co/GUusdxD0cg
