Spotlight: Quelle Rox Unveils Personal and Artistic Growth on 'coffee & a cig'
☆ BY JANET HERNANDEZ ☆
Photos By Carina Allen
QUELLE ROX IS BEAMING — as Cosmos, a rescue from Love Of All Dogs, sits on her lap and gives kisses. She gushes about her sweet companion, whom she’s owned for about a year. “I’m happier to pursue my career and dreams because I have a number one best friend in my house every single day.”
It's hard to believe that Quelle Rox’s latest EP features her most devastating songwriting yet, given that she has spent the last year making music in a studio, working on healing, and — of course — bonding with her dog. But her work on coffee & a cig began with “i only want you when i’m fucked up,” a song written when she was in a completely different headspace in 2019.
“I was on my way to a studio session in Harlem, and I was on the subway, and I was just in my feelings, dealing with heartbreak,” Rox describes. “I started humming these lyrics and a melody — a scratch version of a song in my voice memos.”
The track didn’t fit into Lilac Rush, the EP Rox was working on at that time. She held onto it, waiting for the right songs and a new sonic world to accompany it. coffee & a cig feels grounded in the present — a reflection of Rox’s personal growth. The title track captures the feeling of being let down in a relationship as she repeats, “Thought you were my man.” And love is a chase on “happy in a haze / butterfly to ya,” as she sings about being so infatuated that she’d fly to her lover.
But as Quelle Rox explains, there’s more to life than dwelling on a man.
“I was excited about music and reconnecting with people to create,” she says about making this EP, “and also just feeling the vibe of F anyone who doesn’t want you.” Singing along to “fck a fboi” is cathartic — much like actually flipping off an ex.
Beat changes, switch-ups, and new sonic influences elevate the hazy bedroom pop sound that Rox has done in the past. On this EP, she’s showcasing her versatility.
“I was interested in opening doors to explore genres that were beyond the bedroom pop vibe,” she says. “I don’t want to be pigeon-holed as a bedroom pop artist. I love to dabble in R&B and trip pop and pop music.”
Rox wrote and co-produced the EP with longtime collaborator Will Fisher, known as Identite Crisis, over many studio sessions during the summer. She calls this her most ambitious work yet, and it’s caught the attention of the folks at Spotify. As the cover of the “Latin Indie Rising” playlist and with tracks on several Latinx playlists, she’s finding connections with her own people.
“I always expect to get recognized because I believe in myself so much,” she says. “You have to believe in yourself to be in this world, or just in general — creative world or not. But I didn’t really expect that.”
One of her many purposes as an artist is to be an inspiration for other Latinx artists, and for Latinx indie fans to hear themselves in the genre. An ascendance to stardom would show other Latinas that a career in the music industry is possible.
“On the production front, it’s important for me to say, ‘You can do it, too.’ And I’ve had people reach out and say, now that I’ve seen you doing it, I want to try out production,” she shares. “On the musical front, I want to hold a space.”
With 2022 on the horizon, coffee & a cig rounds up the year and marks a new start for Rox. She’s focused on releasing this EP, but already has a vision for her next release. And maybe some songs she’s written about Cosmos will see the light of day.
Until then, she’s spending the holidays with all her loved ones.
“I’m going home and I’m just gonna chill with my family for a bit,” she says. “And my doggy.”
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weekly tunes playlist has been updated! new tracks from @furtradeband, @pecqband, @garryfool & more! check it out! https://t.co/ToFU0R6YGo -
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RT @rlyblonde: @AnnieDirusso for @LunaCollective shot by me #35mm #portra800 https://t.co/0UUJSCBGcH
