Interview: Kristina Rossi
"I want to tell a story that can be relatable to whoever listens to it. I don't think you get that from being vague."
I had a great conversation with this artist! Kristina Rossi is a producer, artist and creative currently based in Los Angeles, California. She makes bold electronic-pop music and hosts a series “Producing Songs I’ve Never Heard” on Substack and YouTube. Her EP “Rings of Saturn” combines striking production and hook-driven melodies with lyrics that tell a story. My favourite songs are Bittersweet and the newest single Lay Low.
What is your musical background?
I started playing piano when I was four, but I hated taking lessons and all of the theory that went with it. Later on, I saw the movie Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and I was obsessed with her being in a band. I saved all of my Christmas money until I had enough to buy myself a guitar and then taught myself to play. That was when I was 10 or 11. I was really into classic rock and old school heavy metal music and I didn't know what I wanted to do with that, but I enjoyed it. Eventually, I got a laptop and GarageBand was on there, so I realised I could make music electronically. Through that, it opened up the whole world of producing music. I also went to school for music business in my undergraduate degree, but I'm mostly self-taught, especially when it comes to producing.
How did you start producing music? What influenced your taste and creative sense of self?
When I discovered producing on the computer, I met some friends who were singer-songwriters. These friends were writing original music, so I started accompanying them on guitar and then producing and writing with them. I was really into Kesha, Lady Gaga, all the early 2000s pop, so those were the sounds that I was initially trying to recreate. Through making my own music and taking online classes, I discovered songwriting as a potential career path. I put the producing to the side as a hobby to let me focus on writing. When you're a songwriter and even a producer, you're always working in service to an artist. Your creative preferences go out the window to some extent to make the song that they want. During the COVID lockdown, I took time to learn as much as possible about producing with YouTube and a course on a learning platform called Studio. There was a forum to chat with others and everyone was submitting works in progress along the same timeline. This meant I could get feedback. In the two years leading up to the EP, I was coming up with ideas that maybe were for me, maybe for other people, just to keep the creative flow going. Through so many different ideas and unfinished pieces, I landed on something that felt like me that was still pulling from all of those pop influences.
Are there any adjectives or other words you would use to describe your artistry?
I always like having some darkness and edge to the sounds I use. With the last EP, I was trying to stray away from that and go for a really poppy sound. I also like some etherealness, vocal harmonies, layered textures and weirdly processed effects. I almost don't need it to sound too human. In the songs that I've been working on more recently, I'm leaning more into that. That EP was definitely me, but it marked the beginning of a more realised creative direction. It was a good jumping off point because it wasn't the plan to finish everything by myself for the EP. I decided to stop waiting for others and to do what I needed to do to release it. With the music I'm creating now, I feel more confident in making what I want instead of trying to fit into a commercial sound.
I’m a big fan of your video series where you produce a song that you’ve never heard before based on the vocal track. It’s fascinating to get a look into the process. How has that developed your skills as a producer?
I started the series before using it for content. It was a tool for me to improve at making arrangements. Now as it's evolved, I don't know what I'm going to get when I play on the vocal track. It's helped to build my adaptability because I have to work with what's in front of me. I have added constraints in more recent episodes by only using one sample pack instead of my whole library of available sounds. It takes away the barriers to starting because some of the most difficult parts for me is making the decisions — what key is it going to be, what BPM, what synth sound should I choose? I could spend hours nitpicking those things before I even write a chord progression. I used a hyperpop sample pack for Noah Cyrus, but that was not the genre of the track that came out of it. You can make whatever you want, it’s about learning to manipulate them to fit something different. Now that I'm releasing them in videos, it's helping me let go of perfectionism. I only give myself a few hours to make the video, so I have to be okay with whatever comes out of that time. That's helped with getting to the point more quickly in the creative process.
I like that with the Noah Cyrus episode, you could hear and acknowledge that it's a folky type of song. That's what the vibe was, but you weren't trying to shift the genre to that. You worked with what your personal style is to make it your own ‘remix’. I appreciate seeing your process while doing that.
It makes it so much simpler. With the amount of sounds I have in my library, it would take one whole day of me going through until I found the perfect thing, and then I would probably make something with that, spend half an hour on that, and then decide I don't like it. It just wastes so much time. It’s become easier to work with less.
How did you choose the cover artwork for your debut EP “Rings of Saturn”?
The concept and thematic elements for the EP came from the first track, which was the last track that I wrote. For me, that song is about being the writer in those rooms and sacrificing so much of my creative self. I felt like I was on the sidelines watching everyone do their music dreams. I realised I needed to put myself out there in the same way. In that metaphor, I put myself in the centre instead of sitting on the outer planets watching. When I was coming up with the artwork, I imagined myself in a spaceship on my journey from Saturn toward the centre of the universe. The other three single artworks are different rooms on my spaceship that are meant to be different settings that go together. With the video on Spotify, I wanted it to show the magnitude of space and have it zoom out. It was so hard to make that, but I think it looks cool. It's all editing with Photoshop. It was originally just me on a plain background.
What was the creative process like for that project? Were the writing and production elements worked on together or separately?
All of the songs came from that two-year period of coming up with ideas in between sessions, so I didn’t necessarily plan to make an EP. Bittersweet came out of another session I had for a friend. She ended up doing a project in Norwegian instead of English, so I decided to reproduce it to something that was more me. For Think About You, I came up with that hook, but I could not figure out the production or the other lyrics for a long time. It was the first of those four ideas I started working on, but the last one I finished. For Borderline, I started with the production, then the melody and lyrics. That was a streamlined process to create that song. Same with Off Limits — I felt like I really got the sound that I was going for. I was really into the Swedish pop girls, but also Fletcher and I was going for that vibe. Once I had that song, then it became about figuring out how to make the other songs feel like they were in the same world. It brought me back to Think About You and then I re-imagined Bittersweet into the version that it is now. It all came together and it was the editing and fine tuning at the end that made them all more cohesive under one project. I wrote Rings of Saturn last, and I realised that it tied in with some of the themes on the other songs so they could all sit under this one project.
How do you strike the balance between creating something that feels honest but also artistic? How did you approach all those different elements to make the project what it is?
I always start from a general concept. For me, it's more finding out what the hook or chorus is and building out from there. A lot of them then drew from personal experiences and/or movies. My music needs to come from an authentic place. I’ve never questioned putting my identity into the music. I want to tell a story that can be relatable to whoever listens to it. I don't think you get that from being vague. No matter what perspective I'm seeing from, the emotion behind it and the relationship regardless of who the two people are is still a human experience. If you're able to convey that, it makes it a song that anyone can listen to regardless of their sexual orientation or identity. It's a hard balance to strike. When I wrote Borderline, I used all feminine pronouns originally and then I rewrote it to say “you” instead. In the opposite way, I felt like it was focusing too much on the other person.”
How did you come up with the song idea for your new single “Lay Low”?
It was similar to the way I've been producing in the YouTube series. I picked a random sample and decided to not worry too much about the production and come up with something afterward. I had an idea to write about female empowerment. The production sounded really different at first with a grungy guitar vibe and it was really cool, but when I realised that it could fit into the conceptual world that I'm leaning more into now, I wanted to make it electronic and give it more of a synth-driven sound. I didn't really originally think of it for me, but it was something that I could relate to retrospectively about putting myself first and being strong and independent, all of which are important to me. I'm not going to shy away from that and it’s a song about embracing it.
On your Substack, you said you have moved 12 times in the past 15 years. How have the places you’ve lived impacted your art? How do you stay centred through constant change?
I grew up in a very conservative Christian suburban area of California without much queer representation. I moved to New York City and that was where I feel like I discovered myself. That feels like home. There's just so much inspiration there. Being somewhere that was more liberal allowed me to not feel like I needed to conform to anyone's societal narratives. Everyone in the city is trying to be their own thing. That's given me a lot of freedom of expression and not being afraid to tell those stories or worry about how anything's gonna be interpreted. It’s something I don't even think about at this point. Adapting to both places has given me an abstract philosophy around external environment. I've figured out what is actually essential to my everyday life. As long as I have that, no matter where I am, it doesn't really matter what is outside. It's made me less attached to being in a specific place, especially now with technology and the Internet. It's not a barrier to entry to collaborate with people if you're not in a specific location. I can still feel connected regardless of where I am physically.
What are you most creatively inspired by outside of music?
I spoke earlier about making the artwork and I love design, photo and video editing, all of that. Mixed media stuff, like taking photos and then digitally adding onto it is something I also like to do. In terms of what I find inspiring outside of my own creative process, I love any film that has a dystopian sci-fi twist. The Substance is one of my favourites, especially for its symbolism. Everything is so well thought out and it also references so many classic film elements from Kubrick to Tarantino. It's visually and thematically very intriguing. The soundtrack [to The Substance] is amazing, one of my favourite things I've listened to since it came out. I love The Matrix and Eternal Sunshine. I love stories about relationships complicated by technology and finding that balance between embracing the darkness and finding good from it. I appreciate visual world building. It's something that Lady Gaga does really well. I know she's music, but I think of her as so much beyond her songwriting.
Which artists are you enjoying the most at the moment?
I listen to pop music and I'm a big fan of the genre but in my everyday life, I don't listen to much music outside of neoclassical, instrumental, piano and some electronic. I listen to a lot of movie soundtracks and deep house and tech house music. In terms of artistry, I love Charlotte Sands, COBRAH and Rêve. I loved FKA Twigs’ last album. The direction that went is something I aspire to. Grant Knoche has an album from 2023, which is super cool.
What are you working on next? Any plans for the rest of the year?
The plan is for the two songs I released this year — Lay Low and Chatterbox — to be part of an EP. There'll probably be another single or two before then. I've really enjoyed getting into YouTube. In the immediate future, the focus is on building that up a bit. I may add in a few other challenges too.
Listen to the new singles “Lay Low” and “Chatterbox” and the immersive EP “Rings Of Saturn” by Kristina Rossi wherever you get your music. You can also find her on Instagram. Check out her Substack publication for her video series and writing.
Really enjoyed how musically articulate you are,,,,,super interview