Rosielou - Tangerine

For the 200th post to be published on this site I thought I would delve into my library and pick out something truly rare and special. A few years ago I came across a Soundcloud page with a half-dozen or so recordings under the title of Rosielou. Looking back I do not remember much, although I do recall that there was almost no information on the page. (I later discovered that she was from the south coast of England, but that is it). The recordings ranged from abstract electronic experiments to (very) low-fidelity and vulnerable folk songs consisting of just voice and acoustic guitar. Rosielou's vocals were hushed to the point of whisper and her instrumental arrangements minimal. There is something about the recordings that I found - and still do find - completely captivating. The songs are vivid and her voice beautiful. But there is something more to it. These recordings feel so lonely and lost. That they are so under-produced and quiet makes them feel vulnerable and temporary. It is apt, then, that at some point in the years since I came across the Soundcloud page, Rosielou deleted her entire online presence. I had messaged her on Soundcloud and even briefly chatted on Facebook, but suddenly, almost suspiciously, she was gone. Before the digital era, it was possible for an artist to record a song to vinyl and for all copies of that record to then disappear. Physical records, by nature, can become obsolete. They can break, be lost, even melt. A song could be recorded only once, to one single physical item. But online, recordings are shared to everyone. They spread, are copied, downloaded, imitated. Online, ownership is not physical, nor is it exclusive. Yet Rosielou's songs, as though they were recorded to single physical copies, have disappeared almost entirely. Almost. In the autumn of 2013 I managed to download a couple of the recordings from Rosielou's Soundcloud page in order to play them on my second ever Resonance FM show. I sent it to her afterwards and she seemed happy. The songs got a great reception from friends of mine, too. Other than the two that I managed to get a hold of and play on my show, all traces of the songs seem to have gone from the internet. It feels weird posting this music to Youtube but, at the same time, it feels weird leaving the music unheard! I hope to hear from Rosielou again, because this music really is wonderful.

Label: n/a
Year: ?
Genre: Folk, Outsider Music