Spindle Radar: Blake Rose Ushers In A New Era With Heartfelt EP Suddenly Okay

Blake Rose is getting candid with his new EP Suddenly Okay. Hailing from Perth, Australia, the young talent first splashed onto the music scene in 2018 with ‘Hotel Room.’ Since that fateful day, Blake has captivated music listeners with his emotional guitar-led anthems, which have resulted in him amassing more than 350 million streams across all releases. In March 2024, the singer-songwriter continued his upward trajectory when he released his latest EP Suddenly Okay. Throughout the four-song project, Rose explores the beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking experiences associated with being in love.

While the record takes fans on an emotional journey, there’s a hint of optimism bubbling under the surface. “To me, Suddenly Okay is about manifesting a future where you are healed from the heaviness that heartbreak and depression bestows upon you,” Blake tells SPINDLE. With Suddenly Okay serving as the first release of a three-part project, the emerging talent is showing no signs of slowing down his music takeover. We were able to chat with Blake about his latest EP, his evolution as an artist and his first major headline tour across the US. Read our full interview below. 

Hiya Blake! Thanks for sitting down with us. How has 2024 been kind to you so far?

It’s been good. We hit the ground running with new music at the start of the year, and it has been non-stop since. I also recently announced my first US headline tour so that was very exciting!

In February, you kicked off your new music era with the release of ‘Suddenly Okay’—which is absolutely fantastic. Can you take us through the creative process for the record? 

I started Suddenly Okay in a session with Ayokay and Jesse Mason. I sat on it for a few months, then ended up coming back to it and making a bunch of changes, which made the song feel much stronger. I then produced a version of the song myself, before bringing it to my friend Ethan Schneidermann who helped co-produce it to finalise what it is today.

This track touches on emotional subjects like depression and heartbreak. What was the most challenging and rewarding thing about writing this record? 

The most rewarding thing was that this song offered catharsis during a period of time where my head was not in the best space. The biggest challenge was making the production feel more organic, but still feel full and aligned with my previous music. Ethan helped a lot with achieving this goal!  

The song’s sombre and conflicting lyrics are driven home by its folk-rock sound, which kind of exudes this optimistic energy. How did the track’s production come to be? Was that the idea you had in mind when creating its sound?

It started with just an acoustic guitar and vocals. I then recorded some live drums, which became the backbone of the production. I’ve never typically leaned into a folk space before, but as soon as those drums formed it felt so good to me, that I knew it had to be the direction.

‘Suddenly Okay’ is featured on your new EP of the same title. What message or theme do you want fans to take away after listening to the project?

Suddenly Okay is the first of 3 projects I’ll be releasing this year, which are all a series of experiences with love. To me, Suddenly Okay is about manifesting a future where you are healed from the heaviness that heartbreak and depression bestows upon you. Last year was a very challenging year for me mentally, so I wanted this EP be a beacon of transformation into a new chapter. 

Aside from ‘Suddenly Okay, which track are you most excited for fans to hear?

I’m super excited for fans to hear ‘Never Let Go’ – I love that song so much. It’s just a very fun and upbeat song to dance to, that for some reason, I’m still not sick of even though I started four years ago!

Suddenly Okay comes out a year after you released your second EP, You’ll Get It When You’re Older, and over two years after you dropped A World Gone By. Looking back, how have you evolved as an artist since sharing your debut EP?

I think I’m really starting to figure out who I am and what feels most aligned with my true self. It’s been building steadily over the last few years, and I feel very excited to be hitting a stride creatively that I feel most comfortable in.

You’re getting ready to kick off your Suddenly Okay tour in April! What can fans expect from your show? Are there any exciting details you can tease?

The show is going to be a full band and we’ve got a little smidge of production and some fun bits and pieces to make the show feel like its own little world. There are definitely some surprises I’ve got in store that I can’t wait for!

Other than the release of Suddenly Okay and your upcoming tour, what else can we expect from Blake Rose? 

I’m working on three projects for this year and after ‘Suddenly Okay’ there will be two more EPs coming. I’ve been working really hard on all the music and I think it’s some of my most vulnerable so far. I’m very eager to get all this music out into the world and see what people think of it! 

Listen to Blake Rose’s Suddenly Okay EP here or below.