An Interview with Kylie Rowland, July 2025

 How would you describe your sound?

I like to describe my music as alternative pop, sometimes indie pop. It’s a little darker but still has that pop influence. 

  

Who/what inspires your music?

Mostly what inspires my music is how I’m feeling in the moment about something or a situation. Kind of a flow of my thoughts. I would say who inspires my music would be romantic partners, artists around me, my friends.

  

If you could open for any musician/band, who would it be?

I would love to one day open for The Beaches. My music is a little different but I think it could work.  

  

What does making music mean to you? What got you into it/keeps you continuing?

Making music is definitely important to me. Ever since I was little I would make up songs and remix songs I already knew. What keeps me going is my love for music. My love for the craft and getting to share it with other people. I think a lot about the bigger picture and it’s important to feel seen and be heard; If someone relates to anything I’m saying I think I’ve done something good. Also, a song is like a picture, a moment/feeling in time, getting to capture that is really important and cool. 

  

What interests you about your genre specifically?

I like to play around with different genres so for pop I really like how it makes you want to dance or is catchy and is lyrically fun to sing. For indie pop/rock and even R&B I really appreciate the storytelling.

  

How do you keep yourself motivated and inspired/how do you work through creative blocks?

This can be tough. I actually have a song that I’ve been working on and lyrically it’s been really challenging. I like the beat so much I need the lyrics to be just as good. When this happens though I might turn to some people I trust and ask them what they hear and see if it inspires me in a new direction. I try to collaborate with friends, sometimes my brother. I might also listen to something new and different to try to get out of the funk. If I’m really not motivated to write I won’t but I may challenge myself to write for another artist.

  

Tell me about Fever Dreams! What was your creative process like when making it? Was it more organized & session based or more sporadic and fleeting? How did it go from idea to reality?

Fever Dreams has been a long process. I wrote the original three songs, “Caught Up”, “Worth Your Time”, and “The Matrix”, in 2020. I had just watched the movie The Matrix for the first time and felt really inspired. I wanted to make a song about it that sounded like a video game. I picked two beats from a friend, Leeroy Veto. He showed me the beat, that would become Caught Up, and I was like “Oh I need that one”. I really liked how it was all over the place, reminded me of the chaos in my brain. For “Worth Your Time” my other friend Ren, of 4vr, made the beat and I wanted it to be more of a pop song with like Britney Spears inspired lyrics. The recordings were a little sporadic but mostly organized. I recorded the original 3 myself. I put the project first out in 2021. At the end of 2023, FD got taken down because I didn’t update my card information. At first I was upset but I think it was a blessing in disguise. Some of the words in “Worth Your Time” I didn’t like and wanted to change so I re-recorded a verse and some lines. I wanted to add a remix to WYT and The Matrix, so Fever Dreams (Reloaded) was born! I got to have my friend Lez record a verse for the WYT Remix, which was awesome. The Matrix Remix, I re-record with Jak Mckool and he re-worked the song, I love how it turned out. It was a long journey but Im happy that the world can enjoy it now in its best form. 

You dabble in a lot of different mediums!! How do your other interests come together/inform your music and performance? How do you incorporate those elements in your work? 

I do! I love film so videography is a big component for me. To me it adds such a level to a performance, where it ties the songs together and makes the experience more theatrical. More recently I have been painting bottles to use as vases. I like to add them around the stage. I like the set a scene and a cozy vibe. 

  

What are some of your rituals/inspirations when writing music? (do you listen/pull inspo from other artists? Do you have a specific place you like to write at? etc.)

I set myself up in my space to be comfortable. I like pen and paper/notebook but ipad occasionally. I listen to the beat a few times and hum. I try to piece together some words after that. Or if Im at the piano playing chords I usually have some words come to mind. I do occasionally pull inspo from other artists but it’s kind of random. 

  

Which song of yours do you consider to be your favorite? Why?

My favorite song that is released is “Caught Up”. I feel like I really encapsulated my anxieties at that time. I think it’s a cool song sonically as well. I also have a song that is not out yet called “Love Like You”.  Im proud of that one and it grooves well. 

  

What is your current big goal? What does the future hold/what are you working towards right now?

Right now I’d like to perform more. I have a new project I am recording that is more of that indie pop sound. I'm proud of those songs and they mean a lot to me. I want to collaborate more with artists. I want to write for other people. Big dreams, I'd love to work with Frank Ocean, meet Beyonce, Miley Cyrus and have them like some of my songs. 

Not music related, but I'd love to make a photography book. Right now, definitely finish my project and collaborate.

msha.ke/kylierowland