Rooue
ROOUE are the electro-pop twins merging glistening noughties pop, gorgeous harmonization and R&B infused stylings to create an honest, insightful look into love, loss and uncertainty in 2022.
On Friday 22nd April 2022, the duo will release their fifth single, ‘Orbit’ - their most compelling and radio-friendly to date. A song about stumbling through a new reality, ‘Orbit’ takes its inspiration from that disorienting feeling experienced at the end of a relationship, when it feels like your whole world has imploded. To be able to capture such deep feelings and metamorphose them into a perfect pop song seems effortless in the hands of ROOUE, A.K.A. Roisin and Lou.
ROOUE say: ”‘Orbit’ delves into the vulnerable perspective of how one is suddenly expected not to be in love, just because the relationship has ended. However, hours before the break up, you would have done anything for that person. The feeling is as if one sentence has thrown your life, as you knew it, completely upside down.”
Born in London before moving to Dublin as children, Roisin and Lou grew up in a home warmed by music and creativity. With a music therapist mother and “music-nerd” father, their lives were soundtracked by everything from jazz and classic rock to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
Though they have always made music, it wasn’t until 2019 that the twin sisters decided to come together as ROOUE, a portmanteau of their given names, and a few months later they had their debut single ready and waiting to be recorded. When COVID struck, the pair, not to be deterred, set up a home studio, which led to the release of ‘What You Want’ in October 2020. Since then, ROOUE have released three more singles: ‘Flavour’, ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Dancing Sad’, each track showing a growing maturity.
“We have drifted to more commercial pop, but over time gravitated towards 00s vibes with old-school roots,” they explain of their musical evolution. “We’ve really grown as people, even though it’s only been a year.”
Despite their relatively recent arrival on the scene, ROOUE’s previous singles have earned them millions of impacts on Irish radio, in particular the 90s-tinged ‘Dancing Sad’, which was playlisted by iRadio and ‘Bad Blood’, which received widespread airplay on Spin 1038, Spin South West, iRadio, 98fm and more. Nialler9 called their music "Really smart electronic pop music” and Hot Press commented that the twins are “one of the most exciting emerging acts on the Irish scene”.
ROOUE
Settle - Vera Blue
This song has a massive place in our hearts as it was the first ever reference track we used when we decided to make music as ROOUE. We were both on the LUAS listening to music when this song came on. We both spent the rest of our journey listening to it on repeat whilst we talked about plans to release music. Her use of production and vocal arrangement really spoke to us and without it who knows where we would be.
Roisin
Love is a losing game - Amy Winehouse
When I was 16 I began listening to Amy’s music. I learnt how to play Love is a Losing game on guitar and I fell in love with her use of jazz influenced chords. Her song writing and voice really shaped me as a musician. I began to delve deeper into jazz and found a real love for it. Still to this day if I pick up a guitar I naturally go to play the chord progression from Love is a losing game.
Lou
Retrograde - James Blake
James Blake has always been such an important artist for me when it came to song writing. I heard James perform at my first music festival that I went to and was absolutely blown away! Retrograde was the first song that I heard that had heavy vocal effects and experimental production. I am not exaggerating when I say this song is what made me want to release and write electronic music. His vocal effects have genuinely helped shape me into the artist I am today. I started to experiment with vocal pedals when performing and will ALWAYS use him as a reference to how I want to push myself out of my comfort zone when producing ROOUE tracks.
ROOUE
Everything I ever wanted - Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish has always been a huge inspiration for us. When we were in the depths of COVID we discovered her movie, ‘The World’s a little Blurry’ and it gave us so much motivation to continue writing and to release our debut single. ‘Everything I ever wanted’ is so immaculately written with dark lyrics and beautiful harmonies. This is a song that we can never skip when it comes on.
Roisin
The Journey - Tom Misch
Our family are massive Tom Misch fans. His album is definitely the soundtrack to all our family dinners and holiday drives. The journey is the first song I go to play when I need to feel relaxed and centred. Just hearing the first notes of the song brings me to my happy place with amazing memories.
Lou
What goes around comes around - Justin Timberlake
Suchhh an iconic song! This was the first song I learned to play on guitar. Justin Timberlake was the first artist that truly sparked my love for production and made me start really exploring music and song writing. I love this song so much, the vocal layering and how he produced his vocals is a work of art and still to this day I use him as a production reference when writing.
Roisin
How Much A Dollar Cost - Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar is a monumentally important artist in the music industry. How Much a Dollar Cost has been a big song in my life, not only as a music but as a person. I love the story behind the lyrics and I think it's a really important message to remember, especially in the current times.
Lou
TALES OF DOMINICA- Lil Nas X
This song is a boost of serotonin for me. When Lil Nas X released his album, I was going through a hard time, struggling with a bad break up and a rough mental health patch. Whenever I felt overwhelmed I would go for a walk and listen to this song. I did a huge amount of song writing at this time and found so much inspiration from Lil Nas X. I can never get enough of his catchy melody writing and his use of creative production.
Roisin
God is a woman - Ariana Grande
God is a woman is definitely one of my favourite songs of all time. I have always been a huge fan of Ariana. Being the big vocal nerd that I am, I love to sing her songs and study her technique. Her lyrical content is so strong and brings a huge theme of feminism and girl power. The way she stacks harmonies in this song is something we have always used as a reference when song writing and vocal arranging.
ROOUE
Be the one - Dua Lipa
We both have always been Dua Lipa fans, this is our go-to song when we want to feel confident, ready for a gig or a night out. We have been very lucky to have seen her live a few times and ‘Be the one’ never fails to be our favourite song to dance to.
