There’s a kind of music that doesn’t just fill the air – it stirs something in you, lingers in your chest, and leaves you seeing the world in richer color. ROSEYE’s sound does exactly that. Rooted in soul, jazz, and the pulse of many homelands, their songs feel like conversations between inner truths and outer realities – sometimes soft and searching, sometimes fierce and unflinching.
Their latest EP, Ways of Speaking, continues the adventurous spirit of their debut while delving deeper into themes of empowerment, connection, and joy. With its bright grooves and powerful emotional currents, the record is an uplifting act of resistance and resilience – a perfect sonic invitation to discover ROSEYE’s expanding world.
Just hours before their debut performance in Sofia at A to JazZ Festival 2025, we spoke with vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tallulah Rose and guitarist Julek Warszawski about creative friction, sonic growth, spiritual-political songwriting, and staying joyful in a world that often demands the opposite.
Let’s start with your latest release. Ways of Speaking feels like both a continuation and a deepening of your debut. What conversations – musical or otherwise – were you having as a band while creating this EP?
T: One big theme for us has been empowerment – taking pain and transforming it into something that gives you power and courage. She Is Alive and Distance both reflect that: how pain, when met and held in the right way, can fuel deep growth.
We’ve also had endless conversations about what it means to be alive – love, sensuality, anger, sadness – within the band and in our own lives. Some of us love going deep with these things, we could talk for hours (laughs). The EP reflects all of that: the beautiful moments and the heavy, challenging ones too.
Another big influence on the sound was our desire to play brighter, more uplifting music. Our last record was heavier, more introspective, and this time we wanted to bring joy – to ourselves and to the audience. We noticed during live shows that people were often deep in their own world, and we wanted to spark more connection, more shared energy. As a lead vocalist, that exchange with the crowd means everything; they give me as much as I give them. Playing with Candy Dulfer really showed us the power of that – how her grooves, her spark, lift people.
ROSEYE are: Tallulah Rose – vocals/saxophone, Julek Warszawski – guitars, Kasparas Petkus – drums, Deborah Slijkhuis – bass, and Joshua Lutz – keys/synths
You describe ROSEYE’s work as both political and spiritual. How do you navigate those two forces in your songwriting – and why is it important for you as a band to stay socially engaged?
T: These topics flow naturally for us. We all care deeply about people, injustice, and the world, and we’re always talking about life and why it goes the way it does – just trying to work it all out. We’re all quite sensitive and political, and some of our cultures also carry this inherently: Kasparas and Julek with their Eastern European roots, raised with the history of Soviet oppression and the importance of uplifting and learning about their own culture. I grew up in Scotland, proud of my culture, and the history of oppression from the ‘United Kingdom’ taught me to care about the planet and people. And with my Australian side, I was raised aware of colonisation and the erasure and oppression of Indigenous existence and voices.
We try to balance the spiritual and the political – some songs are about finding peace, some about rage and frustration, and some hold both at once.
Each band member brings a distinct musical background and experience from other projects, yet ROSEYE moves with one voice. How do you maintain that creative balance between individual freedom and collective focus, especially when writing together or jamming out new material?
T: Our creative process is always evolving as we grow as artists and as friends. Sometimes it flows, sometimes it clashes – but the clashes make us stronger: learning to listen, compromise, and put ego aside. It’s never the same twice.
Julek, do you feel your classical roots are something you build on – or break away from – when writing or performing with ROSEYE?
J: Frank Zappa once said, “Progress is not possible without deviation from the norm.” At a certain point, I found that classical music alone wasn’t enough to sustain my creativity or drive. As a kid, I loved dancing and singing along to DVDs of rock bands filling stadiums—but that feeling was tamed when I began classical training at a very young age. It was the only way for me to get an instrument and learn music theory.
Years later, classical guitar opened the door to Amsterdam. I chose the city consciously—to study, to grow across different genres and subcultures, and to rediscover that ‘kid’ again. I always knew I’d break the academic mold—I just couldn’t wait for it to happen.
I still carry that classical key in my pocket and bring it to ROSEYE. Our music is rich in texture: it helps me think and write outside the box, and I get to explore all kinds of guitars in the studio. Conceptually and technically, I remain rooted in the classical world—but once I plug into an amp, a whole new personality takes over the room.
So yes, I build on my classical roots and break away from them at the same time. Is it fair to say I do both? Thanks to my bandmates, I can truly be myself.
In a world saturated with streaming, visuals have become key to storytelling. How does the band approach ROSEYE’s visual identity – on stage, online, and in your videos?
T: At the core, we want to share joy, inspire people, and also confront them with difficult truths – to be bold, loud, reflective, real, and silly. Our visuals reflect that: bright, expressive, full of personality and character. Our last video was all about celebrating love, joy, and unapologetically showing who you are in a world that often tries to make you smaller – which is, in itself, an act of resistance and resilience.
Tallulah, you move fluidly between lyrics and instrumentals, between leading the band and blending in as a player. How do you experience that duality on stage – and does one part ever challenge or liberate the other during a performance?
T: Being a player in the band is liberating for me. It gives space to drift into subconscious narratives, where everyone can create their own meaning. I have more freedom to go into my own world and detach from the predetermined meaning of a song.
As a singer, you carry more attention and more weight – you carry the story and the energy flow of a show. You’re constantly watched, and that can be exhausting without little exits, which playing provides. Playing also allows me to express a different part of my personality than singing does.
What do you hope audiences in Sofia will take away from your A to JazZ performance – especially those encountering ROSEYE for the first time?
T: Ultimately, I hope people are moved – emotionally, spiritually, physically, politically. That they feel what we feel, and are inspired to dive into their own lives more deeply and question what’s around them.
This project feels like a real moment of growth for us. The music, the lyrics – they show how far we’ve come. There’s a lot more hip-hop influence, more of each of us in there, a clearer sense of what ROSEYE is and what we stand for. We’re tapping into new worlds, and I’m curious to see who this music will reach.
Looking ahead – your next release is already on the horizon. Without giving too much away, what feels new or different about what’s coming?
T: This project feels like a real moment of maturing for us. The music, the lyrics, the stories – they explore much wider territory. There’s more of each of us shining through with our individual influences. We’re touching on more elements of funk, hip-hop, broken beat, fusion. Overall, there’s a clearer sense of what ROSEYE is and what we stand for. We’re exploring new territories, and it’s thrilling to imagine who the music and stories will attract.
And one last question: watermelon or melon?
T: Watermelon all the way.
Join ROSEYE under the Sofia sky this Saturday, July 5th at 19:00 at the A to JazZ Festival. Entry is free.
photos: Megan Simons
interview: Sofia Hussein for Dinya
