My Version: Rosetta Stone.
My Version chats to stars and people of influence to give a glimpse into their time as a teen and see the things they are currently obsessed with!
This New Zealand Music Month, we are celebrating by profiling some amazing wahine in the music industry!
Say hello to singer Rosetta Stone from band, Psycho Gab.
Obsessed RN.
Kiwi musician/band that I’m loving:
How much time have you got lol. Womb, Skilaa, Yurt Party, SPDRTWNBBY, Vida, Kédu, Samara Alofa, Phoebe Rings, Carnivorous Plant Society…. Everyone really.
I’ll be celebrating New Zealand Music Month (NZMM) by:
Releasing music and playing gigs! Psycho Gab’s next single ‘Pianomen’ is out May 23 and we’re celebrating with our mates Crumbly Jack at Whammy Backroom that night.
NZMM is important to me because:
EVERY month is New Zealand Music Month, but this month I’m thinking especially of all my friends in music, and all the people that make the world go round for us behind the scenes. Being an independent musician - doing it on your own with no money - can be really hard. But never once as a musician have I felt like I didn’t have people in my corner, so this month is where we celebrate those people.
My favourite thing about the New Zealand music scene is:
Aw shucks, we’ve just got the best music community in the world. Even when theres no money to go around, or there are people in charge who don’t value our art as much as they should… that community is still here. We will always love Aotearoa music, and we will always have each others backs.
Currently bingeing:
Dark chocolate… I’m a sucker for a sweet treat. Also baths, don’t tell my flatmates because our water bill is probably insane.
Song on repeat:
Yatra-Tà by Tania Maria who is an incredible Brazilian jazz singer, and plays piano AND sings in this!! She just rocks out an epic keys solo and then rips a fat vocal solo as well its unreal.
Favourite Insta account to follow:
Ooo thats a hard one. Jujulipps is always living her best life on insta, as she should. I also love my friend Nikau’s artist page for Casual Healing, hes got such a lovely way of connecting with his audience and actively posting about his music without it feeling too self-centred or commercialised. Also, he’s just a real funny guy.
Must have beauty product:
Any sort of curl cream! Not a mousse… I had that phase and it was crunchy.
The item of clothing I’m definitely over wearing:
I got a new skinny velvet scarf a couple of weeks back and I’m finding out the hard way that it doesn’t go with eeeevery outfit.
Currently reading:
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon. My dad got it for me for Christmas (hell yea go dad) and I’ve slowly been getting through it but it’s soooo interesting!!
Snacking on:
Bread <3 LOVE bread. My flatmate works at Daily Bread… so good.
Can’t stop watching on TikTok:
Just mindless crap aye. I didn’t have TikTok for the longest time but now I’ve got it for the band and I think I need to give it to one of the guys to run because its just a trap.
Dreaming of:
Warmer weather and swims at the beach.
Next place on the list to travel to:
Mexico.
I’m currently inspired by:
Always inspired by nature. Just the best lyric-writing inspo at our fingertips all the time, like some crazy encyclopedia of epic metaphors.
My favourite way to relax is:
Cooking myself some good kai. Writing, but without a ‘song’ or purpose in mind.
I stay healthy by:
Going to fitness classes, like yoga or spin. If I’m doing exercise I need to be able to not think about what I’m doing and just follow instructions.
When I was younger…
One thing I love about Gen-Z is:
We’re sensitive, and thats often weaponised against us, but there’s so much empathy towards other peoples experiences to be had out there, and theres a lot of bad behaviour to be called out. I like being part of a generation that doesn’t beat around the bush with that.
If I could give my teenage self one bit of advice, what would it be:
My teenagehood was really recent, so in some ways I feel like I’m clinging onto it a bit still lol. I think I’d tell myself in high school to keep being staunch, and not to dial back the things that are important to you for the sake of other people.
My favourite part of being a teenager was:
Not quite needing to have it all figured out. Although I’ve heard that continues into your 20s so I think I’ve still got a bit of time. Also, I lived overseas in Paris for my high schooling, so the travel and people I was exposed to is something I’ll always be grateful for.
My first job was:
Babysitting. We had these family friends who had two little kids and I would look after them at like, age 13 or something ridiculous. Nothing ever went wrong but I’m not sure who was trusting my 13 year old self with their kids.
My dream job as a teen was:
I was really into baking from an early age so that was definitely a career path, but as soon as I started writing my own songs at around 15 that was a turning point, and all I wanted was to play my songs for other people.
Best piece of advice I ever received as a teen was:
It’s terrible because I probably thought I knew everything and didn’t hold onto nearly as much advice as I should’ve. One thing my dad used to preach a lot was the tough-love mantra of getting determined when things get hard. Turns out we’re generally capable of quite a bit more than we give ourselves credit for.
My biggest fashion faux-pas was:
Skinny jeans. Not the vibe.
My biggest inspiration was:
My mum <3 In the last couple of years of my highschooling, she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and beat the crap out of it like nobody’s business. A total powerhouse woman, always my biggest cheerleader, and just the best.
My fave Kiwi musician/band when I was a teen was:
Lorde’s Melodrama came out when I was 13, so I think that probably speaks for itself.
