Biog

“When the sound of the last crash cymbal faded, the crowd just went nuts! I was playing drums in the band at the time, although we were playing songs I’d written, that first gig was a huge turning point for me. Actually, that single moment has shaped my entire life ever since!”

Rod da Rosa was born in Newport, South Wales and started playing the piano aged 5. At 14 he progressed to the guitar after finding an old Fender acoustic in his attic and started writing his first songs. However, it wasn’t until at University in Nottingham after being hospitalised after a serious head-injury that he really had a “wake-up-call”. This really began his musical journey to developing his songwriting and vocal style, playing as a band and getting signed shortly after winning a UK unsigned band competition in London backed by Columbia Records.

“Instantly likeable, and vocally impressive” - BBC Berkshire

Rod’s first band, The Slides, now based in London were a indie-retro outfit with driving beats and vintage, swirling Hammond organ. They were signed to independent label MVine and released their debut single, Can You Feel It? that was produced by Paul Weller’s engineer, Max Heyes (Primal Scream, Doves, OCS). This was followed up with their debut 6-track EP called Slow Bullet that was produced by Calum MacColl and included limited edition red vinyl pressings and remixes by Rich File (UNCLE). The band did a number of radio live sessions (BBC, Xfm) plus a UK tour supporting bands such as British Sea Power and The Open. This studio and live experience paved the way for what was to come.

After a break from being in a band, Rod used this space to really hone his songwriting craft and production skills. The songs flowed, a new sound started to emerge, and after a sold out charity gig at The 100 Club (Nizlopi headlining), remarkably, a new “super-group” was formed from the 3 of the bands who were on the line-up that night. Colour of Sound, a recording collective was formed with the idea to record these new songs, all live, to 2” tape as an album.

This new, young collective rehearsed the demos but it all came together with little effort. Solid grooves, soaring 3-part harmonies and a strong set of songs the band committed to tape just over 12 songs at the Dairy Studios, Brixton. It just worked and even the first track on the album (Take This Ride) captured a moment - the recording on the record was the only time this song has ever been played like this - one take. And the over-dubbed Hammond player also was only allowed to have one go.

“Mature, deep, epic, world-class music. Ace vibes!” - Clint Boon, Xfm

The final record, called WHEN, was produced by Phill Brown (Bob Marley, Rolling Stones, John Martyn) and Calum MacColl with additional programming from Rod. Yes, it had a nod to the “old skool” but with crafted songs and raw dynamics, songs like Open Room and Save Me really showed Rod’s ability to craft timeless classics. The record was well received and nearly led the collective to be signed to Virgin, however, after supporting the likes of Foy Vance, Matt Corby and Cherry Ghost, individual commitments to everyone’s individual projects (Fraser now playing guitar for JUNGLE, Jake Morley’s released some great solo albums and Fraser just grew from strength-to-strength as a session drummer) but it meant the band wasn’t really able to tour the record. Ironically, their last proper gig was the sold out launch night at St Barnabas Church, Soho.

“Simply jaw-dropping in the space of 3 minutes” - Losing Today

Things happen for a reason though, and a chance meeting with singer-songwriter Chris McDonald opened the door to a new chapter with the pair co-writing for new artists on Sony Music and producing music for TV and film for Sony EMI and BMG Music Publishing. This led to syncs and award nominations with worldwide credits on BBC, Channel4, Channel5, Sky, Netflix and many, many more. Rod and Chris formed this new writing and production partnership as darosa-mcdonald.com .

Between them over the years they have done writing sessions with numerous artists including Liam Bailey, Natalie Duncan, Lucy Rose and Colin Verncombe (aka BLACK, “Wonderful Life"). At this level, the end result is that you have to up your game but many of the “sketches” Rod wrote for other artists became too good to give away. After some changes in his personal life that left him without a home, studio or band he moved to Oxfordshire to make a new start with music as his therapy. Now in a new studio with 3 years of solo songs under his belt he’s found a new voice, honed his songwriting skills to the next level and now has a new line-up backing him for full-band gigs.

“For me, good art takes time although in many ways - there’s no time other than now. The past doesn’t exist but in our memories, and when you plan your future it arrives in the now - all we have is this moment. I’m so excited about these new songs, what the new line-up will sound like in the studio and how it feels to connect again with a new audience - bring it on in 2020!!”

Booking Requests

Contact

General

Rod
contactrod@roddarosa.com

Production / Co-writing

DaRosa-McDonald
contact@darosa-mcdonald.com