Cuba Rose is an idea. A hope. A medium. A project. A reflection. An aspiration. A spleen venting vehicle. A must.
Nothing new; as it’s all been done before! There’s no point in trying to labour a fallacy that this should move hearts and minds in any substantial way….best we can hope for is that it’ll tap a foot or turn a head-in a complimentary way. It’s a vanity project brought about by listening to the same old tired music that keeps getting regurgitated over and over again. Albeit, most of the regurgitation is delivered by beautiful, young faces; full of vim and vigour and ready to be rode all the way to the bank. Not Cuba Rose….no ‘lookers,’ ‘virtuosi’ or ‘genius’ here! Just some honest, hardworking grafters. In love with the art of music and all that it entails. Hoping to entertain and hopefully gain some respect for our efforts. It’s a simple thing….much like our music. We very much hope that you enjoy what you hear.

“Cuba Rose – The Satin Purse”

Biography
Cuba Rose was a name that rang true. Aesthetically it looked good; hears good; felt right. To dig any deeper on it we’d need to sit down for a pint.
Back in the day; the same day of grunge, rock, shoe gaze and pop it became apparent that a vehicle was needed to transport a few songs. Those songs have been nurtured and mollycoddled over decades-some began life fully formed and some (too many) are still not there. The latter are the ones we’re most proud of because although it’s very fulfilling to write/arrange and execute a new song that doesn’t need much tinkering, a monster is sometimes bourne of toil and graft. Whether it’s a simple pop acoustic ditty inspired by some beautiful French cinema or a 7 minute Zepplinesque anthem that tries hard to relate the horrors of child abuse; it’s all relative. Sometimes the moment demands big, bluff and bluster and sometimes quaint is best. This is an ongoing theme that we regularly sweat over.
Live is a medium best summed up by the great John Anthony West (Egyptologist) when asked about modern day Egypt and all its mysteries……sic….’Like sex-I could tell you all about it but it’s much easier to grasp when experienced in person!’ That is a philosophy we believe in….It’s nice to hear a record but if you want to see what we’re really all about then come and hear us. It’s been the bulwark that every artist should espouse to…..how does it sound live? We love an element of trickery in the studio but it must be replicable in a show.
All of our work is home recorded. It really all kicked off during the (infamous) summer of 2020. If you hear a washing machine (faintly) in the background then you’re right….sloppy but real. You just can’t throw out a good take!!!! Or, a child walking in during the fade-out of a well worked guitar part! It’s the nature of striking while the iron is hot….use it or loose it. There have been many happy sessions remixing and overdubbing in a local studio but the majority of our work is homegrown. We dream of long lazy days recording and chilling in the south of France but until then….
Inspiration comes in many guises. There’s a lifetime of songs and ideas to be garnered from life before/during and after but nothing compares to ’The Moment!’ It’s a misnomer to say give me a topic and I’ll give you a song. It’s never worked like that for us. Thalidomide; 9/11; prostitution; country life; pugilism, Kate Bush or Eddie Vedder, ’The Moment’ comes and you react – hoping that you capture that little bit of magic that inspired it! It’s fun but never loosing sight of the fact that it has to be a good song….. There’s a lot more to this soliloquy…..and we’ll embellish in time but for the moment, now that you’re here, we very much hope you enjoy our music.
CR
Questions, records, hellos
Got a question, want to grab a copy of our album, or just feel like reaching out?
Drop us a message at info@cubarose.com and we’ll get back to you soon-ish.



