Rose and the Band
Bio
The song writing outlet of Rose Bassett, Half the Andes is the result of the harmonious collaboration between friends who happened to live together. Creating versatile melodies that draw upon the voices of Rose, Libby, and Ronan, Half the Andes produce an eclectic blend of pop-folk tunes which rise and fall in heartfelt intensity.
Based in Melbourne, the group finds influence from such artists as Fleetwood Mac, The Staves and Joni Mitchell, building lyrics through the nuance of lived experience and relatable hurdles.
Combining their sound with Rose's ever endearing banter, 2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Half the Andes. After the release of their track Subtleties in 2020, they are ready to get back into the recording studio to let all their pent up emotions flow. Over the past two years, Half the Andes have been working hard to develop a unique sound which compliments Rose's poetic lyric style. Excited to take back the live music scene post COVID-19, Half the Andes are an example of the collaborative links between creativity and friendship.
Half the Andes | Story
I started Half the Andes when I was 22. Coming for a musical family I had always dabbled in writing but hadn’t quite found my sound. When I met Ronan at Monash Uni we started to play together and Half the Andes just sort of to bloomed out of that.
Dan had gone through high school with Ronan and through this connection we started living together in a pretty ramshackle house in Ivanhoe. So many of my songs were born in that house, so it doesn’t bother me too much that we were sharing our lounge room with an abundance of spiders. Fi came into the mix about halfway through that year. I’d met Fi through my dear friend Ailsa and their band, GraceJean. The first jam with Fi and Ronan, I remember feeling bubbles of excitement in my stomach and chest.
Over the next year or so, we started playing our first gigs and developing as a group. We all brought our own flavours to the sound, which gives us that really unique blend of folk, country and pop. The first few gigs were a big learning curve for me. I’d come from a background of jazz singing and had never had to hold an external instrument whilst performing before. It’s funny, thinking about it now, I feel completely naked without my guitar on my shoulders, so it’s amazing how things can change so quickly.
At the beginning of 2020, Fi sadly had to move forward onto other musical endeavours. Her contribution to the band will always be present though. Her playing pretty much revolutionised my songs, and I will be forever grateful for that.
Moving forward in 2020, amongst the instability of COVID-19 and the subsequent changes to our music scene, has been an interesting challenge. Even though we lost a lot of our live gigs it has offered a chance for me to regroup and get into the nitty gritty of where I want to see Half the Andes develop and grow.
So far we are tracking pretty well . The wonderful Libby Ferris has joined our line up and we’re releasing our debut single, Subtleties on the 01/08/20. I’m really excited to see where the rest of this year takes us and my music.
Thank you for being a part of my journey xx
Rose and Ronan at the B.East
Having a toot at Happy Wanderer Fest 2019
All together now!