San Diego based pop artist, Kass Rose Gold, has released her sophomore E.P., Joy Ride. The five track project features singles “Forbidden Love” and “Green Light,” and is available on all streaming services out now!

The E.P. draws on inspiration from an entanglement of a “Forbidden Love.” Kass flexes her catchy pop melodies and strong airy vocals over a production that is reminiscent of the early 2000’s Pop/R&B, which she takes great inspiration from.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Kass Rose Gold about the new music, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I am from San Diego, CA. I make whatever I can get my hands on to be honest. I try not to restrict myself to any one genre. I’ve always been sort of a wild card musically and even with my sense of style. I’ll try anything if it speaks to my soul. I will say that most of my music is definitely based in pop. 

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Singing and writing came naturally to me as a very young child, I’d say about 3 years old. I grew up mimicking music I’d hear in movies, tv shows, and on the radio. At 19 years old I became brave enough to be more outward about this dream of making music. That’s when I began practicing songwriting and recording my own vocals using apps on my phone. Eventually I met my producer Andre Elias, and from there we’ve been growing and cultivating my sound and who I am as an artist. There’s definitely lots of very tough times where I have to work harder to keep going. Thankfully, I find a lot of support from my friends, famly, and fans of my music. Ultimately, music itself keeps me going. I fucking live for that shit. 

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

This is my first studio album, and my first project with a major artist feature. I wanted to have fun with it and be vulnerable but also take a stab at evolving my sound to a quality I’ve always wanted to achieve. I’m lowkey even trying my hand at melodic rapping, which I’m super into and would like to keep building on that. Overall, this project really does take you on a “Joy Ride”. We hit all the vibes, and didn’t hold back.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

I guess I’d say it’s a bit tougher to grab people’s attention because the industry is so saturated. Social media has really shrunk the attention span of the average person. I can’t complain though because I also feel like it’s allowed artists to become more free and versatile with their content. As someone who could never stick to one style growing up, it benefits me a lot. I like to appeal to all kinds of people, not just a certain type. 

What was the last song you listened to?

Fever (Oklou remix) – Dua Lipa and Angele. Fire. 

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Whatever I can get my hands on. I use them all and I aspire to have a massive CD and Record collection one day. 

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why? 

I currently use Apple music, but ideally I prefer Spotify because it’s the best for discovering new music and sharing playlists between friends. My friends and I had a wild party for Easter, and made a Spotify “easter playlist” that we all contributed to. Needless to say, we listen to that shit year round. Lol.  

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

Definitely Instagram. I have a linktree in my bio that makes it easy to find my music on all platforms. Shout out Link Tree. 

Anything else before we sign off?

Thanks for the interview!!! 

To anyone reading, if you’ve found your passion and it scares the hell out of you- do it anyway and BE PATIENT. I promise it gets easier.