Rose Gray is back today with new single “Free“, a tropical banger available now on Play It Again Sam. It’s the budding dance-pop icon’s first solo release of 2024, following recent collaborations with TSHA, Shygirl’s FabricLive compilation, Clipz, and also offers the first taste of her debut-album era (watch this space).
Heady, hedonistic and impossible to resist, “Free” is an anthem for living life at a higher frequency. The perfect harmony of club culture and euphoric pop maximalism, “Free” is Rose Gray’s mission-statement for the next level of her career – both heightened in sound and sun-kissed visuals, but also digging deeper into what truly matters (in the case of “Free”, those things which have no material cost). “‘Free’ embodies the feeling of pure bliss,” Rose comments. “To me, this song sounds like falling in love for the first time on a European beach, with a boombox and an ice-cold drink.”
Flying the flag for underground Pop, Rose Gray is a born club-kid (quite literally: her birthday is New Year’s Eve). The Walthamstow-raised artist’s early releases – Dancing Drinking Talking, plus the Higher Than The Sun and Synchronicity EPs – effortlessly soundtrack London living, as its daily grinds fade into those transformative, no-regrets late nights. With widespread critical acclaim, sold-out London shows, support across BBC Radio 1 and festivals ranging from Glastonbury to Mighty Hoopla, standalone highlights also include “Afraid Of Nothing” with DJ Kungs. Inspired by pop girls she loves like Robyn, Kylie Minogue and Madonna circa Ray of Light, Gray’s storytelling and lyricism locate everyday truth in big-room anthems.
Having hustled behind the scenes as a songwriter, cloakroom girl and even roleplayed illnesses for medical students, Rose Gray has without doubt now forged a firm sense of self: few contemporary artists are as at home touring with Shygirl or DJing for Melanie C as they are being published by Justin Tranter (Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa) or at London Fashion Week. That pull to the dancefloor – and its power to bring people together – has remained the pulse throughout Rose Gray’s life, a ‘Free’ spirit and unquestionable star-in-waiting.