De Rosa are a Scottish rock band from Bellshill. It consists of Martin Henry (vocals, guitar), Chris Connick (guitar), James Woodside (bass), Neil Woodside (drums) and Andrew Bush (piano/keyboards). The band have released three studio albums—'' Mend'', ''

Prevention Prevention may refer to: Health and medicine * Preventive healthcare, measures to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms General safety * Crime prevention, the attempt to reduce deter crime and crim ...

'', and ''

Weem WEEM-FM (91.7 FM) is a student-run high school radio station of Pendleton Heights High School in Pendleton, Indiana. It broadcasts in the CHR music format. The station is owned by South Madison Community School Corporation and is operated by s ...

''.

Music

De Rosa are noted for their use of guitar-based

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

combined with Henry's personal lyrics sung in a Scottish accent. When asked about the importance of place in his lyrics, founding member and songwriter Martin Henry stated: "I guess in some small way I’m trying to give post-industrial

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

a place in culture." Although heavily influenced by the

alternative rock music Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

of the 1980s and 1990s, De Rosa's sound also references other subgenres of music, with elements of

slowcore Slowcore is a subgenre of alternative rock and indie rock. The music of slowcore artists is generally characterized by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies, slower tempos and minimalist arrangements. Slowcore is often used interchangeably with the ...

, Scottish

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. In recent performances De Rosa have used more synthesisers and drum machines in their live set, their sound moving away from the guitar-based rock of their debut material towards a fusion of electronic and traditional styles.

Line up

De Rosa was formed by main songwriter

Martin John Henry Martin John Henry is a songwriter from Bellshill in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Henry is noted for his success as the frontman of the rock band De Rosa (band), De Rosa, who released several albums, singles and other recordings on Glasgow’s influen ...

in 2001. Since 2007 the band has been a five piece (brothers James and Neil Woodside on bass and drums respectively, with

Chris Connick De Rosa are a Scottish rock band from Bellshill. It consists of Martin Henry (vocals, guitar), Chris Connick (guitar), James Woodside (bass), Neil Woodside (drums) and Andrew Bush (piano/keyboards). The band have released three studio albums ...

on guitar and Andrew Bush on piano/keyboards). All of the band members come from

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Connick - school friend of Henry and long-time De Rosa collaborator—became a full member of De Rosa in 2006. Bush joined as pianist/keyboardist in 2007 having previously worked as the De Rosa live sound engineer.

History

Early work and ''Mend'' (2004–2007)

De Rosa signed in 2004 to Lanarkshire label

Gargleblast Records Andy Miller is a Scottish record producer based in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Miller is noted for his production on albums by Mogwai, Life Without Buildings, Arab Strap, The Delgados, Scout Niblett, Songs: Ohia, Sons And Daughters, De ...

, run by Shaun Tallamy & Andy Miller. It was following the release of their debut single ("Camera"/"All Saints Day") in August 2004 that they first attracted interest from

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

including the late John Peel and

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academ ...

. De Rosa was a three piece in 2004-2005, the permanent members being Henry and drummer Neil Woodside, with James Woodside and Chris Connick sharing occasional bass duties. The band spent the rest of 2004 and most of 2005 recording their first album, '' Mend''. The album was recorded by Andy Miller. Miller had been a friend and mentor of the band since their earliest rehearsals. The use of

Chemikal Underground Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 at Glasgow, Scotland by rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in ...

’s recording studio led to the Glasgow label releasing '' Mend'' under licence from the band's original label. Released in the UK on 19 June 2006, '' Mend'' was voted number 16 in British music magazine ''Mojos top 50 albums of 2006.

The kind of parochial majesty you might encounter if The Pixies reworked The Go-Betweens' "Before Hollywood" for a documentary about the social history of Lanarkshire...

With James Woodside (bass) and Chris Connick (guitar) joining as permanent members after the completion of '' Mend'', the four piece De Rosa spent many months touring and promoting the album. They embarked on tours supporting Scottish indie bands

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mog ...

and

Arab Strap Arab Strap are a Scottish indie rock band whose core members are Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. The band were signed to independent record label Chemikal Underground, split in 2006 and reformed in 2016. The band signed to Rock Action Rec ...

in Autumn 2006, and completed their first headline tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in April 2007.

''Prevention'' and break-up (2008–2009)

The second De Rosa album, ''

'' was released by

Chemikal Underground Records Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 at Glasgow, Scotland by rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in ...

on 2 March 2009. Once again the band worked with '' Mend'' producer Andy Miller at Chem 19 recording studios in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Guest musicians on the album include Barry Burns of

and Robert Johnston of

Life Without Buildings Life Without Buildings were a Glasgow, Scotland-based indie rock band. Career Named after a track by English new wave band Japan, Life Without Buildings formed during the summer of 1999. The band consisted mostly of ex-students of the Glasgo ...

. The cover artwork features a portrait of De Rosa painted by

writer and artist

Alasdair Gray Alasdair James Gray (28 December 1934 – 29 December 2019) was a Scottish writer and artist. His first novel, ''Lanark: A Life in Four Books, Lanark'' (1981), is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. He published novels, short stories, plays ...

. De Rosa toured in the UK and Europe in support of ''Prevention'' in spring 2009, and supported

Doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

on their UK tour dates in April. The band, however, announced that they were breaking up in June 2009, stating, "To all who listened, Unfortunately De Rosa has come to an end. If you liked our music or came to see us play then we'd like to thank you all. Goodbye, De Rosa." In 2011, vocalist and guitarist Martin John Henry released a solo album, entitled ''The Other Half of Everything'' on

Reunion (2012–present)

On 14 February 2012, the band announced that they had reunited, and that they would begin recording new material. They performed their first show at Kid Canaveral's Christmas Baubles on 14/12/13 receiving positive reviews. The group released their first new single, "Spectres", on 17 November 2015, as well as announcing the released of their third studio album ''

'' on

Rock Action Records Rock Action Records is a Scottish, Glasgow-based independent record label, founded and maintained by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. The label has showcased such diverse talents as Part Chimp, Errors, Chris Brokaw, Trout, The James Orr Complex ...

on 22 January 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Mend'' (2006) -

*''

'' (2009) -

*''

'' (2016) -

Singles

*"Camera" / "All Saints Day" (August 2004) *"Camera" / "Amy’s Song" (June 2006) *"Father’s Eyes" / "Evelyn" (November 2006) *"Spectres" (November 2015)

Other releases

*CHEM 087 CD+DVD (August 2006) Chemikal Underground's anniversary compilation. Includes the De Rosa track "Cathkin Braes". *'' Ballads Of The Book'' (March 2007) Compilation featuring collaborations between Scottish writers and musicians. Includes "Steam Comes Off Our House", a collaboration with

Michel Faber Michel Faber (born 13 April 1960) is a Dutch-born writer of English-language fiction, including his 2002 novel ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. His latest book is a novel for young adults, ''D—A Tale of Two Worlds, D: A Tale of Two Worlds'' ...

Appendices 2008
(2008) A project where a free specially written and recorded song was given away free by MP3 download on the first Monday of each month of 2008. The result was a complete download only album of original songs.

References

External links

De Rosa mySpace

Stereokill Interview: Chris Connick, 4 March 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Rosa (Band) Musical groups from Glasgow Scottish indie rock groups People from Bellshill Rock Action Records artists Gargleblast Records artists Chemikal Underground artists