It's safe to say from a generational standpoint that there's beauty and darkness that surrounds Stella Rose Gahan. Minus her surname (as the daughter of Depeche Mode frontperson Dave Gahan), the 25-year-old offspring has a smoky seductress feel and persona. This goes to her visual and vocal output, which has shades of the Gahan gene knitted tightly in the fabric.
In Europe, where she has forged a parallel eclectic art house modeling career, she has also grown musically in the past year, resulting in Hollybaby, a four-track EP (produced with Yves Rothman, released Dec. 4) that swirls around droning guitars and her ethereal voice. With the new release "Drugstore Romeo," there's a smidgeon of The Church's "Reptile," a dose of psychedelic feedback, and more than enough layered, toll-the-bell dampening of the spirit to make the listener almost want to reach out and shake Gahan back to her senses.
The Hollybaby EP was recorded in Los Angeles, in stifling heat, and that kind of emotional rawness is coming through loud and clear with these four tracks. Gahan's approach lyrically is minimal, yet poetic. The visual headspace, however, stands out the most, going back to her 2023 album Eyes of Glass and now more so with the videos for Hollybaby. Sequences that are scarily bleak seem to ooze from her parallel modeling career and part from a (possible) hearkening, releasing a few demons absorbed from the characters woven into the story.
Hollybaby contains some pretty unpleasant scenarios that are not for the faint of heart, including "Drugstore Romeo" and the title track ("Ash this vision of poetry/Hell hath no fury"). "MS.45" contains all manner of direct questions as she stands on the brink of life, bathed in steel and glass, and "Beautiful Twenty Somethings" weaves an early '70s New York City Chelsea neighborhood, with its out-of-the-box residents, that recall the intoxicating Warhol-styled "we're in this together"-ship that defined a generation of singers, models, filmmakers, and artists.
While she snakes around with a swagger in her visuals, projecting more of a theatrical turn than a rock star strut, in interviews she speaks with a deliberate, yet casual downtown vibe that points to an individual that is, as the cliche goes, wise beyond their years.
A few of those creative topics were broached with Gahan in a short interview for this piece, via email.
Amy McGrath: How do you find the inspiration in your approach to songwriting, with regards to influences, both musically and in the arts culture?
Stella Rose Gahan: Classical music moves me to write. Maybe it is the operatic nature or the wordless melodies. Dance used to be an everyday part of my life and has found its way into my music in performance. My movement helps me to express my songwriting and influences me to play with its meaning.
There have been numerous comparisons to PJ Harvey and Patti Smith. Has that been flattering, suffocating or maybe a little of both?
Influence can be tricky because what is valuable to an artist is their self-expression. So, comparing in a way can seem sort of pointless. In music, we feel a need to identify what we are, so naturally we compare to find representation and understanding. But, that need shouldn't be held to confinement. An artist should have the freedom to change.
Do you see a fundamental difference in the New York City "scene" to the Los Angeles "scene" when it comes to performing and recording?
It is easy to tag along to the notions of New York City having an edge that Los Angeles seems to lack. But honestly, I think it just depends where you are looking.
And finally: how are you feeling personally about yourself and the current state of cultural affairs in the U.S.? On the surface, your approach to modeling and your visuals feels very European.
The U.S. seems to be cycling through eras and it is happening rapidly because of the internet. It feels like we are in the '80s culturally and politically. Which is being reflected in behavior and art.
Is there a goth/alternative awakening as part of an impending the '90s resurgence? Or will Gahan be pushing boundaries as we enter an age that, as she puts it, where we feel we're back in the '80s? Only 2025 will tell us soon enough.
The new video for "Drugstore Romeo" by Stella Rose Gahan is out now. Follow Stella Rose Gahan on Instagram at @stellarose_gahan.
