songwriting notes: rose gold

an excerpt from my studio diary

Oct 17, 2025

rose gold is a soft, sensual song I wrote and produced alone in my studio one cold Seattle day in Jan 2021. I created it start to finish in ~12 hours.

I locked myself in the studio, determined to not come out until a new song had been born.

Inspired by Kiarra Feels, Felix Snow, and the dreamy textures of Alina Baraz, I spent the day floating between the piano, pads, layered kicks, and paintbrushes. I swung in my aerial silk and listened. I was creating music that made me want to play with paint and melt.

I was seducing myself with my own imagination.

I was obsessed with golden light. With sunsets. The pink clouds. The way the light splashed across the walls of my studio. The whole place felt warm and full of love. The room felt like rose gold.

listen to “rose gold” on:

Spotify ☽ Apple Music ☽ YouTube Music

Rose Gold was written during my “Everyday Songwriting” Project.

I wrote a full song, from scratch to release, in 24hrs, everyday, for 37 days, in a row. That included not just lyrics…but all the instruments, the mixing, the mastering...It was zero to Spotify ready in 24hrs. Phew!!

On the 37th day I collapsed from emotional exhaustion in the doorway. My friends went to sushi and I missed out because I had been tied to the computer editing the newest song.

I couldn’t take it anymore.
The FOMO.
The long hours.
The pressure.
The screen time.

But I was actually have soooo much fun along the way.

It was so rewarding.
It accelerated my music skills.
The anticipation every morning was high.

What would I create by the time I went to sleep that night?

But I was starved of social time. I had to decline so many invitations. My parts who love people and parties were suffering. I wanted to keep going but I was tired.

Day 37. I pulled the plug.

— a grumpy part of me covers her mouth and fake coughs, “vocal booth”

Did you know that music production is one of the most energy intensive activities the human brain can do?
It’s high level multi-tasking, simultaneously juggling and navigating through:
chaotic creativity
mathematical structure
emotional processing (including trauma healing)
complex digital software & instruments
physical exertion through musical performance
the gnarly waves of self doubt, fantasy, imposture syndrome, and dreams
and the grinding lows of blockages and the peak highs of breakthroughs
The challenge draws me in.

excerpt from my journal

“Todays song was inspired by Kiarra Feels and Whipping, the producer Felix Snow and Alina Baraz and her producer Galimatis. I wanted to create a song that felt soft and sexy. Something I would naturally gravitate to if I were painting or seducing. I want to learn how to make music that feels dreamy and floaty and creamy. I ended up using a lot of piano, pads and layered kicks and snaps. I spent almost 12 hours making the song today. I’ve learned that it’s unhealthy for me to stay up into the night working on music. I’m aiming to start songwriting no later than 2pm and finish up no later than 7 or 8pm. It’s currently 12:49am. I started just after 2pm today. I took breaks to paint, pee, social media, snack and swing. I made the whole thing by myself, locked up in my studio.”

my original songwriting notes

I LOVE writing songs on my iPad with my Apple Pen. It makes it so easy to move lyrics around and edit.

Obviously, writing on paper is more classic old school charming retro artist vibes but…this is the pleasure of modern convenience + technological wonders!!!! Plus, I can just AirDrop it to my computer and share it with you!