Today I’m excited to introduce everyone to Ursa Major Revelation, and their new single/video for “Big Baby.” The band is Ursula Rose (vocals) and Dylan Rau (production/guitar) and you may remember Rau’s name from his work in the indie rock band, Bear Hands. The title track from their forthcoming EP is a glowing mix of memorable sounds that mesh well over Rose’s breathtaking vocal performance. While speaking on their new EP, Rose shared:
By the time I turned 30, I had a major revelation. I looked back on my life and saw a map. My life was a map of the men I have loved. Some of them were pretty cool, others less so. I let the map guide me through the creation of three songs, one for each of the major loves of my life. Dylan Rau made these instrumentals in various west coast closets and I wrote most of the vocals at an Airbnb in Joshua Tree. Additional recording was completed at a fishing cabin on the Oregon Coast. The songs feature production and mixing from dear friend and colleague Chris Chu (The Morning Benders, Pop ETC). Original artwork for each single by my grandmother Sara January Price.
I was also able to catch up with this talented band for an interview below.
For anyone unfamiliar with Ursa Major Revelation, how would you best describe this project and what you’re all about generally speaking?
I met Dylan in Brooklyn while he was on tour with his band Bear Hands. I filled in last minute for their regular merch person. We immediately bonded over our shared ability to laugh at our own tragedies. A year later we started dating and making music together. I was a musical theater child and Dylan was an emo Connecticut punk but as adults we have the exact same taste in music despite our opposite adolescent identities. Both aesthetically and musically Dylan and I are almost like twins but our personalities are very different. Sometimes one of us has to compromise but mostly we find ourselves meeting naturally in the middle. I love trying to blow his mind with whimsical lyrics and he loves chopping and sculpting them into his pie of instrumentals. Our music is basically a product of trying to impress each other only to realize that we’re staring into a mirror and the other person is actually ourselves.
Sonically, where did you derive inspiration from while composing this project’s debut EP? How does “Big Baby” the single fit into that narrative?
We were listening to a lot of contemporary emo, electronica, and SoundCloud rap while making this album. Specifically Juice WRLD, Eryn Martin, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Tirzah, and Little Dragon. We really appreciate the juxtaposition of a somber message paired with goofy upbeat rhythms. Basically sad dance music. “Big Baby” the single is supposed to be like that nasty break up letter you slipped into your boyfriend’s locker. It’s that sick feeling of young heartbreak mixed with the triumph and joy of successfully letting go. It’s telling a sad story and staying sexy at the same time.
On a lyrical basis, you noted that this EP’s three songs document the stories of your three greatest loves — was taking a look back into your memory to recount these stories in a musical format difficult at all? And did you make any revelations about yourself and your life in that process?
As dorky as it sounds, from the very beginning I knew I wanted our first EP to have a “theme”. So I looked at my life as a whole and tried to identify the biggest “themes”. It was a sobering revelation when I saw that one of the biggest themes of my life was falling in love with tragic people and my passion for saving them. At first this was a really sad realization, like I hadn’t done anything big with my life except create these epic codependent relationships. But when we started writing and recording these songs the sadness dissipated and I began to forgive myself. Being in a band and making this music is my attempt at creating new and better themes for my life.