“Rosedale” (2020)
Clark returns with his 4th project called “Rosedale” in the form of a double album that delivers a range of sounds with big-record components and smooth rhythmic touches. He explains that “Rosedale” is a story of two-sides and expounds further on to say that it simultaneously embodies feelings of “belief, doubt, solitude, and companionship.” Clark strategically divided the album by the emotions each song triggers and categorizes these emotions into two groups - individualistic and sentimental. Side 1, which Clark labels “I’ll be good,” represents the individualist lifestyle he lives to remain sane and grounded within a world that doesn’t have your best interests at heart. On the other hand, Side 2 — also known as “But we were better” — acknowledges Clark’s strong desire to feel true love as well as to establish genuine connections with those around him and forthcoming.
Rosedale is a culmination of Clarkoh’s adult years since moving into his first apartment on Rosedale Street in Boston, MA in 2013. It captures his boldness and ingenuity but does not neglect his shortcomings. Clark is a commoner like everyone else but he continues to battle a growing sense of complacency as time wears on him. When listening to the records closely, one can hear a soul that is finally at peace, focused, and intent upon leveling up.
Clark was extremely inspired by early 2000s musical trends and today’s biggest hip-hop acts. Rosedale sonically brings these inspirations together to create super-polished and well-structured tracks which are qualities often disregarded by artists, as of late, in Rap music. The production was curated by Clarkoh but made possible by various producers. Jeppe Caspersen aka JCaspersen (hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark), is responsible for most of the songs on the album and brings a commercialized feel to it. In addition, Clarkoh connected with MjNichols (California, United States) on several tracks that resulted in anthemic bangers through simple chords and bouncy 808 frequencies. An industry standout, CashmoneyAP (Los Angeles, CA, United States), joined the party contributing timeless and Top-40 style records — each worthy of the “song of the year” title. And last but certainly not the least, Origami (Germany) and Certibeats + Big Jeezy (United Kingdom + Paris) showed their excellence with their lone records on the album.
Clarkoh began writing Rosedale in August 2017, starting with “You Don’t Know Me Now” — a Clark Sage classic — and finished writing the last song in April 2020. This record was released with other singles from “Rosedale” and packaged as an EP titled “Seen This Before” to generate buzz before Rosedale’s premiere. Almost every song was written while Clark was on-the-clock as an overnight security officer. On most nights, Clark would walk office halls screaming off-key notes, experimenting, and mumbling melodies - some made it to the final cut and some did not. Then, he would duck into vacant rooms at his job to record his lyrics when he could before employees entered the building in the morning. Ainsley (Boston, MA), a longtime friend of Clarkoh, let off fireworks on their track “We Ain’t Stressed” making it the one-and-only feature on the album. International Show mixed and mastered this album to perfection at SOE Complex in Weymouth, MA and put the final touches on Rosedale.
The artwork was created by Jack Davies aka jackdarton, the same artist who did the covers for Clarkoh’s previous album. The art direction was inspired by cyberpunk, vintage anime, off-brand fashion, and futuristic concepts. The covers incorporate elements of Boston and mixes them with fictional environments to create a setting that highlights clever use of perspective and eccentric coloring.
Clark is leaving his mark on the world with Rosedale and ultimately sharing his woes, his blasts and his greatest with us all but hopefully not his last. All in all, Rosedale is truly a complete offering; it’s a record that can be experienced in any setting but best-consumed when you are ready to evolve.
