Kelsey Dower on collaboration and creative control

Description

Episode 014 – Kelsey Dower | MAKE // BREAK

Kelsey Maree Dower is a symphonic metal vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose cinematic writing style turns orchestration into front-line storytelling. Best known for her single “Rage” and the concept-driven album project Rebirth, she builds massive arrangements with a DIY, self-composed precision that still hits emotionally. She’s also a featured vocalist and co-writer on Björn Hofer’s In the Shadow symphonic metal trilogy through B-Track Records. In Episode 014 of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, Kelsey digs into the real work behind ambitious music: MIDI composition, mixing battles between strings and guitars, creative control, and navigating the music business as an autistic artist.

👀 What you’ll hear

Trace her path from piano prodigy to symphonic metal songwriter with a clear creative compass
Learn why orchestral parts feel easy, and why guitars and drums still challenge the mix
Hear how collaboration stays open while protecting vision and keeping creative control intact
Reframe ambition when your genre is niche, expensive, and hard for algorithms to surface
Unpack the myth of getting signed young and the practical planning that replaced it
Break down Rage, cathartic anger, and how growls became a new tool in her voice

🕰️ Chapters
00:00 Symphonic metal origin story and why it finally clicked

02:49 First metal exposure, emotional catharsis, Within Temptation moment

05:44 Moving childhood, Carnegie Hall, opening for Clay Aiken

08:09 Piano and vocals foundation, ear training, early performance discipline

09:40 MIDI composition workflow, Ableton-style arranging, finding the spark

11:58 Production challenge: orchestra width vs guitars, drums, and mixing presence

14:51 Collaboration mindset, creative control, and working through disagreements

17:35 Ambition in niche genres, costs of scale, algorithm invisibility

22:52 Inspiration vs showing up, building ideas over time without forcing it

26:50 Music industry myth: getting signed young, budgeting, planning, side jobs

30:54 Autism, gatekeepers, reading intent, navigating predatory dynamics

38:46 Rage single inspiration, bullying, catharsis, learning growls