<3 Ruben is listening from Heaven or Las Vegas. <3

Ruben Gonzales, my very best friend and the other half of Rose Haze, passed away unexpectedly on Jan 31, 2024. He was only 37 and it is assumed he had lymphoma and died of related complications. It goes without saying that I and many others are still shocked, shredded, and in deep mourning.

On the day he passed, we received the mix back for this cover of “Heaven or Las Vegas." I was unable to listen to it for almost a week or more. But once I did, I had the mix tidied up and mastered immediately.

We chose to cover this track in particular because I enjoyed trying to decipher the lyrics, loved the melody, and knew that Ruben would crush the guitars. It was a difficult decision as we have so much love for other Cocteau Twins tracks and at first Ruben wasn’t so keen on this choice, but the track grew on him!

Two days after Ruben passed, I put his photo in a frame, put on Garlands (also by Cocteau Twins) and wept. He said to me in a text a few days before he passed that “Millimillenary” might be his favorite Cocteau Twins song because I asked him to choose. I’m really drawn to “Know Who You Are At Every Age” and I typed “I can’t grieve so I won’t grow, I won’t heal til I let go” onto the frame that contains his photo two days after he passed during the ceremony of grief I performed.

When I met Ruben, we immediately felt a musical kinship unlike anything we had ever experienced and I told him shortly thereafter we were forever married in music. We often compared our sonic styles to that of a “Guthrie and Fraser,” which eventually led to us doing this cover.

We have never released a cover before, it’s not really our thing. But we made it our thing because we love Cocteau Twins so very much, and I know that Ruben studied Robin’s guitar playing to the Nth power. When I first heard him play, I thought, wow, how very Guthrie of him. He of course had his own masterful sound, but you know.

Anyway, as an artist, I think releasing a cover is a huge risk. At first, I wanted to make it really different from the original track. But after we got going, I decided I didn’t want to deviate too far. We derive so much inspiration from Cocteau Twins, and this is our tribute.

<3 Kate from Rose Haze

Heaven or Las Vegas

Goth rock and shoegaze banger dedicated to Ruben Gonzales.

The Möbius Oblivion

LOVE FROM DEATH

where did you go?
well I don’t know how to go on without you
in the new moon you brought me love
you’ve been guiding me
now you’re answering my prayers from the sky
it’s not the same
since you left this plane
you were such a light in this dark world
swallowed your soul
now I beam brighter than before
no more crying
for now I’m flying higher with our wings
together we will fight the demons of the night
never to surrender our freedom to the great divide
with our light divine, in grace we will shine, forever
with our light divine, we will always shine
on this hell on earth and in the clouds above forever
and now i will go
to mexico to live on with you
live on with you live on with you
happily ever after with a new love
i am unafraid
in the awakening of the new age
together we will fight the demons of the night
never to surrender our freedom to the great divide
with our light divine, in grace we will shine, forever
with our light divine, we will always shine, forever in love, forever in love


LOVE FROM DEATH

Slow Decay

The Rose Haze is the musical project of Kate Ramsey, an Ohio-born, Los Angeles-based artist who pursues limitless sonic exploration. Her music is “otherworldly in a spaced out way” (Glide), “saturated with lush synth pads” (Petal Motel), and “dramatic, majestic rock” (The Stranger).

Rose Haze

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