Welsh artist’s dark experimental pop offers connection in dystopic times

Stephen Price

GG Fearn is a 23-year-old Welsh musician, Cambridge law graduate and a self confessed weirdo – and her latest release is a perfect example of her slickly produced music which has echoes of alt-pop pioneers, Kate Bush and Radiohead.

Hailing from west Wales and obsessed with storytelling since she was 13, she is a multi-instrumentalist always chasing a strange, unexpected sound.

GG’s work explores themes of self-identity, madness and perception, offering a dark and introspective commentary on the pursuit of power and identity.

Anthemic, dark pop

GG’s latest single, Permanent Record, has been described by critics as a “dark pop anthem that confronts the realities of a world saturated with technology”.

A true solo effort, the Welsh musician wrote, produced, mixed, and mastered the single herself. Permanent Record marks a new chapter for GG, following her debut EP, Black Mirror, which captivated audiences with its exploration of self-identity and unique sound.

The EP garnered praise from BBC Radio Wales, solidifying her place as an emerging artist to watch in the BBC Horizons scheme.

Right now, GG is soundtracking independent feature film Scopophobia in collaboration with Melyn Pictures Ltd and working on new music, but took some time out to chat with Nation.Cymru about her latest release which is set to introduce her to a much wider audience.

Therapy… with a beat

GG explained how she got got into the music industry, saying: “I’ve always been fascinated by stories. There’s something really compelling about transferring that into the medium of music.

“So I’ve always drawn from the stories I connect with. There’s a quote by Coco Chanel  – “only those with no memory insist on their originality”. My writing is characterised by visceral imagery, specific characters, building stories. It’s like therapy, but with a sick beat.

The latest single is an accomplished and completely solo affair, however she told us: “I love working with others, I’ve collaborated with great producers – Charlie Francis on my EP “Black Mirror”, Luke Jones (Clear Wave Music) on some session projects.

“My latest project is different because I controlled the process from start to finish.  I’ve taught myself to produce through playing and being curious: hours of sifting through sounds is my idea of fun, finding new sounds and obsessively layering.

“It’s been wild, from stumbling through learning curves to mastering my own tracks. It usually happens in a fever dream session where I lose track of time and suddenly nine hours have passed.”

GG has recently moved back to Carmarthen after graduating. She told us that Cambridge was very different – with funk jam nights, playing infamous Cambridge May Balls.

She shared: “Carmarthen is a funny place. It’s a strange brew of quietude and chaos. Vast and open landscapes contrast with this claustrophobic nature of small-town life.

“That, for me, is a pressure cooker of creativity. It filters into my music. It’s like the soundtrack to a Gillian Flynn story, but with more existential dread and way more synths.”

Dystopian love affair

GG’s latest track is “Permanent Record”, and it came about in a fit of inspiration after she finished reading Edward Snowden’s memoir.

She said: “I really liked the phrase, the concept of our lives being reduced to ones and zeros.

“The music was a natural progression from there – apocalyptic, a tad paranoid, but also resigned. I wanted to create a soundscape that felt like acceptance of being trapped in a digital panopticon.

The latest track is very of its time, with more and more of us glued to a device from morning till night – a refreshing subject in a sea of formulaic love songs and the like. She told us: “It’s interesting to explore themes that resonate with the zeitgeist.

“We’re all so addicted to the convenience of surveillance, it’s a weird, dystopian love affair. A hyper-connected world is fertile ground for looking at the darkness not only in individuals but in broader society.

“While love songs are so universal, I’m fascinated by anxieties, control, contradictions, identity.

“So, while digital obsession might not be the specific topic for my next project, I’ll always explore those feelings it evokes.”

A modern Celtic

GG is currently knee-deep in the world of horror, working on the ‘Scopophobia’ soundtrack.

She told us: “Welsh Independent Film Production Company ‘Melyn Pictures’ got in touch with me to write the soundtrack directly to their script.

“The album drops August 24th on all streaming platforms. I can’t say too much, but expect range and a different angle, but always with that signature strange Celtic GG Fearn sound.

She will also be bringing the ‘Scopophobia’ soundtrack to life with her headline show on 7 September in CWRW. More dates will most certainly be added to her website as she shared that she’s “itching to take my show on the road, so keep an eye out for a tour announcement a bit further afield.

“It’s dark, it’s strange, it’s something you haven’t heard before.”

With the experimental and high-brow-made-accessible touches of Grimes, and a masterful ‘voice as instrument’ vocal prowess similar to fellow-Welsh artist Marina, GG is most certainly one to watch.

She shared: “My music is a blend of the familiar and the unsettling.

“I love classic songwriting structures, but subvert them into something darker, infuse them with weird sounds and a Celtic undercurrent.

“My music is about creating a world that’s catchy and compelling, but with a haunting, uneasy quality. That, to me, encapsulates the allure of wickedness.”

Ultimately, however, it all comes down to the music. And her original, urgent and captivating music really is something special.

Wales has done it again.

Stream Permanent Record and previous releases from GG Fearn here.