A QUICK CHAT WITH GORDON’S GRANDSON

The concept of LOVE ME touches on losing authenticity in the pursuit of love and attention. Can you tell us more about how this theme developed and what inspired you to explore it in this EP?

I had been uploading my songs to radio and streaming for 2 years and I was sick of not being able to market my music. There’s so much amazing music that goes under the radar because there’s just so much music available to us it’s impossible to hear it all. I want a career in music so desperately that my entire life became devoted to marketing it. This project is just a result of that leaking into my art.

The shift in production from the lo-fi, raw sound in tracks like Save Me to the polished, 80s-inspired pop towards the end of the EP is really noticeable. What was your creative process behind this sonic transition?

I make new music everyday. I open my laptop and create whatever I feel like making. As a result of that, I have hundreds and hundreds of songs. You almost get a sort of choice paralysis with that many options. I tried not to think about it too much and just chose the songs that felt right for the project. A gradual shift that will be subconscious for most listeners is the mixing. Using cleaner compressors and pushing the master harder really makes those last few songs feel cleaner and more commercial.

You’ve mentioned that Love Me, the focus track, begs to be liked by listeners with its catchy melodies and vibrant production. How do you balance making music that stays true to you while also creating something that resonates with a wider audience?

Everything I make is made to my taste, I play every instrument myself exactly how I want, I don’t have any creative collaborators. That’s just how I like to work, it makes the music feel more personal. Making your music more commercial is easy, with a song like Love Me, I used a super common chord progression. It gives you that feeling like you’ve heard it before. Even though the mixing is unconventional and low-fi, there’s a sense of familiarity that people can immediately cling onto. Finding the balance was something that came about with trial and error.

You've said that LOVE ME is about "selling out on your own terms." Can you elaborate on what this means for you as an artist, and how that idea plays into both the lyrical content and the overall vibe of the EP?

If you want to be a music artist you absolutely have to market yourself as a product. This causes you to look deep into the psychology of consumers and really tear apart how the whole industry works. Most artists want a record label to take care of that side of things. Understandably, artists want to make art and not worry about how it’ll be perceived. If I am going to turn myself into a product, I’m going to do it in a way that suits me. I want creative control, I want to own my masters, I only want to endorse and promote things that mean something to me. I’d rather quit music than become a corporate pawn that shoves cheap, inauthentic crap down your throat. I also want to make music without a day job. We’ll see how that goes.

Your earlier tracks like My Lover Girl have gained huge traction on TikTok and streaming platforms. How has that success influenced your approach to writing and producing new music, particularly on LOVE ME?

I planned this project and came up with the tracklist in February. Apart from changing some of the production I mainly spent the year mixing, mastering and creating content. I really wanted to stick to my original vision for the project. I think it’s very easy to get in your own head while you’re creating something but I have enough instrumentals and demo songs to last me a 20 year career, so the pressure of making something amazing isn’t really there for me. I just make something new when I feel like it and then I revisit it with fresh ears a couple months later. I don’t like the idea of having a set creative process so I’m just excited to see what ideas I come up with in the next few months. 

You produce all your music from your bedroom, keeping that DIY ethos alive. How does your environment influence the music you create, and what challenges or benefits come from being so hands-on with every aspect of your work?

It’s definitely very time consuming but I love that no money is exchanged in the process. It feels very pure. I think the main benefit is that it results in a very unique and authentic sound. In another lifetime I was probably really into fashion and got into making my own jeans or something, from start to end, obsessing over everything from the stitching to the buttons. I love knowing everything about a process and making it the best it can be. Making something to your own taste is one of the greatest joys of being alive. I’d hate to pay money to give that privilege away to someone else.