Putting us right in our feels this Monday with his smooth emotionally-driven track is Gaspar Narby with “Death & Other Things”. Glimmering with both confidence and euphoric vocal ability, the artist intimately welcomes us into his warming world, gently guiding us with sweet whispers and angelic guitar strings. Diving into his own vulnerability and turbulent emotions on the track, Gasper opens up on his experience with growth and realisation, resulting in a beautiful soundscape with downtempo melancholia.

Speaking on the track, the artist said, “‘Creating ‘Death & Other Things’ was an intense moment of self-honesty and vulnerability, a meditation on my fear of growing old and never finding my place and a body-based realisation of my inescapable mortality. It felt like transcribing, rather than writing, in the sense that the song was already there, somewhere, and all I had to do was make it make sense. I was really surprised to see acoustic folk in the verses and lo-fi electronics in the choruses cohabiting within this one song.”

Since his debut back in 2017, Narby has continued to prove his growth and experimentation with his 2018 EP “A Stare Makes Two” and “Collab”. With his new EP on the way, we sat down virtually with the artist, talking all things music and creativity.

Check out the interview below…

Hi Gaspar, how are you?
I’m well thank you! It’s very exciting to be releasing music again.

How did you first get into music? Do you have any specific memories that come to mind?
My parents listened to a lot of music, from CocoRosie to Boards of Canada. My mum made me take piano lessons when I was six. I hated it. It was only when I started writing cheesy love songs on guitar, aged 14, that I started being obsessed with music.

How would you describe your sound?
Sunny sad pop is what I usually say. I find it hard to find the right words though!

And, congratulations on the release of “Death & Other Things”! Talk us through its production process!
Thank you so much! I never really expected this one to be a single actually. The lyrics seemed overly personal and honest at first, and the sound was so much folkier than what I’m used to writing. But speaking with the lovely people over at Everybody’s Music and with my partner Lena, I realised perhaps this vulnerability might be the point of these new songs.

Do you have a particular message you are trying to convey to listeners? Maybe you have an emotion you want to invoke in them?
That’s a really good question! In the process of writing, I think I’m mostly trying to surprise myself before anyone else. With this body of work, I wanted to explore honesty and intimacy. I hope it translates!

The track also comes accompanied by an emotional set of visuals, packed full of home videos and guided by your partner Lena Vallat! How did you and Lena land on this concept for the music video?
As my partner, and the creative director for this project, Lena was the first person to hear this song. She was the one who came up with the idea of using VHS videos my parents filmed. We loved the contrast between these innocent childhood videos and the lyrics about my fear of growing old and never fitting in.

And, you have the upcoming release of your debut EP! How are you feeling about sharing this project with the world?
I’m so excited. The writing was a solitary process, facing parts of me I’m a bit scared of, so opening it to other people feels intimidating but also very exciting. These songs won’t be just about me now, they’re about whatever people want to hear in them!

Do you have a dream artist that you’d love to collaborate with?
So many! I have a particular fascination for the grain in Rihanna’s voice I have to say. I can’t believe how “hers” it is, if that makes sense?

What is next for you?
The release of the EP, and then concerts! No specific dates announced yet but I can’t wait to share these songs with people live. And I’ve already written a lot of the music that’ll follow actually!