Brighton-based transnational genre-blenders ĠENN (pronounced Jenn) release their new EP Liminal today via Everything Sucks Music. Their sound, wandering between sharp post-punk guitars, psychedelic grooves, funked up vibes, shimmering shoegaze and straight-ahead rock & roll, has something for almost any musical palate, but avoids the pitfall of spreading itself too thin – each element seems perfectly natural and styles that could easily jar blend seemlessly into one another.
We asked vocalist Leona Farrugia and guitarist Janelle Borg to take us through the EP track by track.
1. Feel
Leona – Musically, the song was inspired by the song structure of The Doors and Lou Reed’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ – it’s drone-centred and infused with psychedelic elements, giving space for the vocals to shine through. It culminates in a shoegazey bridge that showcases our love for experimentation, 70’s music and jamming. The lyrics personify a relationship with drugs and the dependency that stems from that sense of escapism.
2. Mackerel’s Funky Mission
Leona – I think ‘Mackerel’s Funky Mission’ is an escapism mechanism…. you sort of pretend to be someone else – in this case a fish – to escape from a current situation. It’s fun to pretend you’re something else and write from that perspective. It was also inspired by the lockdown as I wanted to be a fish just to be able to travel, and also by my love for the sea. I tried to be as visual as possible with the lyrics and the story.
3. 23rd March
Leona – When I was writing this song’s lyrics, I was thinking about the current political situation… with Covid, Brexit, BLM… The chorus is written in the style of a Maltese expression…. In Malta, when someone is seen as ‘evil’, there’s a tendency to say that you’re gonna pray for someone’s soul since this particular person needs your prayers to be saved… Very biblical
4. Catalyst
Janelle – This track’s origins can be traced back to around 2018 when Leanne and I were jamming on this riff that we really liked but was a bit too dark for what we were doing at the time. Fast forward to 2020, and the main riff proved to be perfect for this EP.
5. Just Another Sad Song
Janelle – Leona came up with the main guitar riff and we kinda evolved it one night in her living room. This song was written really quickly and we decided to keep the demo name as the official name since we thought it’s kinda cheeky and sarcastic.
6. Falling Out
Janelle – Another song that can be traced back to the past – this time 2016. In fact version 1 of “Falling Out” was debuted in Barcelona in 2016. We evolved it and changed it a billion times. The EP version is the latest iteration of this tune and we refer to it as our “New Song” (Warpaint), pop/disco-influenced moment.
Liminal EP is out today via Everything Sucks Music – get your copy on vinyl or digital download, including a super limited edition version that comes with a pair of official ĠENN sports socks, here.
ĠENN play The Great Escape festival in May, Lout Women Fest in September and FOCUS Wales in October – details can be found on their website.
Introduction by Paul Maps
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