Meet... ĠENN

With their latest EP, Liminal, now out, the rising quartet are on the ride of their life as they become one of the most exciting bands of our time.

Photo Credit: Holly Whitaker

Fulfilled with attitude yet integrity, the Brighton based troupe are on the cusp of a new era of music for their take on infectious post-punk with the twist of indie-pop. From the bass dominated 'Feel' to the psychedelic refrain hook of 'Falling Out', Liminal is a genre-bending journey of tales.

Whilst they take the world by storm, Vibez caught up with drummer Sofia about all things to do with the theme of Liminal, advice for rising stars and what they have held up their sleeves for live music.

Firstly, what has the past few months of 2021 been like and, what do you hope from this year?

Slow! But still moving. Normality feels so close yet so far. We’ve just been trying to get together as much as possible and play our instruments before we forget how to do it, to be honest. Fortunately for us, we’ve managed to get some lockout deals with local rehearsal spaces. We’ve done a mix of jamming and writing as well as playing through our new stuff a bunch to make sure they’re ready for live shows. This year we hope to play as many shows as possible and keep writing.

From the release of 'Feel' and your latest single, 'Mackerel's Funky Mission', fans have been given hints of what to expect from the EP but, how would you describe your sound?

I think our ideas and inspirations are way too wide to fit into one word or group of words aha. We will spend time writing and often go from hip-hop or jazz grooves to something more stead-fast and punk. We take elements from the sounds we love most and tend to genre-blend a lot without really realising. There’s a certain psychedelic aspect that we all draw too, though. I think there’s a lot of space for us to get creative there.

Talking about your forthcoming EP 'Liminal' which, is due on the 30th March - how excited are you for this project to be out and, what is the overall arching story of the EP?

We’re excited for people to hear it. This EP came about virtually online during the first lockdown in 2020. It was a unique approach to writing; we didn’t see the songs bloom until we could finally be in the same room together a month before recording. Although it was difficult with everything going on, it still felt organic, and there was something quite peaceful about it. Kind of like the world was in disarray, and we were fortunate enough to have something positive to focus our energy on -especially since we were quite gutted about all our shows being cancelled. The term ‘Liminal’ signifies the beginning stages of a process. We all feel that this body of work is the birth of a new era for us as a band. Despite there being influences from the time of writing, it’s not so much a story, more like the first chapter, I guess.

Compared to your debut work 'Titty Monsters' from four years ago - would you say that you have grown together into a stronger group of people and, do you believe your sound has evolved?

I wasn’t in the band when Titty Monster was written and recorded, but speaking for the others, I think they would agree that we are in the right place now. A lot has changed since then, including the 3 of them moving over to the UK (which was a huge challenge in itself) and me joining. So yeah, I guess naturally it’s created a different dynamic for us as a band. We work well together and are always striving to grow and evolve musically and as friends.

As we talk about your sound, what inspires the band to continue to produce work and have your inspirations changed over time?

It’s hard being consistently creative, but it’s something that we all enjoy. I mean – that’s a given. We work hard because we love what we do. And we will continue to produce work in ways that honour that. In terms of inspirations, I genuinely believe it to be a personal thing, for all of us. For example, our vocalist Leona is a very visual & colourful person and gets a lot of her creative energy and direction from films. We are all different people, and I think that’s what makes us able to layer ideas and create something fruitful and experimental.

Formally based in Brighton, what rising artists are you listening to right now and think we should go and listen to?

Look no further than B-town residers - Stone Cold Fiction, Austerity and ARXX. Our top 3!

Talking about rising stars, what advice would you give out to someone who's just starting?

Find sense in what you’re doing. I once felt that making music was less about my creative input and more about a collective idea or sound. I mean yeah, that’s an important element when starting in bands, but ultimately, you need to like what you’re creating. My advice would be to trust your ideas and to bring them forward. Always! Surround yourself with good people – listen to their ideas too. Trust that you all have something to bring and you could make something special.

On the other hand, of new music, live shows are slowly creeping up - do you have anything planned for the summer, and what can we expect from your shows?

We are planning some appearances and hope to start announcing shows soon. We’re very much a live band so expect to see our new songs brought to life for the first time. I also think bands and gig-goers have all this pent-up energy and emotion right now, so when the time comes, it’s going to be pretty magical. We really cannot wait!

Finally, where do you see GENN going?

We want to do this now. We’re currently working full-time whilst juggling the demands of being in a band, and it comes with a lot of challenges. The honest dream is to make this our career. Maybe write a hundred or so albums and tour the world n sh*t.