I’m really impressed and proud to share some of the latest music submitted here. It brought on a great forecast and trajectory of where the music scene is going. Here I introduce to you Gwen Good.
She is a 17-year-old singer/songwriter from Tri-Cities Washington, and she is only a junior in high school. Started playing piano at age 7 and has participated in a lot of piano recitals and competitions when she was younger. Gwen stated “I always loved making up my own piano melodies, but I never thought of writing lyrics.” She had started playing her dad’s guitar and just loved the sound of it. She got her own guitar shortly after, and naturally started making up little songs. This escalated into her learning how to record music on a laptop with a cheap microphone and making messy demos of songs. After a few months, she decided to release some of these songs, and she found a local sound engineer to help record her music professionally. “It was so much fun to record music in a studio, and I even brought a few of my friends into the studio to record different instruments and some backing vocals.” They ended up making what is now the EP called “Horizon” that is coming out on March 31st!
You are your biggest competition. Don’t compare your art to others, it is special because it comes from you.
Gwen Good
She brings her youth and passion into the music on the “Horizon EP”. Each track has been smothered in melancholy. The vocals come through soft and with purpose. Gwen finds the way to attach the emotions within her melodies. Her influence stems from artists such as Clairo, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lorde. This really is showcased through her own original music.
Kicking off the project is a song titled “Butterfly”. The song is chilling. Chord progressions strum in parallel with the ups and downs in life. Some chords are bright and light like the warmth of springs newly found sunshine; with the occasional darkened and heavy chords carried like the scars left on your skin. But with the right timing things can start to heal. You hear elements of alternative indie sounds. Keeping it simple and easy. Layered guitars and vocals is all you need. And with this song, that’s exactly what you get. Drums come in and out adding a more subtle dynamic through it. After the first listen I had personally become very interested. This would be my personal favorite song from the Horizon EP.
Frankly the next song is a flag ship song off the project. She has combined more alternative-indie sounds with a touch of folk. Layered instrumentals draw you closer in to this sound. Synth embellishments add a nice texture into her sound. Listen in closely and listen to the mix. “Horizon” is one track that can have you zoned into active listening. Trying to pin point the individual instrumentation. Gwen, fantastic work with this project. You shot for the moon and landed on a whole other planet.
Check into the links below to stay within her social loop. She has an amazing project releasing on the 31st of March. I encourage you to pre save it on Spotify. This may have been the first time you have heard Gwen Good. But it won’t be the last.
theMusicManiac Finds Out
- Q: Out of the 5 songs on the EP, which was written first?
- A: I believe Horizon was the first song I wrote on the EP. And then I decided it would be the title track before I even wrote the other songs because I liked the name. It was also the last song we recorded in the studio, which was fun because we added more synth layers than some of the other songs.
- Q: Do you have a personal favorite song from the EP?
- A: My favorite song on Horizon changes every day, depending on my mood. Today I would say Until It Got Dark because I’ve been listening to a lot of folk music lately.
- Q: What kind of feedback have you received from your music?
- A: I’ve only had a few of my friends listen to the EP, but the feedback has been positive so far! I’ve had people say it gives them Lorde or Taylor Swift vibes.
- Q: How does the song writing process work for you?
- A: I usually start with lyrics. I’ll overhear someone say a phrase that sounds cool, or random lyrics sometimes come to me during school, and I’ll type it into my notes app on my phone before I forget it. I have probably hundreds of notes on my phone with lyrics. Once I have the lyrics mostly figured out, I mess around with some chords on my acoustic guitar and figure out what works for the song. And then I record a demo on my laptop with some drum and synth ideas.
- Q: Next show?
- A: I am playing at Tumbleweed Music Festival the first weekend in September and I have some more shows in the works for this summer!
- Q: What’s up next for Gwen Good?
- A: Right now I’m trying to focus on getting good grades and making it through high school. I’m going to keep writing music, hopefully I’ll eventually release an album which would be really fun! I’d also like to travel somewhere to play a concert, that would be exciting!
