Interview: WENS

This week we chatted with LA based pop artist WENS! She recently dropped her debut EP, Lemoncholy which we can't stop listening to. Check her out and follow her on social media here!

1) What was it like creating your debut EP Lemoncholy? Did you approach it with a final product in mind or was it more organic, with the process informing the end result?

A lot of the songs were written in a very close window of time which was very organic and immediately felt like a body of work to me. As for the production, it took a while to really hone in on the right sonic elements for each song. A few of the songs have multiple versions haha. It was definitely more grueling but worth it in the end.  2) You’ve released a lot of really cool music videos for songs from Lemoncholy. Any favorite moments from them?

It’s really cool to see the evolution of each video. My favorite one out of them all is Tongue Tied because it really felt like you got a much closer look into my personality. I also loved being painted blue for Beauty Queen. I think I prefer being blue honestly. The tin foil moment in Rich & Famous was also extremely fun. If you couldn’t tell by the videos I’m obsessed with textures and playing around with them.  3) How did you develop your unique sound?

Trial and error. I truly believe that you should never constrict creativity. So I’ve always wanted to allow myself the freedom of exploration in sound. I think along the way you stumble on things that just click and feel right. So I would just say years and years of digging. I still don’t know if I’ve nailed a specific “sound” yet. I sorta came to terms with the fact that it’s going to be ever-changing depending on what I’m inspired by at the moment and my writing will always be the one thread holding it all together. 4) Who are some of your favorite artists and have any of them inspired you?

Some of my all time favorite artists that I’m always inspired by are Radiohead, The Cure, Lorde, SZA, Frank Ocean, Stevie Nicks, Prince, Kanye West, Phoebe Bridgers, Dominic Fike, Alt J, Sevdaliza, Charli XCX, Bon Iver. Ah sorry there’s just so so so many I could literally go on and on forever but I won’t bore you. 5) Obviously we’re all living in a very strange time right now due to the pandemic. How have you been holding up, and what has it been like having an EP released during all of this?

It feels pretty weird honestly. I’ve felt silly at times trying to promote it because I genuinely feel like everyone has way bigger things to be thinking about. But I keep coming back around to the fact that during times like this people really look to art for healing. So that’s kinda my north star reminding me that there is still a purpose even though it feels pointless some days.  6) Do you have any future projects or tours (when it’s safe to do so) planned?

I’m working on finishing another project at the moment. Hopefully will be releasing something come fall this year. Who knows. Everything feels so up in the air. I would love to tour as soon as humanly possible. Just sorta waiting for things to start to approach to normal before we start planning reality again.