Interview: London Based Singer-Songwriter Gemma Felicity Discusses Her Debut Single/Video "This Place"

Congratulations on the release of your debut single, "This Place", and its accompanying music video. Tell us what initially inspired you to write the song and who produced it.

I guess what inspired me to write "This Place" was the fact that I was feeling really lonely living in an environment at university which felt very surface level. Everyone around me seemed to value very superficial things like designer clothes and Instagram likes over things which really mattered. I remember just feeling really sad. People would always tell me that I was so beautiful and must have the perfect life. But what many people didn't realise was underneath the perfect image that I portrayed to people, I felt very deeply alone and unhappy.

Frankie Harper produced this song - he is an amazingly talented guy and lovely to work with!! I feel very lucky to have created this song with him.

How did you and the director come up with the treatment for the music video, and how would you describe the experience of filming your first visual?

Yaro, the director of my music video came up with the idea of using the beautiful location that we used in the music video. We used different areas inside the building, as well as the roof area, and we had a lot of fun with it. I absolutely loved filming my first music video, especially being pampered and having my hair and makeup done. I am an actress and model as well, so I love doing this kind of stuff!

You've mentioned that you have been singing and performing since the age of 9; what are some of your earliest memories of writing songs, and when did you decide to really focus on being a singer-songwriter that records and releases their music?

I wrote songs and poetry and hand-written magazines for my family when I was very young, probably around 9 years old. I recently found loads of them stashed in boxes in my family home. I used to put on fashion shows, plays and music concerts for my family, and force them to watch me to perform to all of them for hours on end!!

I studied Public Relations and Communications for my Undergraduate degree, but I quickly realised that it wasn't my path. I had to take a year out of university to really think about what I wanted to do with my life, and what would make me happy. I decided to apply to do a Masters in Music Performance and Songwriting at Leeds College of Music, which I then went on to do after my Undergraduate degree. Even though I got on the course and had the most amazing time, it took me a while to start believing in myself and to realise that I had the ability to do it as a career. It is only within the past 6 months that I have really started to believe in myself enough to start releasing my own music.

With "This Place" now released, what are some of your goals musically for the rest of the year? Is a follow-up single on the way?

I am currently getting my head around how to do all of the promotion and marketing part of the music releases, which is really challenging and takes a lot of time to work out how to do effectively. I have a couple of songs already written, produced and ready to release, and I plan to release my next single around August or September time, along with my music video which I am currently in the process of planning, and will be filming very soon.

I am also focused on busking and doing gigs with my guitarist at the moment, as well as building up the content on my social media platforms. I want to do some collaborations this year as well with some like-minded brands.

What do you enjoy most about being an artist, and what frustrates you the most?

I love being able to have a flexible schedule where I mostly work for myself, and I also love having a career which allows me to be creative and express myself. Being creative in my job is very important to me.

I think the thing that frustrates me the most is how competitive and saturated the market is. It is so hard to get your music heard, and really difficult to build up a loyal fan base, because there is just so much noise in the industry. So much of doing well has become about social media and especially Tik Tok. I am always being told to spend the majority of my time on Tik Tok and Instagram, when I don't really enjoy these aspects.

Stream and Share “This Place” on Spotify

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