Introducing the dynamic and multifaceted artist, eee gee—an enchanting musician whose journey unfolds in melodies that resonate with sentiment, wit, and a touch of whimsy. Born in the vibrant city of Copenhagen, Denmark, eee gee’s musical exploration commenced at the tender age of 11-12 when she first embraced the guitar. Fast forward to the present, and her artistic evolution has catapulted her onto the international stage, weaving tales that traverse the spectrum of human emotion.
With a backdrop of Copenhagen’s picturesque streets and a childhood characterized by a blend of introversion and a yearning for musical expression, eee gee’s narrative takes an unexpected turn. Three years ago, she embarked on a transformative journey, setting her sights on New York City. This move, fueled by love and creative partnerships, ushered her into a world of perpetual chaos and energy, contrasting the safety net she once experienced in Denmark.
In this exclusive interview, eee gee shares insights into her upbringing, artistic influences, and the creative process behind her latest masterpiece, ‘SHE-REX.’ Delving into the realms of love, heartbreak, and the juxtaposition of vulnerability and strength, eee gee paints a vivid portrait of her musical odyssey. From her debut album ‘Winning’ to the intricate layers of ‘SHE-REX,’ she unveils the evolution of her sound and the fearless embrace of diverse musical genres.
Join us as we navigate the labyrinth of eee gee’s musical universe, exploring the highs and lows, the dreams and realities that converge in each note and lyric. As she gears up for performances at prestigious festivals and charts a course for 2024 filled with exploration and collaboration, eee gee invites you to join her on this compelling journey through the harmonious tapestry of her soulful expressions.
Thank you for being here today. Firstly, how has your day been so far?
Thank you. I’ve had an amazing day!
Is there a positive moment or experience from today that you’d like to share with us?
I met up with some nice and cool music video directors for coffee today! We talked about visual identity in general, creativity, and a potential future collaboration. I’m about to dive deeper into writing songs for the future third album, so it feels really refreshing to meet new people and talk about the visual part of making a universe for an album that can really inspire concepts and ideas for songs. It’s really fun to explore what my sound looks like.
Let’s delve into your background. Being born in Denmark, can you paint a picture of what it was like growing up there? If you had the opportunity to live anywhere else in the world, where would it be, and what draws you to that place?
Growing up in Copenhagen, Denmark, you bike everywhere, everything is within reach, and it’s a beautiful city in all seasons. Everything always felt rather safe and accessible. The only thing I wish I had growing up was more space at home to explore being a teenager with an interest in music. I was an introvert; writing songs/listening to music felt very private, and my mom, my brother, and I lived in a small 2-bedroom apartment, so at times it did feel a little cramped. I moved to New York 3 years ago, after meeting my producer and creative partner Rasmus there, and then I fell in love with a guy and, of course, the city. After moving to NYC, I’m starting to see how easy it was to grow up in Denmark, and how much I’ve taken for granted – we have a steady healthcare system there, we don’t pay a fortune to get an education, we actually get paid, and we have so many different grants and funding for musicians and artists. But there’s a never-ending chaos and energy in New York that I’ve gotten addicted to! You’re reminded every day that you have to work hard if you wanna succeed, whereas in Denmark I feel like there’s a safety net that makes me a little bit lazy.
Reflecting on your school years, can you tell me about your experience? Were you more inclined to have a wide circle of friends, or did you prefer a more reserved approach?
I did have a wide circle of friends, but I felt like it was always easier to hang out with boys, also because I didn’t really wanna have anything to do with the feminine side of me. When my boobs started growing, I would wear big loose skater clothes, while my girl friends would buy their first push-up bras and wear tighter shirts. I just didn’t want to stick out or get attention for any parts of my body or anything else, which is also why it was hard for me to wanna play music because I was too shy to pick up an instrument in music class. Singing was for extroverted girls with confidence, and instruments were for boys that literally didn’t care what it sounded like; they just thought it was fun. I envied the boys’ lack of filters and ‘sports mentality.’
At what point in your life did you discover that music was your true passion? Was there a particular moment or age that stands out in your journey towards realizing your love for music?
I started playing guitar when I was around 11-12 years old. I loved the nerdy part of rehearsing scales and learning chords; I would look up songs I liked on the internet and learn how to play them and sing along very quietly. I feel like the music room would be empty after school on hot summer days because that’s when all the boys would be outside skating or playing soccer haha, that’s when I would secretly sing and play guitar indoors. I do remember spending hours and hours watching MTV and feeling like all the artists on there were so perfect, and I would think I didn’t have anything particularly original in me compared to them. I thought you had to be eccentric like Björk or Thom Yorke, or super good-looking and well-trained singers like Beyonce or Shakira in order to be an artist or musician. I never thought it was something I could seriously pursue; it seemed like a job someone just gives you. But I still had an undeniable curiosity in music that was hard to put out, despite my never-ending feeling of being inadequate.
Congratulations on the release of your second album, ‘SHE-REX’! The press release describes ‘SHE-REX’ as a sentimental, important, and sometimes humorous tale. Can you take us through the creative journey of this album and share the inspiration behind the title?
Thank you so much! I basically just never put the pen down after the first album. I felt really grateful and inspired; this was the first time I got overwhelming acknowledgment for my songwriting. It was actually one of my good friends that came up with the title ‘SHE-REX’ years before I started ‘eee gee.’ It just stuck with me, and after having received so many great reviews for my first album, I felt like I had to ‘level up’ and move from a sports allegory of ‘winning’ into feeling like a ‘she king,’ but also with some survival predator skills mixed in there, which you definitely need in the music industry if you don’t wanna get crushed or burn out.
The album seems to explore a wide range of emotions, from heartbreak to delusions of grandeur. How did these experiences influence the sound and lyrics of ‘SHE-REX’?
I think in terms of writing I wanted to do what I felt had worked well on the first album, not hold anything back. When I felt happy and in love, I didn’t wanna appear cool and melancholic; then I’d dive in with full naivety, romance, and dreams. If I felt sad, I wanted to write from that dark honest place without thinking it was too bleak or private.
Your debut album, ‘Winning’ was well-received. How do you feel ‘SHE-REX’ builds on or diverges from the themes of your first album?
‘Winning’ is more of a self-empowering and self-discovering journey, with a lot of different dating history and love failures, and ’SHE-REX’ is about one specific man I loved. I think both albums have a strong connection to each other; I can definitely see a timeline of changes and development, but on the first album, I was at the end of my twenties, mourning youth a bit and dreading adult life with friends having babies and getting bigger apartments while I was still nowhere. On ‘SHE-REX,’ I’m fully embracing the adventure that awaits for me and my songwriting, with all the loss, anxiety, and sacrifices that it entails to dream big and travel a lot.
In ‘SHE-REX’ you mention being less afraid of mixing different genres. Can you elaborate on the evolution of your sound and the decision to explore new musical territories?
It was really important for me on the first album to start from a calm and pure source in me. I still felt rejected in the music world, so I was a little more hesitant mixing genres because I wanted the message of the album to be very strong and clear in its expression, if that makes sense. ‘
SHE-REX’ is a development of me as a writer, musician, woman, human. I wanted to explore more colors of both disco and rock, which felt like a natural extension of singer/songwriter and folk that dominated the first album more.
The title ‘SHE-REX’ is intriguing, representing a “she king” and also the powerful, aggressive behavior of a T-Rex. How did this concept shape the overall framework for the album, and what does it mean to you personally?
The title came into the process rather early, and I think it became a working title for my journey. I wanted to give myself the best possible free space, like saying to myself ‘you’re bold enough to be both strong and fragile, go ahead and express yourself however you want.’
Could you delve into the symbolism behind the opening track, ‘SHE-REX’ portraying an anxious female dinosaur in love facing planetary extinction?
The song ‘she-rex’ is about me being slightly tired of modern dating life, where it seems like everyone at the moment is ethical-non-monogamous and no one seems to wanna settle down for that sweet monogamous romance. I feel like a dinosaur sometimes in that sense, or maybe I’m just making it harder for myself with the men I choose to date.
The press release mentions that some of the songs in ‘SHE-REX’ were already ideas during the creation of ‘Winning.’ How did these ideas evolve over time, and how did your personal experiences shape the narrative of the album?
The last song on ‘SHE-REX’ – ‘space anxiety’ – was a demo I had lying around for years. It only had the chords and the lyrics of the chorus and I couldn’t figure out how to crack it, but after releasing the first album and touring I started to feel the expectations for my project and the weight of the beginning of a career, and I started feeling the importance of staying deeply connected to myself and not get too carried away. I wrote these lyrics to help me stay grounded and remind myself that no matter how intense things get, I can always find calmness and feel at home in myself. ’space anxiety’ also started the whole ‘space’ inspiration for the album, so it was definitely an important song I had lying around in a drawer.
The album showcases a more extroverted sound, including danceable tracks like ‘perfect 10’ and ‘School Reunion.’ What prompted this shift, and how did you balance the more up-tempo tracks with the retro-infused ballads?
After touring on festivals with the first album, I wanted to continue investigating the – to me – rather unpleasant yet intriguing state of being an extrovert on stage and/or in songwriting. It became a challenge for me to connect uptempo songs with the more introverted melancholic vein in me, ‘cause I love uptempo pop, indie, or disco, I just needed to build that bridge between my ballads and uptempo. Now I feel less limited and more inspired than ever!
In ‘(search:) how to break up with a friend,’ you explore a retro-infused ballad vibe. Can you share more about your creative process for this particular track?
I love ‘you’ve got a friend in me’ by Randy Newman and thought it would be interesting to write a song about something similar, except mine is about breaking up with friends, which we never really do. After moving to another country it became clearer to me who are my closest friends, who I need, and who needs me, and it’s just so interesting how there’s rarely a break up in friendships, they just fade, and I kind of wanted to honor all the friendships that end without an actual goodbye. Arrangement-wise I wanted it to have a lightness to it, so it didn’t seem too sad, I wanted it to feel more like a long hug where you’re smiling and shedding a last tear rather than sobbing and mourning.
Many artists face challenges with their second album, often referred to as the “difficult second album.” Did you experience any pressure, and how did you overcome it during the creation of ‘SHE-REX’?
When I started writing this album I was in love and so inspired from having put out my debut album; I felt so grateful to have been given this chance that I just wanted to keep writing. In the middle of making the album, I went through a horrible break up, and that basically just removed my fears of ‘the difficult second’ all of a sudden it became a healing process. I also felt like my career had taken off, and that a big part of the reason why the relationship broke was because I had been away touring, so I had to find meaning in writing again, instead of turning it into the evil force that took away my love and relationship, I worked twice as hard and fell even deeper in love with writing songs and touring than ever before.
‘SHE-REX’ follows your recognition by Rolling Stone UK and support from various publications. How does the positive reception and attention influence your approach to future projects?
I try to do my best to not let good or bad reviews influence my approach to writing songs, at the end of the day hype is not the fuel I need to continue this journey, it’s my curiosity to investigate the colors of feelings in chords and lyrics. But of course, I’m forever grateful for the acknowledgment and the help I get to build a platform and an audience.
With upcoming performances at Pitchfork Festivals in Paris and London, what can fans expect from your live shows, and do you have any future plans or collaborations you’re excited about? (Maybe rephrase to ‘you just played pitchfork…’?)
Playing Pitchfork Festival was a dream! It was my first shows in both Paris and London. And then we just announced our first European tour, where we’re gonna return to London but also Manchester! I’m extremely excited to come back. Hope to see you at LaFayette and in Manchester in April!
What would you tell your 18-year-old self if you could say anything, knowing what you know now?
Your sensitivity has more inbuilt strength and courage than you think.
What’s coming up next for you in 2024?
It’s gonna be a year of exploring in songwriting, exploring in love, and new fun collaborations!
Thank you so much for joining us today, eee gee. Before we wrap up, any final thoughts or messages you’d like to share with your fans and listeners?
Thank you for having me! Just: ‘Hi, if you listen to my music; I hope to meet you someday so I can thank you in person! I love and appreciate you.’
