A
Danish-Chinese artist with an appealingly undefinable sound,
Helena Gao introduces herself to an international audience with her new single
‘Pretty Please’ which previews the
November 26th release of her new EP
‘Mirth n Matter’. Having already earned early attention in
Denmark, featuring on
Spotify playlists including
New Music Friday and
EQUAL as well as a breaking artist profile from tastemakers
Soundvenue. Listen
HERE.
The sleek seductive alt-pop of ‘Pretty Please’ is led by the beguiling beauty of Helena’s voice. The pulsating rhythmic strut of its production raises the heat of its flirtatious vibes, with lyrics that penetrate far deeper than mere innuendo.
Helena says, “‘Pretty Please’ was made, after I was sent an instrumental from my collaborator Malthe. I thought it had a liberating feel to it, almost like going to the club underwater, and it made me wanna make a sensual song to go with it. I’m a bit of a prude, and I’m overly aware of the fact that my parents will hear whatever lyrics I write. So I decided that this song should be about sex, but without mentioning anything explicit at all. So it’s basically a whole song of pussyfooting around. It kinda reminds me of those jokes hidden in children’s media made for adults.”
She wrote the song with the track’s producer, Nature Boy (Okay Kaya, Absolutely).
‘Pretty Please’ will feature on the upcoming ‘Mirth n Matter’ EP alongside two of her recent releases, the K-Pop throb of ‘God’s Favourite’ and the dreamy ambient balladry of ‘The Talk’. Completed by two other as yet unreleased tracks, ‘Mirth n Matter’ shows an immense evolution in Helena’s sound since the growing pains and concise 8-minute running time of her previous EP ‘Extended Adolescence’.
Based in Copenhagen, Helena was raised by a Chinese mother and a father from Viborg. A classically trained jazz fan from a young age, Helena’s passion for music grew deeper in her teens as she discovered the endless possibilities of producing music herself. Discovering Radiohead was also a driving force behind her artistry, not only for their unconventional approach to music, but also because of their early years as outsiders who sought refuge in the creative process. She too found that music helped her express feelings that would be too awkward to discuss, and she also strives to make music that can both reach a wide audience and present experimental ideas.
She studied at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen (previous teachers and students have included Courtesy, ML Buch and Nina Persson of The Cardigans) as her artist career got underway. Her future-facing pop is as acutely developed as her accomplished musicianship, and she can merge both approaches, as showcased with a live solo performance of ‘Dreaming of a Cabaret’. Her words find unusual angles in common themes. ‘Cybergirl’, for example, addresses snooping on someone via their social media accounts, and ‘God’s Favourite’ feels like a barely concealed dig at the vanity of certain influencers.
