North Carolina Pop-Soul Artist Gemïny Mixes Raw Emotion and Lush Melodies in His Latest Single.
Artists in the modern music scene are always breaking new ground, fusing different styles, and sonic landscapes. Artists like Raleigh, North Carolina native Sage “Gemïny” Wesley, create a sound that is at once fresh and familiar, thanks to his skilful blending of soul, pop, and R&B.
His newest song is a musical exploration of the upheavals of first love, from giddy infatuation to perplexity and finally the painful sting of betrayal. It’s an emotional whirlwind, expertly rendered in sound.
Gemny’s music is an emotionally resonant tapestry of sound, with a vocal style that fuses the roughness of rock with the smooth cadence of jazz. His proficiency as a composer, which he polished in John Fitz’s composition class at the University of South Carolina, is plain to see.
Gemïny took a break in 2020, but he’s back and better than ever, fusing his love of music with his desire to help those suffering from mental illness by contributing to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) via his efforts.
Gemïny has a great ability to communicate stories via his music. Each song is a heartbreaking love story in its own right, with wistful melodies reminiscent of the Heartache Hotel and nuanced tales of lost love, regret, and disappointment. His songs have a lot of emotional weight because of the creative way he delves into the human experience in his lyrics.
His newest work, “Nicotine,” delves into the roiling sea of emotions brought on by toxic partnerships. For Gemïny, this release is a kind of “making peace with the past” that speaks to others who have been through similar situations.
The song manages to avoid being weighed down by its subject matter by instead delivering a cheerful, almost spooky overtone. This contrast gives listeners a mental workout, making them think more deeply about the song’s meaning and the music’s intricacies.
Gemïny’s newest single has excellent examples of his songwriting, composing, and singing skills. His passion to explore the shadowy sides of love and grief, along with his innovative genre-bending style, make him an artist to keep an eye on.
Gemïny’s heartfelt serenades will transport you to another realm, where you’ll feel the transformative power of music. So listen in and follow Gemïny as she takes you on a vibrant adventure through the maze of first love.
What kick-started your songwriting journey?
I’ve written songs my whole life. I can’t really pinpoint that one. Ever since I can remember I was jotting little love songs sporadically. But honestly, starting around the 6th grade, most of my “education” was me writing lyrics in class instead of actually taking notes.
How I managed the honour roll for so long is beyond me, but I think I can safely say that’s when I started taking music seriously writing consistently, and it’s ironically around the time I started seriously teaching myself to play piano.
What’s the most thought-provoking piece you’ve ever written?
It’s complicated I think as a solo song the most thought-provoking song I’ve written is an unreleased jazzy-pop ballad titled “Over (thinking about you)” It captures this really fun conflict between finality and denial – I took a page from OutKast and tried to make that song as upbeat and fun as possible despite the context being heart-wrenching.
But I didn’t necessarily write that song per se I just hopped in the shower and a melody popped in and just sang. I got to the end of my mini shower concert and realized the water on my face was more tears than shower water, so I knew it was worth adding to the album. But it’s one of those songs you can look at from any perspective in time – who I was, who I am, and who I dream to be – and it all has completely different meanings.
On top of that, it does a great job of summarizing the story (as good conclusions usually do) with some pretty unrivalled wordplay in my catalogue at least. So if you’re looking at the songs by themselves I’d go with that.
However, if everything’s in context, my debut single “Too Close” has a sister titled “Toll” that speaks from the woman’s perspective (it’ll be coming out in New Year’s 2024 so look out for that). But, when you have the full story of the album and those two perspectives together so many new layers and meanings come to the surface.
So for a final answer, I’d say it’s a tie between those 2 but it’s going to be a while before everyone can see just how deep that hole goes.
Where’s your creative sanctuary?
The car. There’s really nothing like driving around the city to get me into the headspace. When I originally wrote the first drafts of Nicotine way back when I drove for hours. Actually ended up in Jacksonville and just chilled out for the day
What would you say is your greatest strength as an artist?
Probably just being able to find the joy in it all. I know that’s probably not the answer y’all were expecting, but I have a very bad habit of finding anything I can do unimpressive.
No matter how high the note or how hard the passage the second I know it’s something I’ve achieved it’s just not impressive to me I’d honestly likely be more impressed if anyone else did the exact same thing it’s super weird.
But despite, my eternal disdain for self-celebration I still manage to find a lot of joy in the creation process, singing, and process, and I attribute that to a lot of the things I can do because I have so much fun that I completely forget how hard it was to sing that note or how long it took to nail a riff, it just feels like another day on the playground when everything said and done.
What is your creative process when making music?
I say this all the time but it’s genuinely true. My creative process is its own entity. There’s me Gemïny the artist and then there’s my creative process and you know when we link up in the halls after class we just vibe.
If that makes sense; like there’s no rhyme or reason to any of it, it’s just a daily adventure. Something new comes out of it every time and it happens very naturally. Like I said earlier over happened completely off of a random melody that popped into my brain in the shower. Sometimes, I run across a word prompt and it starts a memory.
Sometimes a drum pattern will lead to some lyrics which creates a whole composition. Some days I stumble upon old lyrics and rewrite them and decide they need some music behind them. It’s really an “it is what it is” kind of vibe.
What inspired you to write your latest release “Nicotine”?
The lyrics are actually very old, or just the original draft. It was just one of those days I was in a mood and had something to get off.
I was really reflecting on my life and relationships and how everything had always developed in this very systematic pattern, and how the situation I was in (in an isolated sense) was very different, but it was putting me in this very uncomfortable mindsight so I was actively letting those old patterns slip through the cracks to put me back in my comfort zone.
Hindsight’s 20/20 that was obviously not my brightest moment. But that reflection was really what brought about “Nicotine.” I was also studying the types of love at the time in class ya know, Eros, Ludus, Agape etc. and that helped me structure the narrative a little better ya know, moving through those different presentations to try and figure out what I defined the situation as.
There was never really any music to it though it was kind of just this fleshed-out lyrical poem that I never had the right elements for. Flash forward a good 3 years and Black Rose brings me the antidote.
The second I heard the beat I knew what I had to do. Reworded the lyrics, got it to sit right and you know 2+2=4 no need to complicate it.
What are the things you do to help perfect your craft?
Practice. There’s no real special sauce I have for that. Just constantly working on improving and being honest with myself about what I have to work on. Constantly try new techniques and constantly push the envelope to see how much further I can go, and then just stay informed on trends in the industry and try to apply them to my brand and music. It’s just that the very boring, sometimes even tedious things are what truly have the biggest effect on the art.
What are your plans for extending your music beyond USA and Europe?
It’s always in the works, with the internet the way it is there’s very little that stops me from reaching out to global audiences so we’ve already begun to build that connection, especially in South America because it would be a crime to have all of this reggaetón influence and not connecting with the culture.
And, I mean, ultimately the aim is to be touring internationally within the next 3 years because that’s what this is all about, ya know, reaching and connecting with as many beautiful souls as possible and just sharing the experience.
What’s the highlight of your career so far?
The everyday interactions with fans. Hearing their connection to the music and their stories is something special and it definitely empowers me to keep going in those harder times
What are future plans for your music and you as a brand?
Well of course we have the EP “My Dark. Twisted Valentine” which I’ve been releasing episode by episode. We have the next single Black Bunny coming Aug 10th and the final single and ep will be out Nov 9th.
After that, there’s “Toll” coming New years and a lot of acoustic versions on the way to revive a lot of the raw emotion that lives in this era of my music. Outside of the music really looking to get back into the fashion space, have always had a passion for clothes – I blame my mama – so that’s in the works as we speak and I honestly can’t wait to bring that vision to life.
