Artist Spotlights: Ethan P. Flynn Makes Pop Music For Traversing the Uncanny Valley
Ethan P. Flynn’s unique hallucinatory twist on pop and rock music makes him a perfect candidate to become a future indie darling.
Artist Spotlights introduces you to artists that may not be on your radar yet, but should be. With recently cancelled tours and income loss for small artists, there’s no time like the present to find new talent to support.
Written by Joshua Troncoso
Photo courtesy of Young Turks
Recommended if you like: Alex Cameron, Bob Dylan, Arthur Russel
Despite just releasing his first album, alternative pop artist Ethan P. Flynn already has an impressive list of collaborations under his belt, with the likes of FKA twigs and slowthai working with the London-based songwriter. Since dropping out of London’s Guildhall School of Music in 2017, the multi-instrumentalist has been cultivating his idiosyncratic sound. Influenced by artists like Daniel Johnston, he creates a distinct fusion of pop, electronic, and psychedelic that brings to mind artists such as Alex Cameron and Bob Dylan. Along with his most recent collaborations, his debut project, B-Sides & Rarities: Volume 1, will surely catalyze this genre-melding star's meteoric rise.
Flynn’s music transports the listener to another dimension. Listening to his freshly-delivered batch of songs is akin to watching “Twin Peaks” in that it conveys a great sense of unease and anxiety throughout. Accompanied by his uncanny production, his enigmatic and occasionally frightening lyrics allow him to create an eerie atmosphere in his music. “Fingerless” is a great example of this ambience; as he laments the deceit of a recent relationship, he wails, “I’m drowning in a sea of piss / I was born fingerless / But I know more than eyes can see / Why the f-ck are you lying to me again?” Flynn’s lyrics are reminiscent of thoughts during a fever dream, and the backing instrumental contributes to this feel. The flute that begins the song sets a chilling mood that is only reinforced by the spectral choir and turbulent tribal drums that overwhelm Flynn’s vocals at times. The crude vocals only add to this dynamic, as he only ever seems to sing with the voice of a 15 year old boy in the throes of puberty. However, his consistent voice cracks, as well as the tinge of desperation he uses from time to time, make him sound endearing and beguiling.
The production choices Flynn makes never fail to surprise in their incorporation of influences from different genres. The slower and more traditional art pop of “Television Show” draws inspiration from both Bon Iver and the typical 80s ballad. The vocals at the end of the song are drowned in auto-tune and pitched up to the point of obscurity, but the trudging base and drums keep the song grounded. Another song that exemplifies Flynn’s genre-warping ability is “Everybody’s Dying to Meet You.” Here, Flynn highlights a piano sample that sounds like it was ripped out of a '60s pop tune, yet the progression is distorted and slowed to the point where it becomes a ghastly version of itself. A relaxed and plodding ukulele makes an appearance on another standout, “When I Taste the Pavement.” This song’s persistent incorporation of other instruments and vocal samples make it one of the most engaging and sonically experimental songs on the album. Combined with his hazy and enigmatic production techniques, Flynn's musical inspirations make for a diverse yet consistently striking tracklist.
Photo courtesy of Ethan P. Flynn
Both “Everybody’s Dying to Meet You” and “Are You Doing This to Hurt Me” have music videos that convey the music’s “Mulholland Drive”-esque qualities in the visuals. The confusing yet grossly engaging imagery and VFX are reminiscent of a fever dream with a bomb soundtrack. In the video for “Are You Doing This to Hurt Me,” different Flynn clones move around a theatre and purple fields. He watches his own performance, which is cut short when a version of himself runs onstage and dies before he could finish performing the song. Cryptic imagery and seemingly nonsensical events pervade both videos, giving music fans yet another reason to stan Flynn.
Flynn’s peculiar aesthetic caught the eye of fellow Young Turks signee FKA twigs, with whom he collaborated on her most recent project, MAGDALENE. He is credited as a writer on “home with you,” “fallen alien,” and “mirrored heart,” and while these songs are not his own, his signature brand of unease shines through. His steady but tense piano and erratic clarinet passages in “home with you” are brimming with the same uncanniness of his own work. In addition to his twigs collaborations, Flynn even got the opportunity to work on David Byrne’s “Everybody’s Coming To My House” while in college. The fact that artists as popular as FKA twigs and David Byrne want to collaborate with Flynn speaks to his appeal as a songwriter and influencer in his own right.
Ethan P. Flynn simultaneously sounds like a well-refined artist and a rookie with his best work yet to come. His arsenal of 20th century pop and rock influences go beyond the sonic palette that a 21-year-old should be capable of making. Flynn has only begun to reach his potential and is bound to create something truly groundbreaking — he’s already a viral hit away from becoming a household name.