Artist Spotlight: Vicky Farewell on Vulnerability and Giving A Damn
Prepare to go back in time to the ’80s when diving into Give A Damn. Vicky Nguyen, known better as Vicky Farewell, is recognizable for her distinctive music style that hones in old-timey genres such as disco and synth-pop. Her latest album, Give A Damn, was released this past spring. Farewell gave EnVi an inside look into the creation process as well as what it took to become the artist she is today.
Becoming Vicky Farewell
Farewell is a first-generation Vietnamese American born and raised in Orange County, California. Growing up as an active member of her church, Farewell was constantly exposed to music. Through her father, the church musician, constantly playing music at home and the church pianist, who heavily inspired her, Farewell automatically fell for music. Pursuing music as a full-time career was the most natural route for her. She then spent ten years studying classical repertoire and growing her piano skills. Nguyen got her foot in the door with her first job playing piano for her church, which evolved into freelance work for other musicians.
Despite her conviction, the road to pursuing music wasn’t easy. Farewell grew up among a large Vietnamese population in Orange County and, like most of her peers, was raised to “survive” and “make money.” For many children of immigrant parents, the pressure to conform to conventional ways of working is very real. “I had this guilt in my mind that I needed to do the same thing, but really, my love for music was so strong. I was so passionate about it that I just couldn’t do that to myself, I couldn’t put [music] on the side,” Farewell expressed. Though her family disapproved, she did not waver in her choice. “[I’m] doing this because [I’m being] true to [myself],” she later mentioned. By taking the time to get to know herself through therapy and self-reflection, Farewell became more vulnerable, a trait she harnesses in her music.
The COVID-19 pandemic shifted Farewell’s perspective on her career. She went from being in the studio for other artists and touring to staying at home. “All the jobs were gone and I think that was when [I realized] I have the base and room to work on myself and make my own music,” she said. She then went on to release her debut album Sweet Company in 2022, which dabbles in the bedroom pop and soul genres.
Farewell’s unique voice and musical tunes are notable features of her music. She shared that it took time to accept that her voice is naturally quite soft, which she then used to her advantage. Entrusting her beloved Yamaha S08 with parts of her creative process, Nguyen has been able to capture the 90s in her music. She draws much inspiration from music icons Michael and Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Blossom Dearie, and Richi Sakamoto.
It’s Nothing Literal
Working on music is never linear for Farewell. Rather, she approaches the process naturally, writing songs as they come to her. “I don’t think that works for me when it comes to art,” she emphasized. Give A Damn came about this way — it was a spontaneous creation. She wrote the first two songs on the album, “Tern Me On” and “Push It,” right after Sweet Company without concrete intentions. They were shelved and collected (metaphorical) dust until she began to fully work on Give A Damn in 2023. The rest of the album shows a different and more vulnerable side to Farewell. It brings a dark and sensual vibe, different from her previous one.
“I’m curious about my feelings, rather than ‘[being] emo’ about it,” Farewell joked. “I wanted to approach [the album] in a more ‘stream-of-conscious’ and ‘not so literal’ kind of way. It required me to be more poetic about my songs for once, instead of just [writing] songs that are marketable,” she continued. Farewell loves to play with word choice when it comes to songwriting. Sometimes, a lyric can mean something deep that needs further analysis, while other times, it’s something more playful. From introspective and abstract tracks, such as “Isn’t It Strange,” to ones born out of messing around on different pianos, such as “Push It,” Give A Damn showcases a range of Farewell’s writing and musical skills.
Her song “Semi Auto” is one that she takes pride in creating. Farewell explained feeling confused and as if she was “under a spell” during the experience. While writing this song, Farewell felt the most in tune with her inner self. Keeping the vocals and harmonies simple, eventually “Semi Auto” came together. “I didn’t know how it would turn out musically, which made it even more special to me,” Farewell conveyed. The track has dream-like beats accompanied by Farewell’s gentle singing. Contrasting this is “Luxury Hellscape,” a short track that is a bit haunting, yet without head-turning complexity. The lyrics repeat throughout the song with a beat reminiscent of a 1980s commercialized tune.
Give A Damn explores Farewell’s unresolved feelings towards various experiences in her life. Farewell hopes for listeners to give the album a few listens as it’s not meant to be taken literally. “It’s more like an art piece rather than a consumer thing,” Farewell said, explaining that the album is abstract instead of catered towards a mainstream audience.
“Tern Me On”
From synthesized beats to the visual aesthetics of the music video, title track “Tern Me On” is a perfect vision of the 1980s. More generally, it introduces themes characteristic of the rest of the album. The music video was inspired by Oliver Herrmann’s short film Pierrot Lunaire, I. “Mondestrunken” which is a take on Arnold Schoenberg’s symphony “Pierrot Lunaire.” She was drawn to the video’s dark and creepy visuals and implemented this into her own. “It takes you into very uncomfortable spaces and it’s very dreamlike. I liked that,” she said, discussing her inspiration from the film. Nguyen shot the video with a vintage camera to capture the authentic feeling of the 80s.
Despite the unsettling elements of her music video, Nguyen’s soft singing and sensual lyrics take the audience into a “dreamlike” place. At first, the video may not make sense, but every shot was intentional. “I wanted to poke fun at cultural norms. Getting married, working in the corporate office, having this very planned-out life that society has always drilled in us from the beginning. I wanted to play on that because I feel like intimacy is so abstract. It’s such an abstract thing to have and we’re all designed to connect. I wanted to showcase how it’s so hard for us to do it when we’re fighting against something that’s been drilled into us since we were kids,” Farewell explained.
What’s Next
To keep the authenticity in her work, Farewell is taking a step back from creating albums for a while. “It’s going to take more life and living for me to do that again,” she said. In the meantime, Farewell hopes to roll out more of the “fun” and “cool” singles she has been working on. She is also busy working on music for other artists, as well as working on more features. She was recently featured on U.K. band PREP’s song “Close As We Get” and co-produced a song for Anderson .Paak. Make sure to catch Farewell in Japan for her tour in October!
For more updates on Farewell’s life and music journey follow her on her Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube.
Interested in more artists breaking norms in music? Check out our Artist Spotlight with Roman Kayz here!
