"I pace like a wolf in rage..."
Fort Gorgeous, the musical moniker of singer-songwriter Billy Libby, might be a bit understated as a stage name. After hearing the beautifully cagey "Wolf" his name should, clearly... CLEARLY be Fort Drop Dead Gorgeous. Billy possesses an enchanting vocal presence, the ability to effortlessly slide into those eclipsing high registers sans doing the falsetto thing. I revel in his voice as an incredible instrument (that he wields it so well) as well as the author of the emotional context that runs throughout the sometimes askew poetry. "Wolf" is also wonderfully produced. I especially love the subtle yet forward sounding beat that flirts with trip hop tones. Of the track, Billy shares:
"Wolf is a love song, but coming from a dark place. It's about feeling vulnerable for this first time in a long time and feeling uncomfortable and agitated...like a wolf cornered."
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.instagram.com/fortgorgeous/
https://soundcloud.com/fort-gorgeous
Fort Gorgeous: “Retirement Part One”
Is retirement giving up? Or can retirement be its own form of liberation? Billy Libby plays with the relationship between 'professional' and ‘personal’ music on his new EP, cheekily titled "Retirement: Part One" to reflect his new outlook — and the result is an EP with the meticulously-arranged depth of a film score and the immediate, emotional bite of a bedroom demo.
"I have always felt like the songs I write and sing have to be something that justifies my existence... But as I make my professional life as a composer, I have found freedom in letting go of the career-driven side of songwriting for myself,” Billy explains.
His newfound perspective was also the product of trauma; over the last few years, Billy Libby lost his mother’s entire side of the family through tragic circumstances. "I felt like I aged a century emotionally while trying to take care of everything,” he explains. “In the wake of it, I found myself just wanting to go slow. To look at trees. This EP felt like it was just for me."
That sense of emotional intimacy is most visceral on the EP’s darkest tracks. In “The Earth and its Core”, he snarls over brooding synths and swirling arpeggios to a past self that was lighter and more confident: “I still remember when you weren’t the one flaking out on friends/you had a f*cking lion’s heart and steady hands/those unfamiliar days, I bet they wipe the smile off your face” Anyone who has been transformed by depression has felt a similar pit in their stomach.
On "Wolf", Libby describes the anguish of not being in control over your own unleashed feelings, staccato guitars piercing the silent moments like an animal’s growl. The haunting, sparse beauty of “Sleeping Bulls” and “Goldmine” speak to the dissociation between his modern life and the larger, broken world.
"Retirement Part One" was entirely self-produced and arranged, wIth Billy playing nearly every synth, glockenspiel, and arpeggiated guitar riff on the EP. The boundary between emotional intent and finished product is so fluid that it gives the impression of effortlessness, but a close listen reveals deliberate, meticulous sculpting by a seasoned set of ears. It also comes across so naturally and fully-developed that it’s easy to imagine dozens of his subsequent releases inhabiting the same sonic landscape on display here. “Retirement: Part One", indeed.
The EP also features Alli Rodgers on guest vocals, as well as Brooklyn-based instrumentalist Kirk Schoenherr (Nick Murphy/ Chet Faker) on guest vocals, guitar and as a cowriter on the songs he's featured on. Since having released their debut EP in May of 2018 Fort Gorgeous has been voted The Deli's emerging artist of the month and has been premiered in Nylon, Substream and Atwood Magazine's as well as Earbuddy, The Deli, PopMatters, Pop Dust and Paste. Billy can also be found on tour as the guitar player for Ingrid Michaelson and has been featured on numerous podcasts and a Tribeca Film Festival award winning documentary.
Fort Gorgeous, folk indie, folk, Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Alternative Rock, divergent pop, art pop, beautiful acoustic lines, beats, drop dead gorgeous vocals, Billy Libby, "Wolf",
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.instagram.com/fortgorgeous/
https://soundcloud.com/fort-gorgeous
Fort Gorgeous: “Retirement Part One”
Is retirement giving up? Or can retirement be its own form of liberation? Billy Libby plays with the relationship between 'professional' and ‘personal’ music on his new EP, cheekily titled "Retirement: Part One" to reflect his new outlook — and the result is an EP with the meticulously-arranged depth of a film score and the immediate, emotional bite of a bedroom demo.
"I have always felt like the songs I write and sing have to be something that justifies my existence... But as I make my professional life as a composer, I have found freedom in letting go of the career-driven side of songwriting for myself,” Billy explains.
His newfound perspective was also the product of trauma; over the last few years, Billy Libby lost his mother’s entire side of the family through tragic circumstances. "I felt like I aged a century emotionally while trying to take care of everything,” he explains. “In the wake of it, I found myself just wanting to go slow. To look at trees. This EP felt like it was just for me."
That sense of emotional intimacy is most visceral on the EP’s darkest tracks. In “The Earth and its Core”, he snarls over brooding synths and swirling arpeggios to a past self that was lighter and more confident: “I still remember when you weren’t the one flaking out on friends/you had a f*cking lion’s heart and steady hands/those unfamiliar days, I bet they wipe the smile off your face” Anyone who has been transformed by depression has felt a similar pit in their stomach.
On "Wolf", Libby describes the anguish of not being in control over your own unleashed feelings, staccato guitars piercing the silent moments like an animal’s growl. The haunting, sparse beauty of “Sleeping Bulls” and “Goldmine” speak to the dissociation between his modern life and the larger, broken world.
"Retirement Part One" was entirely self-produced and arranged, wIth Billy playing nearly every synth, glockenspiel, and arpeggiated guitar riff on the EP. The boundary between emotional intent and finished product is so fluid that it gives the impression of effortlessness, but a close listen reveals deliberate, meticulous sculpting by a seasoned set of ears. It also comes across so naturally and fully-developed that it’s easy to imagine dozens of his subsequent releases inhabiting the same sonic landscape on display here. “Retirement: Part One", indeed.
The EP also features Alli Rodgers on guest vocals, as well as Brooklyn-based instrumentalist Kirk Schoenherr (Nick Murphy/ Chet Faker) on guest vocals, guitar and as a cowriter on the songs he's featured on. Since having released their debut EP in May of 2018 Fort Gorgeous has been voted The Deli's emerging artist of the month and has been premiered in Nylon, Substream and Atwood Magazine's as well as Earbuddy, The Deli, PopMatters, Pop Dust and Paste. Billy can also be found on tour as the guitar player for Ingrid Michaelson and has been featured on numerous podcasts and a Tribeca Film Festival award winning documentary.
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