GFOTY

GFOTY
Birth name Polly-Louisa Salmon[1]
Born 1990 (age 25–26)[2]
Origin London, England, United Kingdom
Genres Pop, electronic
Occupation(s) Vocalist
Years active 2012–present
Labels PC Music
Associated acts Sophie, Serious Thugs, Maxo

Polly-Louisa Salmon (born 1990) is a British pop singer known by her stage name GFOTY, an abbreviation of Girlfriend of the Year. Since 2014 she has released music through the PC Music label. Much of her best-known work has been in the form of mini-mixes.[3]

Biography

GFOTY is the daughter of art dealer Jeff Salmon.[4] She grew up in London, England and ran a blog.[2][5] Her earliest songs include "Take a Picture", which includes rap group Serious Thugs, and "Friday Night". "Friday Night" is a darkly comic take on pop clichés about partying teenagers.[6][7] A remix of it has since been incorporated into producer Sophie's sets.[8]

Her debut single, "Bobby", was released in 2013 via the PC Music record label and collective. It describes feelings of futility after a breakup.[5][9][9] GFOTY uses a spoken word delivery over a tense, synthesised wall of sound.[9][10] She released Secret Mix in March 2014. It includes cover versions of songs by Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, and Carly Simon. Tiny Mix Tapes named Secret Mix the third best music release of 2014.[11] She also appeared on PC Music's mix for DIS Magazine's DISown. Focusing on the relationship between art and commerce, her contribution includes conspicuous product placement for Red Bull.[9] One of the songs from her mix became her second single "Don't Wanna / Let's Do It".[12] It creates an uneasy mood by taking two conflicting phrases and frantically sampling them.[13]

GFOTY's "My Song" was inspired by the hex triplet FFB6C1.[14]

GFOTY contributed vocals to "Hard", the B-side to Sophie's "Lemonade" single.[15] In September 2014, producer Ryan Hemsworth released the compilation EP shh#ffb6c1 on his pseudo-label Secret Songs. He featured a GFOTY track named "My Song".[14] Shortly after, she collaborated with PC Music artist Maxo on "Not That Bad".[15]

For Halloween in 2014, GFOTY appeared alongside fellow label artists including A. G. Cook and Danny L Harle for a special live Halloween webcast named Dead or Alive. All artists appeared for one night only, as their spooky alter egos of which GFOTY became, Ghoulfriend of the Year. The show was broadcast in the UK, USA, Denmark and Japan.[16]

In 2015 GFOTY released a mix titled Cake Mix. It is composed of bright, saccharine songs interspersed with buzzing, glitchy breakdowns.[17][18] The mix includes an adaptation of Peter Andre's 1996 single "Mysterious Girl" featuring Bubbler Ranx and a cover of Blink-182's 2000 single "All the Small Things".[19] Her Dog Food Mix 1 with PC Music artist Spinee is a reworking of GFOTY's earlier songs.[20] A second mix came in May 2015.[21] A full-length release is planned for 2015.[22]

March 2015 saw GFOTY head to the USA to play the PC Music showcase at the Empire Garage in Austin, Texas as part of SXSW. Her performance was very well received with Exclaim writing that it was a "fascinating set" [23] and Noisey saying "Here's what I did when I saw GFOTY, which was probably the best thing I've seen all week: I fucking lost my mind. I loved it. I was ecstatic." [24] On 8 May 2015, GFOTY performed as part of a PC Music show at BRIC House in Brooklyn, New York as part of the Red Bull Music Academy Festival. The show was billed as the premiere of Pop Cube, "a multimedia reality network".[25]

Artistry

Music
Secret Mix (2014)
A cover of "Un-Break My Heart" deteriorates into feedback.[9] It leads into "Kiss", which constructs a frenetic beat from pitch-shifted tongue clicks.[26]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

GFOTY's music favours tense, bouncy beats with pounding drums.[27] Her style of sing-speaking gives her a more coarse, human quality compared to the rest of the PC Music roster.[28] Describing her singing as "child like", GFOTY often manipulates her words by twisting an individual syllable.[2][28] Her spoken word vocals are supported by distorted, high-pitched backing vocals.[1][28] GFOTY's more sentimental songs are offshoots of bittersweet power ballads by singers like Celine Dion and Toni Braxton.[9] She has cited R. Kelly as an influence, calling him "either the most clever guy in the universe or a complete moron, and I love that I can't figure it out."[2][9]

Public image

GFOTY has been characterised as "the most obviously political" act on the PC Music label.[6] Her persona is animated and loudmouthed,[7][29] as a lampoon of club culture.[30] GFOTY's comments regarding race have been criticised, with Noisey removing some of her remarks from its site.[4] She has likened herself to a female version of The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.[31] GFOTY's lyrics detail nights of drinking and casual sex.[32] Sporting a sweatsuit for her live performances, she describes her fashion as "a pink onesie covered in Swarovski crystals with loads of money coming out the pockets and Ugg boots".[9][30] GFOTY uses an exaggeratedly feminine style similar to the cute aesthetic of her contemporaries. However, this is often used to conceal a more sinister element, and she has commented that she doesn't "particularly think gfoty [sic] is cute".[9]

With low-quality selfies, photo manipulation, and the use of wigs, GFOTY shrouds her image and identity.[33][34] Her facetious interviews with press often blur the line between her real life and the GFOTY character.[29] She characterised GFOTY as "a state of mind which can only be achieved by the deepest level of meditation on a beach in Barbados surrounded by cute jetski instructors."[5] GFOTY often discusses having trained as a chef and baking desserts.[2][29][35] She maintains an Instagram profile of inspirational quotes.[27]

Discography

Singles and EPs

2013 "Bobby" PC Music
2014 "Don't Wanna / Let's Do It" PC Music
2014 "Christmas Day" PC Music
2015 "USA" PC Music

Mixes

2014 PC Music x DISown Radio (with A. G. Cook, Danny L Harle, Lil Data, Nu New Edition, and Kane West) PC Music
2014 Secret Mix PC Music
2015 Cake Mix PC Music
2015 Dog Food Mix 1 (with Spinee) PC Music
2015 Dog Food Mix 2 (with Spinee) PC Music

References

  1. 1 2 Hunt, El (11 June 2014). "Inside the hard drive of PC Music". DIY. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Weinstock, Tish (12 February 2015). "hannah diamond and gfoty's beginner's guide to pc music". i-D. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "PC Music regular GFOTY shares Cake Mix, featuring an apropos Blink-182 cover". Fact. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 Cliff, Aimee (15 June 2015). "PC Music And The Limitations Of Parody". The Fader. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Bassil, Ryan. "Trying to Make Sense of Hannah Diamond and Post-Ringtone Music". Vice. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 Weiss, Dan (17 December 2014). "Trend of the Year: How PC Music Chewed Up Pop Conventions". Spin. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  7. 1 2 Barchi, Aly (12 December 2014). "CMU Artists Of The Year 2014: PC Music". Complete Music Update. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Mitchell, Aurora (29 October 2014). "Festival review: Simple Things 2014". Dummy. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kretowicz, Steph (26 June 2014). "You're Too Cute: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, SOPHIE, PC Music and the Aesthetic of Excess". The Fader. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  10. ↑ Millard, Drew (19 September 2014). "Staff Picks and Good Shit for the Week of September 19, Featuring Dylan Walker of Full of Hell". Vice. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Zetina, Ariel (December 2014). "2014: Favorite 50 Music Releases of 2014". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Bowe, Miles (9 July 2014). "GFOTY – 'Don't Wanna / Let's Do It'". Stereogum. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  13. ↑ Joyce, Colin (9 July 2014). "GFOTY Battles Indecision on 'Don't Wanna / Let's Do It'". The Fader. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  14. 1 2 Joyce, Colin (30 September 2014). "GFOTY: 'My Song'". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  15. 1 2 Liu, Nelson (2 October 2014). "Maxo 'Not That Bad' ft. GFOTY". Mass Appeal. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Dream Baby (27 October 2014). "PC Music Wants You To Spend Your Halloween Alone With Them". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  17. ↑ McDermott, Patrick D. (27 January 2015). "Download GFOTY's Cover Of Blink-182's 'All The Small Things'". The Fader. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  18. ↑ Rettig, James (27 January 2015). "GFOTY – 'All The Small Things' (Blink-182 Cover)". Stereogum. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "GFOTY drops 'Cake Mix'". Dummy. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Brodsky, Rachel (5 March 2015). "PC Music's GFOTY and Spinee Unleash Their 'Dog Food Mix 1'". Spin. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  21. ↑ Carley, Brennan (26 May 2015). "GFOTY and Spinee Get Pointedly Weird on Their 'Dog Food Mix 2'". Spin. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  22. ↑ Rettig, James (19 February 2015). "A. G. Cook – 'Drop FM' (Feat. Hannah Diamond)". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  23. ↑ http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/gfoty-empire_garage_austin_tx_march_19
  24. ↑ http://noisey.vice.com/blog/pc-music-sxsw-showcase-review-gfoty-hannah-diamond-qt-ag-cook
  25. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/arts/music/review-pc-music-and-sophie-in-a-high-concept-extravaganza-at-bric-house.html?_r=0
  26. ↑ Moynihan, Joe (13 August 2014). "PC Music: the 10 best tracks so far from 2014's most divisive record label". Fact. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  27. 1 2 Sherburne, Philip (17 September 2014). "PC Music's Twisted Electronic Pop: A User's Manual". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  28. 1 2 3 Bowe, Miles (2 October 2014). "Maxo – 'Not That Bad' (Feat. GFOTY)". Stereogum. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  29. 1 2 3 Raiss, Liz (3 February 2015). "How I Live: GFOTY". The Fader. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  30. 1 2 Kramer, Kyle (20 March 2015). "Just Let Go and Enjoy PC Music, OK?". Vice. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  31. ↑ Wolfson, Sam (2 May 2015). "PC Music: the future of pop or 'contemptuous parody'?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  32. ↑ Bassil, Ryan (16 December 2014). "Even If They're an Elaborate Joke, PC Music Dominated 2014". Vice. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  33. ↑ Jones, Charlie Robin (11 September 2014). "PC Music's digital dreams". Dazed & Confused 4: 178–183. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  34. ↑ Frank, Alex (19 September 2014). "A Visual Primer on PC Music, London's Weirdest New Subculture". Vogue. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  35. ↑ Hemsworth, Ryan (22 September 2014). "GFOTY & Ryan Hemsworth's ShhSecret date". Logo Magazine. Retrieved 27 February 2015.

External links

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