Precious Scars

“I’ve spent the last two years getting comfortable with myself,” shares Gabrielle Aplin as the past few years have been monumental ones for the 26-year-old singer-songwriter, who rose to prominence after videos of her singing covers on YouTube gained a large following and her cover of “The Power of Love” was selected to soundtrack the John Lewis 2012 Christmas advertisement. While working on her new album (due out later this year), she acknowledges that her focus has evolved since her attention to mental health in 2017 and 2018 has fostered growth in the singer that has transcended directly into her music. “l found out that I have ADHD so I’ve been writing a lot about my brain. It’s definitely an exploration of my mind and how it’s wired and how it works and the chemicals that make me who I am,” she opens up. “I’ve spent the last two years really working on trying to be more positive – not for any reason that I have to pretend to be happy. I feel very empowered getting to know my brain and how I react when different things happen to me.” For instance, “My Mistake,” released last November, garnered positive critical reception for its raw and powerful lyrics (which is “the most personal, honest song ever written,” as she puts it), and her recent “Nothing Really Matters” celebrates positivity and self-love.

In addition, despite her constant anxieties while touring, Aplin’s love for travel has allowed her to tap into a reservoir of unbounded inspiration. “When I travel, I’m really anxious. I love playing shows but I hate everything else,” she elaborates. “I hate not sleeping in my bed every night but I also love experiencing a new culture, especially. When I was in Japan, I was at Kyoto’s temples, and went down to Kamakura, but the best thing that made me forget about feeling anxious all the time was playing the shows.”

Needless to say, Aplin’s avid travel all over the globe continues to inspire her artistic expression. “I was writing one day, and wrote a song about the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the art of precious scars, and that’s something I soaked up during my trip,” she recalls. “When I came back from Brazil, I was really inspired but I didn’t try and sit down and write a carnival song but I wrote a song that sounded like a carnival song, so I think I was definitely influenced without realizing.”

Moreover, she has experimented with many genres and unique sounds, taking an increased role in her own music production. “It’s sounds and production that I love to experiment with. I just can’t do one production or genre. I love to dress them up in different ways like going through a phase of wanting to wear black in the winter then covering yourself up in sequins in the summer, but it’s still the same thing you’re covering,” says Aplin who hopes to combine her love of music and art. “One of my dreams is to be a music supervisor on a film or series. I need something else to get stuck into.”

Writer: Mike Varius 

Photographer: Bella Kotak 

Stylist: Keeley Dawson 

Stylist Assistant: Conaill O'Dwyer 

Hair & Makeup: John Christopher 

Videographer: Indy Sagoo 

Editor: Eiko Watanabe 

Special thanks to K+K Hotel George Kensington (@kkhotelgeorge - www.kkhotels.com/london/hotel- george) & KiCK Global (@kick.global - kick-global.com)