Gemma Ray (UK)

Territories: DE, CH, AT, LU

The English word “rock” has many meanings, but for Gemma Ray the most important one is probably different as to most musicians. The Berlin-based singer/songwriter from Essex sticks to the basic word meaning: rock as in stone. When Ray goes on tour she always takes the time to explore the landscape. She is fascinated by the rocks that exist beyond our cities and how small we are and how insignificant our own personal problems are.

Gemma Ray has always worked with well-known artists such as Sparks, Alan Vega of Suicide, Howe Gelb and the arranger Fiona Brice. Making a record means for her that “at the end of the day, I always celebrate my personal weaknesses and turning them into something that gives me pleasure and hopefully touches the souls of other people too.“ A lot of her songs “are dedicated to the connection between emotions and landscape – how the two mirror each other and nourish each other, and how this association inspires memories of loved ones.”

Her latest album “Psychogeology” is full of entangled arrangements and structures, including choir and string arrangements. Gemma Ray describes her recent work as “an ode to the majesty of the landscape, to the extent of nature and time and to the inevitable assurance that every human life will one day form a tiny portion of other landscapes.”

(Photo: Alessandra Leimer)