Ferna

In 2017 Hannah McPhillimy, aka ferna, originally from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, moved to the US for two years to complete a Masters in Music Composition at the University of Michigan. This relocation inspired the sounds and sentiment for “New City”, the third release from her debut album, Understudy (out Spring 2023).

Exuberant synths, homemade drum kits (literally, made from a suitcase) and dispassionate vocals, this track visits both the euphoria of beginning again and the pain of having a reason to leave in the first place.

“Trying to hold onto a sense of who you are, while also shedding an old skin. It’s the tension between those things.” - ferna