VICE Spotlight: Wytchings

“Diary entries. Dreams, supercuts and wormholes.”

That's how Jenny Trinh, otherwise known as Wytchings, would best describe her music.

Her deconstructed, explorative blend of haunting vocals and electronic sounds creates a world that feels both familiar and new; like a nostalgic future.

Wytchings music shapeshifts, morphs and contorts to varying degrees. At one point, her soft murmurs can be heard at a low decibel, before your eardrums are confronted with thunderous synths and shimmery chimes. If there’s one thing to know about her art it’s to expect the unexpected.

The Western Sydney artist was raised on a collection of “Paris By Night” DVDs – a  Vietnamese music variety show that included performances, one act plays, and comedy sketches. A known staple across Vietnamese households, these DVDs – which included boisterous dance numbers to Kylie Minogue and ABBA  – depicted a world of music that was “kaleidoscopic” to Wytchings from a young age.

“Those DVDs were my first gateway to realising how simultaneously shapeless and full [music] can all be. How music can be used to carry deep rivers of grief. How joyful it could be. How multiple it could be, ” she told VICE.

From there, her understanding of what constituted “real music” came from the “absolutely savage” musical performances her aunty would perform, her uncle whipping out his acoustic guitar, and her cousins introducing her to Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ “Californication”.

“Being exposed to all these various kinds of music made me want to go on my own musical rabbit hole adventures and find out what I liked. So I trotted off to YouTube where I found the most weird and wonderful worlds. I was just a girl with access to dial-up internet and a simple dream.”

Wytchings found her true artistic footing in her school art class, and art became a sanctuary for her as she spent classesdrawing until her hands and fingers grew tiresome.

“At the time, I was going through a lot of intense anxiety and depression…those times in the clouds truly brought me so much solace,” she said.

“It was so confronting, cathartic and comforting all at once. Life can be strange and lovely in that way.”

The etchings of her psyche were laid out all over her sketchbook, much of her drawings and art forming from the kinds of music she was listening to. 

“Paramore, Blood Orange, Lykke Li & Beach House – your girl was truly in the trenches at the time,” she said.

“And how the lines ebbed and flowed with the sounds – all in tandem. I felt like the director, writer and star of my own wild and wonderful movie.”

Riveted by the idea of manifesting this feeling into something deeper, Wytchings took to GarageBand, allowing her heart and mind to experiment with the default drum sounds and piano samples. 

Participating in the Art & Cultural Exchange’s ‘New Age Noise’ electronic music program, she moved to navigating Ableton, discovering different complex and innovative ways of creating music.

“Over the weeks, I found that so many feelings were emerging from the shadows – and I didn’t know what to do with it. I began to realise just how powerful music can be as an outlet. And it became clear that I needed to dive in deeper. It was like gravity.”

Wytchings makes an earnest nod to the artists she's been privileged to work closely with, including Kash and Zac, whom she shares the mic with under the band Heart Armour, as well as fellow artists Jada and Saskia.          

“These people have expanded my heart and have given more impetus behind why being an artist is forever,” she said.

“They’ve also reminded me that even though I may find it hard to believe sometimes, my vulnerability is truly one of my biggest strengths,” 

“They’ve reminded me of the beauty of softness, traversing through spaces in a non-linear manner – and care.”

Self-admitting to being a “mushy person”, it’s this deep connection and adoration for life – and people – that makes Wytchings’ music feel like the touch of a cold hand and a warm embrace at different times. She wants to depict reality in the most honest and accurate way, so long as it comes from the depths of her being.

“I wanna make good shit that I’m proud of and to keep making art from the heart,” she said.

“My friends often joke that I can be ‘verbose’ with my feelings and I cannot lie, they are right. I think the never-ending goal is to honour that, as much as it makes me squirm sometimes,”

“To be vulnerable and allow myself to be seen is one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done for myself. Light beams forged out of acts of violence and pain. So, I will continue to try and be brave. Even if that means my hand starts to shake and I stumble over my words.”

Adele is the Junior Writer & Producer for VICE AU/NZ. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter here.

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