Q&A: Abby Kenna Finds Beauty in the Dark on EP ‘Chew First, Then Swallow’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY DANY MIRELES ☆
Over the last few years, Abby Kenna has carved a space for herself as one of indie’s most compelling emerging songwriters, balancing confessional lyricism with melodies that linger long after the last note. With her brand new single, “Quicksand,” the first taste of her upcoming EP, Chew first, then swallow, she’s stepping into an entirely new musical territory. Rather than writing about relationships alone, this collection of tracks turns inward, unpacking grief, resentment, intrusive thoughts and the complicated feeling of extending grace to the people who have hurt you.
Throughout the EP, Abby Kenna embraces discomfort, allowing her to voice emotions that are often ignored. The record embraces the dark corners of growing up, learning how to process loss, and comforting anger instead of burying it, accepting that healing begins with sitting down with your feelings instead of repressing them. The honesty is matched with an experimental approach, with electric guitars, glitch-inspired production and experimentation expanding the world she once introduced in her first release.
In conversation with Luna, Abby Kenna speaks about the creative leap behind “Quicksand,” the accidental connection between her EPs, the influence of artists like Fiona Apple and films like Donnie Darko and why this new era feels like the most liberating music she has created so far.
LUNA: “Quicksand” feels like a significant sonic shift for you. What was happening creatively that made you want to lean into this more distortion-drenched, alt-pop sound?
KENNA: I wrote all of these songs between July and September of last year, and I realized that only one of them was actually about a relationship. Everything else was about me and my own experiences. "Quicksand," especially, is me saying intrusive thoughts out loud—thinking things might be easier if someone wasn't in your life, whether that means they've died or you never met them. That's a really morbid thing to admit, and I wanted the sound to reflect how dark those emotions felt. As much as I loved Spit! and how light and fun it was, I've always been drawn to grittier music. For these songs, it finally felt like the right time to dive into that.
LUNA: The title “Quicksand” immediately evokes the feeling of being stuck or pulled under. What does that metaphor represent for you in the context of the song?
KENNA: I chose "Quicksand" because it perfectly captured this feeling I've had my entire life of being angry at someone while still having empathy for them. I can be so frustrated with how someone has hurt or disappointed me, but I can never completely stop giving them grace. Eventually, I started resenting myself for not being able to just be angry. It really feels like trying to run away while the ground keeps pulling you down—and sometimes you're even giving into it.
LUNA: Was there a particular lyric or moment in “Quicksand” that became the emotional anchor for the entire track?
KENNA: Once I wrote the line, "This would be easier if you were gone," I thought, "There's no way I can actually keep that." But once I committed to making it the chorus—the thesis statement of the song—it permitted me to let everything else get darker too. I originally wrote it on acoustic guitar, and it didn't sound nearly as angry. Once Connor and I got into production, we realized we could make the music just as intense as the lyrics.
LUNA: You’ve described this release as a huge tonal expansion. Did experimenting with new sounds also change the way you approached songwriting?
KENNA: Definitely. For Spit!, I wrote everything in Open D tuning. For this EP, I started experimenting with minor tunings, writing more on electric guitar and learning Ableton. I even brought little autotune ideas into the studio, and Connor and I just had a lot more room to experiment and have fun.
LUNA: How did the production process for “Quicksand” differ from your previous releases, and were there any risks you were excited to take?
KENNA: Spit! was my first experience recording professionally, so we tackled each song one by one. This time, we approached the EP as one cohesive body of work. We'd record two songs in the same session so they'd naturally share textures and guitar tones. The biggest risk came after our first mixes—we realized they still weren't heavy enough. We went back in and added real distorted guitars, and that decision completely shaped the sound of the rest of the EP.
LUNA: Your upcoming EP is titled Chew first, then swallow, which is such an intriguing phrase. What inspired that title, and how does it reflect the project as a whole?
KENNA: It's a lyric from "Chokehold." In that song, it's basically saying, "Sit with what you've done. Think about it before you swallow it." It became a perfect title because these songs are about things I've had to sit with for years—grief, anger, people who've let me down and ways I've failed others. I ignored a lot of these feelings until I got older. This EP is me finally chewing on all of it before accepting that I have to live with it.
LUNA: Does “Quicksand” serve as an introduction to the themes explored throughout the EP, or is it more of a standout moment within the record?
KENNA: I think it's the perfect introduction because it hints at how weird the production gets. The glitchy moments, the processing, the autotune—they're all things we barely touched on with Spit!. "Quicksand" gives listeners just a taste before the rest of the EP goes even further.
LUNA: When putting together Chew first, then swallow, were there any artists, albums or experiences that influenced this new era of your music?
KENNA: Sonically, we were listening to a lot of Porches, Slow Pulp and Fiona Apple. Fiona's always an influence because she's so raw and angry, and sometimes the sounds she uses are intentionally ugly in the best way. I also watched Donnie Darko for the first time, and that movie really inspired "Quicksand." My whole Pinterest board for the song became young Jake Gyllenhaal and people wearing deer masks.
LUNA: You recently wrapped up a tour with Dev Lemons and are now preparing to headline The Echo. How has performing live shaped your confidence in this new material?
KENNA: Making this record completely changed how I wanted the live show to feel. Before, I was keeping things pretty minimal. Now I'm going all in. I've been building synth patches, using MIDI controllers and recreating the processed sounds from the record live. It's become so much more hands-on, and because of that I feel more connected to the music—and more confident in it.
LUNA: As listeners hear “Quicksand” and eventually the full EP, what do you hope they sit with long after the music ends?
KENNA: This record feels even more vulnerable than Spit! It feels like shedding my skin and hoping people know me a little better afterward. But more importantly, I hope it makes people feel less alone. I want people to know they can talk about intrusive thoughts, grief, anger and all the messy emotions that come with them. Everyone thinks these things sometimes—we just don't always say them out loud.
