An essential new voice on the indie-rock scene, 21-year-old singer/songwriter Daffo brings an unexpected beauty to the most uncomfortable of feelings. With a poetic specificity that cuts right to the heart, the Los Angeles-based artist speaks an unfiltered truth about all that sets them apart from the wider world, confronting everything from shame and self-loathing to misplaced affection and the chaos of living with an overactive brain. Originally from the Philadelphia suburbs, the musician otherwise known as Gabi Gamberg started writing songs after taking up guitar at age nine, then later shaped their sound by playing countless DIY shows in backyards and basements in New York City and New Jersey. After spending much of the past year on tour with the likes of Sir Chloe and illuminati hotties, Daffo now makes their full-length debut with Where the Earth Bends: a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age album that finds powerful catharsis in painful confession.
Produced and mixed by Rob Schnapf (a veteran producer known for his work with Elliott Smith, Beck, Cat Power, and more), Where the Earth Bends encompasses an intimate yet frenetic sound that perfectly mirrors the album’s emotional intensity. In bringing the LP to life, Daffo worked in close collaboration with Schnapf and engineer Matt Schuessler (Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn), enlisting esteemed musicians like drummer Josh Adams (Devendra Banhart, Jon Batiste) and embracing a boldly naturalistic approach to every element of the production process. Recorded at Schnapf’s Mant Sounds Studio in L.A. and featuring Gamberg on guitar, violin, Mellotron, drums, and more, Where the Earth Bends ultimately embodies an unfettered energy that exponentially magnifies the pure impact of their songwriting. “Rob and Matt gave me the space to explore and really put my mark on the songs, which helped me to believe in myself in a new way,” says Gamberg. “The whole experience was so joyful for me, even though a lot of these songs are very sad.”
The latest entry in an acclaimed catalog including their widely beloved 2021 debut EP Crisis Kit and its 2023 follow-up Pest, Where the Earth Bends begins on the oddly thrilling lament of “Get a Life”: a sing-along-ready rumination on the all-too-familiar challenge of living fully in the moment. “I feel like I spend a lot of time knowing I should be present, I should be enjoying the things in front of me, but I can’t,” says Gamberg, who wrote “Get a Life” in the midst of a meditation retreat in upstate New York. “It’s a lot of knowing what you should be doing, but not being able to do it.” The first song recorded for Where the Earth Bends, “Get a Life” instantly set the tone for the spirit of playful experimentation that soon infused all of the LP. “At some point I picked up some spoons and used them as percussion, and we ended up keeping that on the track,” says Gamberg. “It was my first time working with Rob and Matt and we had so much fun putting the song together—nothing ever felt forced, which was true for the whole album.”
