'Artistic rebirth' for Waterford musician after debut album sees move from rap to alt pop

Waterford musician, Alex Gough, has released his debut album 'Painful' in a bold move from rapper to an alternative to alternative pop. 

It came out on October 1st and has been described as an "artistic rebirth." 

Alex kicked off his career with a series of jazzy hip-hop cuts before becoming more expressive and dynamic with his music.

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So far, his career has brought him international touring success and placements in film, TV, and video games on both sides of the Atlantic, including HBO's Industry, the BBC's Normal People, and Fortnite.

While making 'Painful,' Alex let his followers in on the process via social media.

He says its creation helped him to “push through times where I thought I’d give up on myself.”

He described it as a "new start on a new path."

There are eight songs on the album, all of which seem to have been well received by his fans.

"I’ve already had a lot of people reach out to say how much they enjoyed it and share their kind words about it, it’s been beautiful. I'm looking forward to playing some live shows with this album out, I'm working on some dates at the moment so will hopefully be announcing those soon," Alex said. 

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He hosted four listening parties before the official release date - in London, Dublin, Cork, and Waterford.

"It was really special to play an album like Painful, that’s so vulnerable and honest, and watch people’s real time reaction and interaction with it," Alex said.

When asked why he decided to switch things up genre-wise, Alex said it happened in "quite a natural way" and "as a result of growing up and my taste changing as I get older and experience new things."

"It was a conscious decision to really double down on it in my music though. Around 2022, I had slowly started to make music that felt a bit softer and more atmospheric with more guitars. Around the same time I felt like I was struggling to say what I wanted to say and how I felt in a rap/hip hop context. The timing of the two perfectly lit the way for this new era of my music, especially 'Painful' and what I am working on at the moment and for the future. It was a coincidental marrying of experimentation and emotion," he added. 

Alex's work aims to expand beyond the confines of one-and-done streaming content culture and is focused on building an ever-expanding network of context beyond the work.

He works in a creative partnership with his brother Jordan Gough who has worked on all of his videos for close to half a decade.