Gus Dapperton
Musician
Blurring the lines of gender, sound and style, Gus Dapperton is music’s newest dreamboat
Imagine if Wes Anderson directed The Fifth Element and you’re maybe some of the way to imagining Gus Dapperton’s look. The green-haired, pink-eyed 21-year-old artist from Warwick, New York, packs vintage Jean Paul Gaultier turtlenecks for tour, rocks a DIY bowl cut and makes music at the intersection of sweet and surreal – beautiful synth pop numbers with song names such as “Prune, You Talk Funny” and “I’m Just Snacking”. While he might be bemused that they’ve racked up millions of views, we aren’t.
Sci-fi meets college rock aesthetic aside, he’s got serious songwriting skills, taking influence from 60s rock, The Beach Boys, Ariel Pink and The Beatles – Gus and his band performed a cover of “Twist and Shout” at the release party for Yellow and Such, his first EP. His debut album drops later this year, a release that may mark him out as one of America’s most promising songwriters.
Thomas Gorton