Earlier this month (June 4), Disney Island made its debut at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, offering festivalgoers a welcome escape from the crowds.
Curated to capture the company’s signature sense of wonder and childlike magic, the space featured a long white walkway leading to a giant Mickey Mouse sculpture by Spanish street artist Elno, alongside a merchandise shop, photo booth, food truck adorned with Mickey Mouse and Toy Story 5-inspired details, and a central stage at its heart. Overlooking the sea, the stage drew a steady stream of people during this day, many seemingly in awe by the joyful sounds and surroundings.
Among those performing was rising indie-pop artist Absolutely, who brought a set of originals to the stage, including a rendition of “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella. Absolutely (born Abby-Lyn Keen) is one of the three talented Keen sisters, alongside RAYE and Amma. Their father, Paul Keen, introduced all three to music from an early age, and as the youngest, Abby has spent much of her life immersed in the creative process. Despite growing up in a family so closely connected to music, her sound and artistic vision are entirely her own. Before and throughout her solo career, Absolutely has lent her talents to countless artists across the industry; since the age of 13, she has written, composed, produced and provided backing vocals for names such as LISA, Anitta and Teddy Swims, all while cultivating a distinctive creative world of her own.
Hence the title of her recently released sophomore LP, Paracosm—a term used to describe a detailed imaginary world, often thought to originate in childhood. Having immersed myself in Absolutely’s eclectic world through her debut album, Cerebrum, and its follow-up, Paracosm, I was struck by the intensity of an artist fully embracing her craft. Absolutely’s musical world feels both mechanical and verdant, with looming beats that burst into life through her commanding voice. It is no wonder she describes her work as ‘alien pop’—a label reflected in her entrancing style, forged from fragments of R&B, pop and jazz through to rock and electronica. Alien feels like the perfect descriptor for an artist who refuses to be confined to a single genre.
The combination of her influences is both refreshing and remarkable, illustrating the breadth of Absolutely not only as an artist, but as a person. Her most notable song, “I Just Don’t Know You Yet”, epitomises that artistry; a heartfelt track that she performed during her set, it is dedicated to her fiancé, NOAH NOAH, the American artist she got engaged to last month. Taking to the Disney Island stage in a dazzling dress she designed herself, Absolutely looked like an absolute star! The burgundy and dark purple corset-style gown, adorned with jewels and ruffled sleeves atop a layered skirt, shimmered in the Barcelona sun. Swaying gently as she eased into her opening song, “No Furniture” from Paracosm, she immediately captured the attention of Primavera attendees.
The setting felt pitch-perfect; she looked like a live-action Disney Princess. After a little downtime, we were invited into her green room to discuss her captivating set, the creative foundations behind her work and a remarkable year celebrating Paracosm.
COMPLEX: How’s it going, Absolutely? How are you feeling today?
Absolutely: I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now, but mostly I’m just grateful. Looking back at this past year and how far I’ve come, I feel really blessed to be where I am. I’m also really tired [laughs]. I’ve just come off a four-month tour, so there are definitely mixed emotions there, but I’m grateful for all of it. I would love a little break, which is coming very soon. I’m going to go home and have a lovely half-rest situation.
With your second album, Paracosm, arriving in February, you must have been on the go for months. I hope you get that chance to rest. But let’s rewind a little—do you remember the moment you fell in love with music?Maybe it was when I got a speaker for Christmas. That was when I discovered my own personal listening experience. I downloaded SoundCloud and spent hours browsing, finding all these random sounds and artists, putting together playlists and feeling confident enough to play them out loud in my room—just as my sisters would do. That was my first encounter with really listening to music and connecting with it. As for creating music, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened; I think I gradually became more and more obsessed with it. From around the age of 11 or 12, I started writing songs with my dad—he taught me and my sisters how to produce and write music. I was in the studio every day after school until the early hours of the morning, making beats and writing songs.
Paracosm is such an illuminating title for an album. Listening to your music, there’s a real sense of stepping into a world of its own. When did you first come across the concept of a paracosm, and when did you begin creating that world for yourself?
I found out what paracosm meant while scrolling through my YouTube comments. Someone wrote, “She’s my paracosm.” I was like, “What is that word?” Something about it pulled me in, so I looked it up. At that point, I was almost finished with the album and working on the final few songs, but the word perfectly summed up what I was building. Suddenly, it all made sense: it was like, “Okay! This is what the album is about.” I think I first started building my artistic world when I met Dave Hamelin. He produced my first album, Cerebrum. I remember feeling so immersed in the sounds he would come up with, I would instantly see visuals in my head; it was so easy to create something interesting with him. And that was really the beginning of it. Then I just kept writing with him, and the more I tapped into visual work, the more it fed into the music. They became two things that constantly informed each other.
In the comments underneath the video for “Nowhere To Hide”, someone described the song as “a panic attack turning into something beautiful.” It made me wonder: what do you want people to feel when they listen to your music?
I want people to feel transported into another world. That immersive landscape—being able to visualise and become part of something that doesn’t physically exist. I love that paradox. I want people to feel peace, relief and upliftment. I want them to feel their imagination expanding and separating from reality for a moment.
You’ve spent years writing, producing and performing, and now you’re taking to stages like Disney Island at Primavera Sound. How has it been working with Disney on the launch of the new stage?
I’ve been a Disney fan for a long time, so I think even just having this relationship with them, my child self is like: “Wait! Is this real?” For them to invite me out here to perform has been really surreal. I just feel incredibly grateful.
Beyond music, what are the key inspirations that have shaped your creativity?
Fashion, definitely. I’ve always been drawn to fashion, design, textures and fabrics. The way different materials move feels really representative of how I create music. I design my own looks, by the way.
And you look phenomenal! This ‘fit right here is hard.
[Laughs] Thank you! I feel like fashion works in tandem with the way I write music. An idea will come into my head and I immediately have to sketch it, in the same way I’d voice-note a melody before it disappears. Fashion and music have always gone hand in hand for me.
My final question is about your name. You call yourself Absolutely, which suggests a certain confidence in who you are. Yet, as we grow, we change. At this stage of your life and career, what can you say you’re absolutely certain about?
I think I’m sure that I’m never going to stop. I’m never going to limit myself. I’m going to continue to be the most authentic version of myself and not compromise that to fit certain standards, or charts or radio. The music and the art come first for me, and this will continue for the rest of my career.
