Finn Keane, previously known as Easyfun (stylised in all caps and formerly as easyFun), is a British songwriter and record producer. He is known for his frequent collaborations with Charli XCX, his releases on experimental pop label PC Music, and his work with the label's founder A. G. Cook in the duo Thy Slaughter. His work with Charli XCX has earned him two nominations at the Grammy Awards; Album of the Year for Brat and Best Dance Pop Recording for "Von Dutch".[1]
Career
2013–2015: Career beginnings
Keane's first release in 2013, originally under the name Easyfun, was a five-track self-titled EP with an early version of what would become PC Music's signature sound of bubblegum pop, futuristic riffs and chaotic arrangements.[2]Pitchfork later described the album as a "gaseous and disorienting beat tape that sounded a little like a methed-out take on TNGHT’s permanently in-the-red hip-hop experiments."[3]
Keane also joined the collaborative project Thy Slaughter with PC Music founder A. G. Cook in 2014, releasing their debut single, "Bronze", as part of PC Music Volume 1. Cook and Keane did not release any further music under the Thy Slaughter name for the following nine years.[4]
2016–2024: Songwriting and production, EPs, Thy Slaughter return and Brat
Cook and Keane eventually started the collaboration easyFX as part of a Columbia Records deal with PC Music. Under this name, the two worked together to write and produce songs for Columbia to assign to its emerging artists. This project was later dropped when management at Columbia changed and PC Music lost its supporters within the label.[2]
Hannah Diamond released her single "Invisible" in October 2019, co-produced by Keane and Cook.[5] In 2022, Keane produced Bree Runway's single "That Girl".[6] Keane has songwriting and production credits on Charli XCX's mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2 and her album Charli.[7][8]
In August 2023, Keane released two EPs named Acoustic and Electric.[9]Pitchfork gave Electric a score of 7.1/10, calling its songs "works of unadulterated nostalgia" and "a surprisingly emotional experience" with "deep, shuddering bass notes and unashamedly romantic melodies",[3] and included the EP in a list of the best pop music of 2023.[10]
In June 2023, Charli XCX released the Keane-produced single "Speed Drive" as part of Barbie the Album, the soundtrack of the 2023 film Barbie.[11] Keane also reunited with Cook in a return for Thy Slaughter that year, releasing the album Soft Rock on 1 December 2023.[4][9] This followed the singles "Sentence" and "If I Knew",[12] as well as the release of singles "Lost Everything" and "Reign" on 16 November that year which were used to announce the album. "Lost Everything" was co-written by the late Sophie and Ellie Rowsell.[4] This was one of the final releases from the PC Music label before it pivoted solely to archival releases.[12]
Keane worked with Cook and George Daniel on the production for Charli XCX's 2024 album Brat. Keane has stated that in producing the album he tried to "make the strongest and most confident music" he could, and noted that he and Charli XCX had created "Speed Drive" and "Von Dutch" in one day.[13]
2024–present: EasyGroup lawsuit and The Finn Keane Album
Keane's logo prior to the EasyGroup lawsuit
EasyJet's logo
In October 2023, EasyJet's parent company EasyGroup sued the music label PC Music and its founder, Cook, for "mimic[ing] easyGroup’s famous branding to create instant brand recognition for his ‘DJing business." The lawsuit initially resulted in only the cover for Keane's album Deep Trouble being changed; it had originally depicted people leaving an aircraft which bore the text "easyFun" after a water landing, but was changed to a computer-generated image of water with Easyfun's logo at its base.[14] However in October 2024, Keane announced The Finn Keane Album,[15] which was to be a compilation album of his previous work,[16] released a remix of his song "Laplander" and stated that he would fully leave the Easyfun moniker behind.[15] On the same day as this announcement, Willow Kayne released her Keane-produced single "I’ve Got This All Under Control", featuring "synthesizers, fast-paced percussion, and a prominent bassline" according to Dork.[17] He fully retired the name at PC Music's Halloween event, Pop Crypt II, in London.[16]
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