Alternatieve folk rock? Toch niet deze single hoor! Naar The Kills refererende vunzige rock&roll geïnspireerd op de muziek uit de jaren zestig en zeventig. Gigi laat op dit nummer haar rock verleden horen, terwijl de rest van de EP weldegelijk richting alternatieve folk, met wat (gothic) americana touches, gaat.
Souvenirs (EP) verschijnt op 27 juli 2024 via Marshall Records.
Luister ook naar: You Ain't Changed
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Growing up in West Virginia, it wasn't until Gigi moved to nearby Shepherdstown for college that she saw music that could belong to her. “Before that, the only music being made by teenagers was punk and hardcore, and there just weren't any girls on stage. But then I moved for college to this tiny town, and suddenly, I saw all these women making music. There were loads of open mics, shows in bars and churches, and different kinds of music: rockabilly, folk, ambient, rock and roll. Pretty early on, I thought, 'I can do this.'” From there, Gigi formed as many bands as she could, eventually meeting then-Gallows guitarist Steph Carter through a “chance online connection” that led to the pair forming two bands, The Ghost Riders in the Sky, and later Lyoness. While Steph and Gigi went on to be married, both these bands folded, leading Gigi to the decision to start her own project. “It's allowed me to expand into territories I never could have in Lyoness”, she says, “and I’ve had to step forward into a level of confidence I never had before. I have to call all the shots by myself which can be overwhelming, but likewise, I have all this creativity and freedom to shape it into whatever I want it to be.”
Coming from a background of 60s and 70s rock, blended with more modern acts like The Kills or Lana Del Ray, Gigi's music often unifies the most disparate elements of these two worlds. Perhaps the most striking element of Gigi's music is her lyricism – sometimes diaristic, sometimes abstract, but always full of bold imagery. “My daily lyric writing process consists of listening to music I've never heard before and freewriting whatever it brings up in me”, Gigi explains. “It brings up a memory, or a thought, or something I'm currently dealing with, but it's all my lived experience. It just depends how it's flowing and how I feel that day.” This connection of the literal to the metaphorical is most obvious in 'Why Should I?', a call-back to the riffs of Lyoness that proved Gigi to be a powerhouse of rock singing. A brooding stampede of bluesy electric guitars and thunderous drums, 'Why Should I?' brings to mind modern rock bands like Royal Blood and The Amazons but evokes more poetic artists like Phoebe Bridgers through its lyrics, succinct in its intent.
After nearly a decade of making rock music, Gigi Gold has redefined herself as a bold new voice, turning the genre upside down in pursuit of something new. From the small taste of ‘Souvenirs’, no one can say which direction Gigi will take next, least of all herself: “I felt I needed to lift the constraints, and the only thing ever stopping me was myself. To this day, I don't know what I want this to be; I just want to be proud of what I put out there.” With this ethos as her guide and a range of songs that proves she can choose any path she wants, Gigi Gold will quickly be recognised as one of music's most intriguing and unpredictable voices.
