Chicago’s Gia Margaret will release her new album, Singing, on April 24th via Jagjaguwar.
“Singing is a major step forward for Margaret.” – Rolling Stone
Gia presents a gorgeous new single, ‘Alive Inside.’ Led by soft piano lines that fall like breath on glass, the music on Singing showcases the same jeweller’s sensitivity to detail that she developed in her silence. This is immediate in ‘Alive Inside,’ an evocative track with aching lyrics: “When I was miles away I felt it in a summer wind // And when the sadness is too great // Will you say that the world is big? // And that we roll with it // Even when it feels like shit.” In ‘Alive Inside,’ Margaret is far away from the source that she’s praying to whoever might hear (“a god, a friend that’s gone, a spirit”). As her voice rises over expressive synth and wurlitzer, it seems to be trapped in a web of distortion; it’s as if in her pursuit, she’s pushing at the very boundaries of what can be said.
Gia Margaret – ‘Alive Inside’ (Official Video)
“‘Alive Inside’ was written during a difficult season of my life that was soothed by many hours staring out at the lake,” explains Margaret. “I recorded it in Eau Claire with Sean Carey, who leant his gorgeous voice and production to it. This was the first time I had stepped into a studio in years and I felt terrified. But hearing it blossom encouraged me to keep moving in more ways than one. Additional drum programming and vocal production by my long-time collaborator and exceptional engineer/producer/artist, Doug Saltzman who I also mixed the song with. Our teamwork has been a huge component of my vocal music up until this point. Grateful to the heart of collaboration.”
After a vocal injury prevented Margaret from singing for many years, she developed other musical languages. She mastered the grammar of an intricate, homey form of ambient music pioneered by Ernest Hood and perfected by The Books, leading to her largely instrumental albums 2020’s Mia Gargaret and 2023’s Romantic Piano. Now, her physical voice healed and her artistic voice honed, she comes full circle with Singing, her first vocal album since 2018’s There’s Always Glimmer. As heard in the first two singles, ‘Everyone Around Me Dancing’ and ‘Good Friend,’ Margaret’s graceful touches give Singing a remarkable depth. Everything happening in Singing feels expertly tuned to the precise emotional pitch of the songs. “You hear a sound and it makes you feel something,” Margaret says. “That’s why we’re drawn to music. I have a very emotional attachment to every tool in my studio. Each instrument has something in it that makes me feel a certain way.”
As in a proper natural garden, every sound on Singing has been set carefully in place without sacrificing its individual vitality. Its songs are instantly recognisable and accessible as traditional pop, but they’ve also been shaped by the rules of ambient music, unrolling in a sanctified drift of intuition.
Gia Margaret – ‘Everyone Around Me Dancing’ (Official Video)
Gia Margaret – ‘Good Friend’
Gia Margaret
Singing
