Interview Gia Ford: “Every time I stop and think about releasing my debut album, I can’t quite believe it”

Hello Gia! How’re you doing, and what have you been up to recently?   
Hello! I’m well - I’ve been working on the single releases from my upcoming debut album ‘Transparent Things’, as well as writing new material. I’ve been touring a bit with Marika Hackman and playing a few shows here and there. 

Speaking of ‘Transparent Things’; how does it feel to be at this step in your career, and know that you’re not far away from sharing your first full-length?
It feels like a big personal achievement. It’s a common dream for musicians to get the pleasure and privilege of making and releasing an album. It’s a lot of work, and sometimes you get lost in that. But every time I stop and think about it, just as an experience, I can’t quite believe it.

Can you tell us a bit about how the album came to life? Did you go into the making of it with an idea of what you wanted to explore? You’ve always used characters within your songs; did you have an idea of the stories you’d hope to tell?
I didn’t know I was writing an album really - they were all just separate songs that I eventually gathered together. I don’t tend to work in blocks like that, at least for now. I just take each song as it comes to me; the production can and does change so drastically from demo to the final version.

Is there a particular theme to the record? If so, how did you end up landing on that?
It was kind of accidental - it only showed its character once it all came together really, and revealed the writing pattern; I noticed that I tended to write about these outsiders. So I guess it must’ve just been what I was interested in at the time, subconsciously!

You’ve worked with Tony Berg on the album; how did you end up working together and what was it like as an experience?
Jeremy Lascelles from Chrysalis is good friends with Tony, and thought we’d make a good team for the record. We had quite a few Zoom calls before committing to it, and I just appreciated his take on music being that it’s something you can’t overthink or map out too directly, because that’s what I was feeling taking demos in. He felt like a mentor more than anything, and the process felt like a study - I came away a better musician, and with a clearer picture of how music reaches its final recorded form.

You’ve also shared your newest single ‘Paint Me Like A Woman’; what inspired you to write this kind of song, and what drew you to the protagonist’s story and perspective?
It was inspired by lots of things, mainly stories of women being misunderstood and bottling up resentment and anger because of that. Monster, the story of Eileen Wuornos, was one narrative I had in mind when writing the song. It made me wonder how much of a person can be defined by something that’s not who they are; how many layers of experience are hiding your true self, and how easy it is to be fundamentally altered by how you’re treated.

You’re also going to be playing at ‘Soundhood Hackney’ tonight; will you be airing any new tracks from the record? What should people expect from your performance? What’s your favourite part of playing live?
Lots of new songs from the record, yeah! The performance is a little rockier than the album, which is nice I think, to have a rugged version for the stage - some of the key parts are played on guitar for now. I’d say people can expect an array of different emotions, and just a collection of stories to get lost in. 

'Transparent Things' is out on 13th September via Chrysalis Records.

You can catch Gia Ford play SON Estrella Galicia's 'Soundhood Hackey' event tonight (13th June) at Paper Dress Vintage, London - nab tickets here.

Tags: Gia Ford, Features, Interviews