Gia Lily Interview: 'dance with me and cry with me'
By Tania Chakraborti
About Gia Lily
XXI is the new haunting and immersive pop experience put forward by 21-year-old London-based artist Gia Lily. Lily wanted the lyrics throughout the EP to be both honest and fiery and we think she has done just that, with its punchy production and Lily’s intriguing vocal tone. We particularly like the track Almost in Love which has an intimate and chilling vibe to it that we think is perfect for a late night drive or for moments of introspection - definitely for fans of Billie Eilish. We chatted with Gia Lily to talk more about her new release and what’s next on the horizon.
Interview
Tell us more about XXI, the ideation process behind it and what you hope fans will hear when they listen to it?
The main thing I want fans to take away from my 6-track debut EP, XXI, is to not feel so alone anymore. Dance with me and cry with me. We all experience the same emotions, and the way I like to express mine are through songs. The EP is fiery, sassy, edgy, relatable and honest - I wanted there to be something for everyone. Some of these songs have been written for nearly a year now, and some more recently, so there’s a whole mix of emotions on the EP with the journey I have been on this past year, which I love! I wrote, produced and recorded all the songs in my bedroom, which makes it so much more raw and personal to me. All the songs are my favourite in their own special way, but my ‘favourite’ on the EP is ‘Liar’. That’s the second on the EP and it’s a super sassy one hehe. Lyrics wise, ‘You & I’, is my favourite due to the honesty behind the lyrics.
Who is your favourite musical inspiration and who is your dream collab?
My musical inspirations are 100% Dua Lipa and Freddie Mercury - both for very different reasons! Freddie’s drive and passion towards music is infectious and so inspiring and this helped me a lot last year, and Dua is just an all round Queen who inspires me daily for every reason!
How did you get into music and what’s one piece of advice you’ve been told that you’ll never forget?
It sounds so cliche but I have always been singing and into writing my own music. I wrote my first song when I was seven, and it was about halloumi cheese... think my songwriting technique has changed slightly but hey, it could be my next single who knows;) One bit of advice that I’ll never forget is from my mum, and that is, “Life is not a rehearsal”. This is so important to remember. We’ve got one shot at life, so give it your all and do what makes you happy.
“I wrote my first song when I was seven, and it was about halloumi cheese”
What’s your favourite thing to do when you’re not making music?
Favourite thing to do when I’m not making music is eating. Honestly. Or Netflix. I don’t get much time to chill out as I don’t really allow myself to, I love being productive, but my go-to show has to be ‘Friends’. EVERY time.
What’s your biggest musical goal for 2020?
My biggest musical goal for 2020 was to release my debut EP, so now that I’ve achieved that, maybe another EP to come out at the end of the year.. who knows. When I turned 20 in August 2019, I told myself I wanted to release three singles in the next year. I have now released five singles and a 6-track EP, so I’m on track, and don’t want to stop any time soon.
Do you have any collaborations in the pipeline?
I do have a few collabs in the pipeline! A few remixes of my songs are coming out in the next few coming weeks so look out for those!!