New Zealand singer-songwriter Gin Wigmore is hardly new to the music industry. She’s been playing since the age of 14 and her previous two albums have gone platinum over eight times in New Zealand. Now she’s getting ready to release her third album, Blood to Bone, out October 2^nd. Gin took some time off tour and spoke to us about the emotional turmoil that got her in the studio in the first place and how her new record is basically a documentation of the latest chapter in her life.

 

You’ve been writing music since you were 14, you’ve got strong retro-soul influences and people say that you’re New Zealand’s take on Amy Winehouse. What’s your opinion on that?

I would say I’m my own unique artist and that I’ve got my own kind of music and things to say. The comparisons are always going to be there because I people need to figure out how to put you in a box, but I believe that we’re both very different artists.

 

Blood to Bone is your next album set to be released on October 2^nd. What have you done differently on this one as opposed to the rest? Have you shifted gears musically in any way?

Yeah, I think so. As you get older, you evolve and you experience more things. You go through more things in life and you’ve got more things to write about. The last two years have been filled with a lot of stuff. That made me feel like I needed to explore more with writing and to speak out about what I felt at the time. That’s how the idea of writing another album came about. And musically, I just wanted to make music that I wasn’t bored with and I wanted to make sure that I was challenging myself. That was the main motive behind this record. To write about what was going on and accompany that musically with things that I hadn’t tried before. Which also involved working with a lot of people that I’ve never worked before, co-writers that I’ve never written with, which really opened the door in the way that I was doing things. A lot of the stuff is more electronic; we’ve used synthesizers and stuff like that, moving a bit away from that traditional band sound. And also, producing this album for the first time was really cool as well, I had the responsibility of making all those big decisions, like on the players and what kind of things to choose, what tracks to take. It’s a strong, more genuine record in that sense.

 

You’ve also done the album with Charlie Andrew. What was that like for you? Did you have him in mind as a producer firstly and the songwriting was just an unexpected bonus?

I’ve been a big fan of Charlie’s for a long time. What he’s done with the Alt-J boys is awesome. I love how he’s kind of a mad scientist and really has a beautiful way of manipulating sounds and making them really original to his kind of sound, so I did have him strongly in mind as a producer of this album. And then I spent two weeks with him in Brixton and we wrote New Rush together and worked on another track of mine, but New Rush was the first one out of the gate that really set the sound for this album. And I’ve also learned a lot from Charlie, he kind of gave me the confidence to take upon the role of producing this album by myself. So that’s what I decided to do in the end. He taught me a few tricks and how to manipulate sounds in different ways, how to make synthesizers sound cool and interesting. He taught me a lot in those two weeks of working together.

So you just mentioned that this was the first time you produced your own album. Was this also the first time you tried your hand at producing overall?

Yes, first time I was producing overall. I’ve obviously been writing everything and co-writing and stuff like that, but this was the first time I was producing. So, I produced it with a friend of mine, Stuart Crichton, and we had it all down in 3 weeks. It was quick as well.

 

From many perspectives, this for you is an album of many firsts. You’ve been going through a lot of change throughout the past years. Producing the album, starting a new life, getting a new home etc. How did that translate into your music?

I think it’s all about getting older really. I’m 29 now and you start to really own your good things and your bad. There’s a lot of confidence that comes with that, so I got to write the album really honestly. And I was lucky to see what the honesty was, with me as a person. How I see my relationships, how I do things well, how I don’t do things well. All those changes brought me to a point where I could speak honestly about what was going on. And I think that’s a goal with songwriting. I’ve become more and more of a songwriter. I can really express how I feel about things as honestly as I can.

 

Since it’s an album of many firsts, what other firsts would you like to try your hand at?

Musically, I don’t know yet. I’m not sure. I wouldn’t mind doing a really soul album at some point. I’d love to give a crack at that cause I’ve never really explored soul music. But I did kind of have this idea that it would be really cool to make a soul album. Next record, who knows. There are so many unexplored territories, musically speaking, especially in this day and age. It would take me a lifetime to even touch on half the things that you can explore musically.

 

So you’re now living in LA, right? Did you find the adjustments difficult? I’ve got friends who transitioned to calling LA home and have often struggled along the way. What do you reckon is the key to adjusting there as a creative person?

I think you have to come over here with a purpose, you know. Millions of people don’t really make things and try to achieve really good things. I think you need to have a clear idea of what you’ve come here to do and not compromise on that. If you have a good goal, then that’s all you need.

 

How does being in LA expose you to different forms of music? Also, being in America, being in a completely different environment, how did that impact your songwriting?

Well, as opposed to New Zealand, in LA I’ve got around different types of people, different cultures all over the place and that means that you’ve got all kinds of music going on. Tons of Jazz clubs, soul clubs, all these big thriving musical communities that are very concentrated. And these were all factors that contributed to my songwriting.

 

Do you plan on going on a headline show after the album release?

Yes, we’re in the States now and we’re coming to the UK, playing London on the 7^th of October. We’re playing London, Manchester and then we’re heading to Germany. Also, we’ve just sold out our London show and it’s so cool cause it’s been so long since I’ve played in London, like 3 or 4 years or so.

 

What’s your FAULT?

I think it’s the fact that I think I know how to do everything. And I really don’t.

                            

                      Blood to Bone is set to be released in the UK on October 2nd on Island Records.

Words: Adina Ilie