equality factor: Powerful capacity of telling well-known stories, but in new words.
last album: Vanity Metrics
our favorite song: Closed Chapter
based in: Halifax NS
Her voice reminds me of the sound of empowered women in music. At times, I feel a mixture of Alanis Morissette and the sisters Haim, as well as Beth Gibbons, the singer of the English band Portishead. However, the female factors of this great artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia, are captured in a warm and powerful manner in her latest work "Vanity Metrics".
Gianna Lauren is an artist who is inspired by things that seem simple, but at the same time very deep: her imagination, pushing boundaries, pastels, literature, coffee, and one of the most beautiful sources of inspiration on the planet - nature. She defines her works as a project of atmosphere and warmth, based on her homeland Halifax NS. Her creative process at the time of creating a new album is very compartmentalized, she thinks about the album framework as a whole piece that has a beginning, middle, and end. Gianna works with overarching themes that connect each song together. And her new EP "Vanity Metrics" is a perfect example of it.
"I write a lot on tour".
She started writing the songs of VM in 2017 while her band she were touring the release of "Moving parts", with the exception of the song "Innocent Tourist" which was birthed in 2015 in collaboration with a group called Mauno. They wrote that song while stopping in Victoria BC with a day off, on a cross-Canada tour. "Apparently, I write a lot on tour", she said. Within her artistic efforts, collective consciousness is something that represents one of her greatest appreciations, equality that occurs when a gathering of people are tuning in to the same wavelength at the same time is her favorite "electricity".
"I'm both at peace with the role music plays in my life and thrilled with the reception the album is receiving".
Vanity Metrics represents a particular moment in Gianna's artistic career. If she had to choose a word that describes how she feels about this moment, it's "bittersweet". The songs crystallize moments in friendship and musical chemistry that are very special and do not occur every day. She believes that this chemistry really shows on stage and that this body of work is very much a band record. She desperately wanted to share this release with accompanying live shows, but this year's situation disconcerted one of the many plans that Gianna had with her band. As a result of not being able to tour and showcase her band, they released the album digitally. This feels a little foreign for Gianna, as each release of her has had a traditional rollout with concerts and physical merch that either doesn't make sense or is not even possible right now."I'm both at peace with the role music plays in my life and thrilled with the reception the album is receiving, but I'm also feeling completely out of my depth with where to go from here. I am treating this moment as a time for input and trying to live in the present moment" she told us.
Gianna sees the subject of empowerment in music as subjective and continuously evolving for each individual over time, like a system of values that mature as we grow. At its core, she believes empowerment is pushing oneself beyond one's comforts, entering uncharted territories, innovation, or that glorious feeling when a craving is satisfied.
"I think ensuring everyone has what they need is more important than everyone having equal access".
Gianna argues that for her, what equal rights consist of is to ensure that everyone has what they need. However, she undoubtedly perceives that equality within the music world is a topic extremely complicated. "I think things are extremely fucked up, but just as messed as any other hierarchical system that was built by white men", it often she feels like artists are the last to find out about anything and/or participate in the decision-making process, leading to exploitation. She maintains that technologies that have become commonplace and created additional expectations on artists are major disruptors that have robbed artists of rights, let alone equal rights. Not in vain, the title of her new album refers to useless music industry data - followers you can buy, likes you can inflate, meaningless cartoon hearts you can tap - but Vanity Metrics is the opposite of inconsequential. Gianna trusts the good people in the industry and above all, the fans supporting artists. After all, she has hope that there are rewarding experiences and with more concerted organizing things can change for the better.
Gianna Lauren believes in the importance of artists continuously checking in with themselves to ask why they do what they do, what their impact, and what their intention is. For now, we know that her new work Vanity Metrics fulfils the purpose of telling a well-known story, but in new words.
