Gia Margaret

Gia Margaret
Margaret performing at the Pink Room at Yes in Manchester, England, 2023
Margaret performing at the Pink Room at Yes in Manchester, England, 2023
Background information
Born1987 or 1988 (age 36–37)[1]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
Years active2017–present
Labels
  • Orindal
  • Dalliance Recordings

Gia Margaret (born 1987 or 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. She released her debut studio album, There's Always Glimmer, in July 2018. She is currently signed to Orindal Records in the United States and Dalliance Recordings in the UK.[2][3]

Life and artistry

She was trained in classical piano as a child and began pursuing a degree in music before ending both endeavors because they were "creatively limiting".[4] Margaret has had various jobs prior to becoming a musician, including a nanny, book store clerk, and dental assistant.[5] She describes the genre of her music as "sleep rock," and has been compared to artists including Imogen Heap, the Postal Service, Nick Drake, and Broken Social Scene.[6][7]

Touring

In 2019, she toured around the United States with Welsh alternative folk singer-songwriter Novo Amor.[8] In September of that year, she went on her first headlining tour in the UK.[9] Margaret was selected to perform at SXSW 2019, a music festival in Austin, Texas, and was later selected by NPR to be part of the Austin 100.[10] This is a playlist of “a hundred handpicked highlights from among the thousands of acts playing SXSW 2019”.[11]

Career

2018–2019: There's Always Glimmer

Margaret released her debut studio album, There's Always Glimmer in 2018. This album was re-released on May 24, 2019 with two additional tracks, "Smoke (Acoustic)" and "Babies".[12] Beyond her studio album, she released an Audiotree live album on November 14, 2018 that included live performances of six songs.[13] Margaret’s song "Birthday" was remixed by artists Ryan Hemsworth and swim good now and released on streaming services on September 3, 2019.[14] Margaret has two record labels, Orindal in the United States and Dalliance in the UK.[15][2] While touring with Novo Amor, the two artists recorded and released two songs, "Lucky for You" and "No Fun," on February 28, 2019.[16][17][18] On Spotify, "Lucky for You" has 19.5 million streams and "No Fun" has 8.8 million streams as of April 30, 2023 and remain Margaret's most streamed songs on the platform.[19]

2020–2022: Mia Gargaret

On June 12, 2020, she released her second studio album, Mia Gargaret. While touring her previous studio album There's Always Glimmer in 2019, Margaret lost her voice due to illness and was forced to cancel her remaining tour dates. This resulted in experimentation with ambient synthesizer meditations that came to comprise Mia Gargaret; there are no vocals featured on the record, excluding the final track.[20]

2023: Romantic Piano

On April 26, 2023, Margaret announced her third studio album, Romantic Piano, and released the lead single "Hinoki Wood" alongside "Cicadas," another song featured on the album.[21] The album was released on May 26, 2023, with 12 total tracks. Like her previous studio album, all songs were instrumental, with the exception of "City Song".[22] In November 2024, "Hinoki Wood" became an internet sensation due to associations with the viral meme "Chill Guy".[23]

References

  1. ^ https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/november-2018/you-should-know-gia-margaret/
  2. ^ a b "Artists". Dalliance Recordings. Dalliance Recordings. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Artists: Gia Margaret". Orindal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Julious, Britt. "Gia Margaret's Notoriety Is a Happy Accident". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Hyman, Dan. "You Should Know Gia Margaret". Chicago. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  6. ^ Farrell, Margaret. "Gia Margaret: There's Always Glimmer". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  7. ^ Geffen, Sasha. "Listen to 'Birthday' by Gia Margaret". Pitchfork. Pitchfork. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  8. ^ Kenneally, Cerys. "Gia Margaret and Novo Amor Team up for Collaborative Tracks 'No Fun' and 'Lucky for You.'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  9. ^ Kenneally, Cerys. "Gia Margaret Announces First Headline UK Tour". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  10. ^ Thompson, Stephen. "The Austin 100: Gia Margaret". NPR. NPR. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  11. ^ Thompson, Stephen. "The Austin 100". NPR. NPR. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  12. ^ "There's Always Glimmer (Deluxe Version)". Genius. Genius Media Group Inc. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Margaret, Gia. "Gia Margaret on Audiotree Live". Audiotree. Bandcamp. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  14. ^ "Gia Margaret 'Birthday' Remix". The Deli Magazine. Disqus. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  15. ^ "GIA MARGARET – There's Always Glimmer". Orindal Records USA. Orindal. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  16. ^ "New Release: Novo Amor And Gia Margaret – No Fun / Lucky For You". Thank Folk For That. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  17. ^ Kenneally, Cerys. "Gia Margaret and Novo Amor Team up for Collaborative Tracks 'No Fun' and 'Lucky For You". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Sadler, Adam. "Novo Amor & Gia Margaret: No Fun / Lucky For You". Streaming Dept. Streaming Dept. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  19. ^ "Gia Margaret". Spotify. Spotify Technology S.A. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Bowers, Emma (June 15, 2020). "How Gia Margaret Lost Her Voice and Reassembled Her Songwriting". NPR Music.
  21. ^ Minsker, Evan (April 26, 2023). "Gia Margaret Announces New Album Romantic Piano". Pitchfork.
  22. ^ Mitchell, Matt (May 26, 2023). "Gia Margaret's Romantic Piano Builds a Monument to Life's Enchanting Beauty". Paste Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  23. ^ Galil, Leor (December 24, 2024). "Gia Margaret goes viral on the shoulders of a Chill Guy". Chicago Reader. Retrieved December 29, 2024.