This week’s edition of our New Tunes Blog features some talented members of the AIM community with fresh songs out, right now. From Rah’s Neil Young-inspired Australian Americana through to Gia Darcy’s dream pop and Gailla’s unique “M.I.A. + Joni Mitchell” vibe and hopeful exploration of climate change, there’s a wealth of talent here at AIM. Check out these incredible new songs below.
Gia Darcy – “Less I Know”
What’s the story of the song?
Gia: I wrote “Less I Know” about missing the little girl I used to be. She saw the world so beautifully and purely and she didn’t let anxiety bring her down. Nowadays, as an adult I find I can get in my own way.
How would you describe your sound?
Gia: This song is dreamy pop meets emotional acoustic ballad. I wrote the song on acoustic guitar then knew I NEEDED to have strings in there to make it sound more nostalgic and melancholy. The drums in the chorus also sound cinematic to me, which I love!
What were some memorable moments making it?
Gia: I wrote the song over Zoom with two American’s I met online, Emily Fullerton and Rynn Kempthorn. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed at the time and basically started pouring my heart out to these girls and the song came together super quickly. I remember telling them that I was really lacking in confidence and I remembered that when I was a child I used to be the brightest and loudest in the room. I wished I could get that back.
Listen on your preferred music platform here.
Follow Gia:
Instagram: @giadarcy
Spotify: Gia Darcy
Gailla – “Almost Gone”
What’s the story of your song?
Gailla: “Almost Gone” is about creating hope for the future amongst the fear and doom stories of the climate crisis. It is indeed a crisis, but I wanted to choose to write a story that sees it as an opportunity for us to come together and work on fixing it, rather than giving in to the “We’re all doomed, so what’s the point anyway?” attitude. That attitude feels very uninspiring and defeating. The narrator in “Almost Gone” is someone in the future, looking at us today, and saying, “I know it feels scary – but you can do it, and create a better future!”
How did it come together?
Gailla: “Almost Gone” came from me trying to imagine a world where we weren’t all doomed – where we didn’t mess it up. I was struggling to write a song about climate change. Even though I feel very angry and upset by what’s going on, I’m not very good at writing angry songs. So I changed my approach and thought about trying this other narrative – one that’s hopeful, curious, and still a little anxious, but ultimately positive. I wrote it on guitar and put it into Ableton where I recorded and produced the bulk of it.
How would you describe your sound?
Gailla: I would describe it as a mix of Celtic folk melodies with tight pop production. Like M.I.A. + Joni Mitchell, or Maggie Rogers + Sylvan Esso. It’s quite DIY as well, which I like – I like things that feel rough around the edges and a little imperfect.
What were some memorable moments making it?
Gailla: I remember when I brought the electric guitar forward in the mix – it was actually the first time I’ve ever put electric guitar at the core of my production, and it really felt like my style. I also remember filming the music video with two other AIM students in my Digital Media class last year. It was so much fun and cost us $0! Finally, asking all my friends and family to send me their own 15 second video contributions to add into the music video. Adding them in was so heartwarming and inspiring and felt like such fun, active collaboration between the artist and the audience, which is something I find really exciting.
What’s next for you?
Gailla: Next is putting out more new songs in 2023, a small tour of the East Coast to celebrate, a collaborative climate concert built with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, School Strike For Climate and Seed Mob, and just lots of joy and music and travel!
Follow Gailla:
Instagram: @gaillamusic
Spotify: Gailla
Rah – “Life/Changing”
What’s the story of your record?
Rah: I found myself at a crossroads of purpose in my professional and personal lives. It was a time of great change for me and “Life/Changing” captures my experiences wading through the weeds of that change, head on.
How would you describe your sound?
Rah: Somewhere in the vicinity of Folk/Americana. I look up to the rhythmic, syncopated strumming stylings of Neil Young, Aaron Lewis or Dan Auerbach. And the wildly bluesy bends of Chris Stapleton, Led Zeppelin and the Brothers Osborne. People have said my vocal timbre is similar to Chet Faker’s and Jose Gonzales’ (which are compliments that I will gladly take any day of the week).
How did you bring it all to life?
Rah: “Life/Changing” was recorded using a standard bedroom producer set-up (Focusrite, DAW, Rode NT1A). I tracked all the instrument parts (guitars, bass, piano, vocals, bvs) bar the drums which were tracked by my cousin Rahul Hariharan (who’s a professional drummer in India). Despite being in a different country Rahul managed to perfectly capture the rhythmic essence of the record – which is a testament to his professionalism as drummer. From a mixing standpoint, I was learning the fundamentals of mixing at the time and I remember returning to the EP as a ‘practice mix’ to consolidate my learnings.
What were the most memorable moments of making the album?
Rah: The rush of joy and excitement that came with mixing “Sweetwater.” There were several iterations of that song, hundreds of Ableton session files, many bounces. I would often erratically walk around the house, or my local park, listening with fatigued ears to bounces (yearning for the perfect balance). Pro tip: give your ears a rest once in a while (and take a step back so that you can see the elephant more clearly)
Follow Rah:
Instagram: @rahplaysmusic
Spotify: Rah
