Interview with Girli
Talking with the singer-songwriter who has been making being the odd one out, the new cool trend
Only a few minutes after meeting Girli for the first time, we were zipping around the dark corners of Beverly Hills. She was in the states to record and while the hazy lights of Hollywood exposed stumbling antics and windows filled with dancing; she was in the passenger seat, fully enthralled in the mansions of it all. We joked about how insane it was, that much space, all those things, and she imagined what she’d do and the friends she’d share it with. There wasn’t an envy of what they had, we were just enthralled by the grandiosity of it all. It was a zoo exhibit of giant glass windows and intricate lampposts.
@girlimusic
Fast forward a couple years and some setbacks, but her sense of wonderment is not only still there, it’s been honed into a tool. Girli has created a world in her music where being real, authentic and weird is the larger than life, cinematic choice. She released her debut album, Odd One Out, to a rabid fan base that ate the perfectly un-poised and delicious pop album up.
As someone who is incredibly socially anxious, there’s something about her that adolescent me really appreciates. From style down to the banter, Girli is a cool girl. And normally, around cool girls, I’m on edge and beating myself up for being weird. But Girli has an aura that says, the weirder you are, the cooler you are to her. Because Girli’s weird. She’s a dork. She’s sensitive. She’s a goofball. She’s insecure. She’s loud. She’s real. She’s ~one of us~ but she claims it. And she wants us to too.
And ever since lockdown, Girli has stepped her shit (even further) up with lives multiple times a week. But rather than the lives done out of boredom or self-promotion, she really is attempting to be there for her fans. Fully realized co-hosted concerts, DJ sets, attentive guitar tutorials and cover nights – and all done with fan requests and interaction prioritized. It’s content that’s consciously curated to be a fun event regardless of the global situation. Girli has always been an artist who makes you feel like she’s performing for just you and your friends in your living room. Now, she not only really is, but regularly!
@girlimusic
@girlimusic
The singer-songwriter recently virtually popped in to answer some questions.
Baby Ballou: What’s been your experience with genre bias’ (indie people judging pop fans, etc), particularly pertaining to people underestimating you as a pop artist? Do people think you aren’t legit or that you’re curated, etc because you’re a femme pop singer?
Girli: I think people are desperate to put people in a box to try understand them on their terms and limit their power. Because my music crosses genres, between pop and alternative, sometimes even rocky and indie, people have tried to do that to me a lot. Festival bookers are always like “she’s not 100% pop, so we can’t put her on the pop stage, and she’s not 100% indie/rock so we can’t put her on that stage either, where do we put her?”. Same with playlisting on streaming sites. There seems to be that issue way more for female artists than male, I’ve noticed. They seem to be more accepted as what they are when they cross genres, whereas women are more put into boxes. I do think it’s changing and artists like Billie Eillish, for example, whose music can’t be described as one genre, are paving the way for that. Being a woman in music in general, you’re always questioned more than men for your choices, whether you write your own music, come up with your own ideas.
Tell me about your journey with the color pink:
Pink started as me experimenting with my hair and accessories when I was 17, trying to replicate the kawaii fashion of Japan, which I was a obsessed with. Then as my music took on a more punk influence, I realised this colour could be such a tool for rebellion, for making people question their preconceived ideas of femininity, of gender, of strength. Pink is a way to challenge people’s perceptions. It’s my super power.
What was it like creating music during the transition from working with a label to being independent after Odd One Out? Are there any patterns, themes or feelings that emerged when writing after all that happened?
It was a really emotional and passionate time. There was so much anger, so much desire for retribution, so much pain. I got dropped by my label, I had my relationship end, I lost a lot of friends, I had a breakdown; and then I started genuinely writing some of the best songs I’ve ever written in my life. I’d had so much pressure before from my label and team to write “hits” and now I had no reason to write songs other than for myself. It was so freeing. It still is!
You’ve been doing a lot of IG and other live events during quarantine, is it helping you or are there days where it feels like a lot mentally to put on a virtual show? What’re some surprising benefits to virtual shows over live ones?
It’s been both. It has been helping me a lot to feel busy and active, and feel like I’m entertaining others too and helping other people get through quarantine, but it’s also dangerous when your life is lived through the internet. My reality has been warping a bit. Internet trolls are also still a thing.
Once lockdown is over, there will probably still be a period of no large crowds, how do you think music will/is adapt(ing)?
Music is already adapting so well to the internet reality of performances now, I think it’ll adapt to small gigs being the norm just as well. But it’s definitely been hard on a lot of people. It’s still gonna take a lot of recovering.
Any new music? What have you been working on since Odd One Out and also in quarantine?
So much new music. I have two EPs basically finished and ready to go. And a lot more songs to come after that. I just was waiting for the right time, and the right team, to release it with. I could’ve release these songs totally independently as soon as I wrote them if I wanted! But I wanted to do them justice. To find people to help me release them so they can reach more people than I could reach on my own. I’ve written some songs I really like in quarantine too, over Zoom and alone, so who knows maybe I’ll release those too!
As an artist, you kind of grow up faster than you might’ve otherwise because of the hustle and the social situations/networking sometimes involved, is this true for you do you think? And if so, how does it affect you in your personal life? (Drawn to older friends or other musicians? Harder or easier to relate with peers? Etc)
Being in the music industry has forced me to grow up so fast, but it also means that I can do what I love as my job, and I think that alone keeps you having a childlike curiosity, excitement and wonder about the world. It’s been an important realisation this last year to separate my personal and professional lives. Having friends who don’t work in music and can keep me grounded with perspective on life is important.
Is there a question you’ve never been asked or something you want to talk about?
People forget to ask if you’re okay. Like truly okay. That’s important.
Check out Girli here on instagram and her Triple Threat Tour Zoom concert on May 9th with Cassyette and July Jones where 50% of digital tickets go directly to the #saveourvenue