Written by Sophie Wyatt
Raised between Sheffield and Cheshire after her parents divorced, Gia Ford developed an early passion for both poetry and original songs. Her distinct sound and rich storytelling have continued to make Gia Ford’s songs instantly recognisable. 2024 saw the release of her debut album, Transparent Things; A collection of songs that demonstrates Ford’s signature Sheffield swagger, burnished with nods to alt-pop and psychedelic sleaze. Most of all, her debut album shows how Ford is able to craft songs like no other artist of her generation. But now Ford is back with her highly anticipated new album, A Room Within A Room.
Since starting to learn the guitar at aged 13, Gia has been on a musical journey through generations of loved music to find what she has been able to mould into her own. “It’s been an exploration since I started creating music. Of seeing how I can merge what I’m interested in into what I’m creating.” Throughout her musical catalogue, it’s clear to see that she is not afraid to branch out and incorporate essences of whatever it is she is interested in at the moment. “You can never know what’s coming next,” she goes on to say. “I always gravitate towards stuff I’m listening to at the time. It always starts on an acoustic guitar, and feels like a story first and foremost for me. But stylistically, I’ve just let it naturally turn into what it is now. Both albums are an amalgamation of styles, and that’s true to my listening habits.”
A Room Within A Room plays once again on the cinematic. Aside from the artwork, which speaks to each song on a physical level, the album itself explores themes of humanity, connection and identity. “When I was writing the songs,” Gia explains. “I inhabited somewhere else for most of it. I feel like I’m transposing myself in order to write. I want people to feel transported, or that it’s evocative of a place.” And this feeling of escapism comes in a physical form. Throughout our chat, Gia referred back to how important to her it was that this album felt human (and not influenced at all by ai). “I want people to feel that this project is human.”
And it is the album’s human essence that speaks volumes. Each song has its own personality, whilst staying cohesive to each other throughout. The term ‘genre’ runs redundant when it comes to Gia’s cinematic sound. Her music can’t be boxed in under one term, when so many different influences have played a part. “People have taken from other artists so much that we’re naturally at that point in human history where the term genre doesn’t work anymore,” Gia explained. When delving into how she would best describe her sound she said; “It’s grandiose. Even with my earlier stuff it’s been ornate in some way. My goal is to make it atmospheric. I’ve always loved Radiohead and that Suspiria soundtrack that Thom Yorke did; anything that evokes a world.”
Working alongside her girlfriend who works as a visual director, Gia put together visuals for the album cover and vinyl inserts which perfectly summarise the humanistic feel of the album. Each item within the vinyl cover relates back to one of the tracks in some way. Making the whole project feel whole. Alongside the puzzle-piece album cover, it truly feels like this was a project that came from not only the heart, but one that has been thought through on all levels.
You can now listen to A Room Within A Room on all streaming platforms.
