The 27-year-old beauty bounds into the interview room apologising for the delay and full of positive vibes! Ginny sits down and before I even start the interview, she treats me like a known friend and chats to me about how her day is going and asks about mine.
She was lovely to chat to, a true kiwi gal – we talk about music inspirations and what it’s like to work with huge US producers! Check out our chat below as well as her music video for debut single ‘Bones’.
‘BONES’ IS GETTING MAJOR AIRPLAY IN AMERICA, AND IS BLOWING UP HERE AS WELL. THE SINGLE IS CURRENTLY SITTING AT #1 ON THE ITUNES MUSIC CHART! WHAT INSPIRES YOUR MUSIC?
The inspiration behind all of my music is definitely just real life. I don’t write about things that I don’t know about or haven’t experienced. I just write about life basically. I’m not a fantasy-pop kind of writer. I won’t write about galaxies. [As you see] ‘Bones’ is very literal.
YOU PERFORMED ON THE X FACTOR LAST NIGHT TO A MASSIVE CROWD BOTH IN STUDIO AND AT HOME. WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE?
Pretty amazing honestly. One of the coolest appearances I’ve done and it’s New Zealand! Daniel Bedingfield helped kick start my entire career so to come back full circle and stand in front of him and perform and for him to be like ‘my investment was worthwhile,’ it was a nice moment. Obviously I was a bit nervous because I’m new on NZ radio and I wanted to be accepted and loved so I was a bit nervous whether or not NZ would like me… but you do.
YOU ARE CURRENTLY BASED IN L.A. WORKING ON YOUR DEBUT ALBUM DUE OUT LATER THIS YEAR, WHAT HAS THE RECORDING PROCESS BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?
It has been really organic because of the way that I write, I like to write alone and record myself so engineer myself. I have a small studio set-up that is quite portable so wherever I am, I can write and record. For instance ‘Bones’, I wrote in a studio apartment and recorded it there too, just one night all by myself and that’s the original recording that we have released. The album has been recorded in the most random places. We were going through the credits and descriptions of where everything took place and on about 3 quarters of the album it says ‘Studio: Ginny’s Bedroom’ or ‘Hotel Room’ or something like that. I have been working with some really amazing producers, they give me beats but I really write by myself in a room and record casually in closets. One of them [songs on the album] was actually recorded in a closet!
THE US INDUSTRY HAS SOME BIG NAMES, WHO HAS BEEN A HIGHLIGHT TO WORK AND COLLABORATE WITH?
Tricky Stewart. He produced Single Ladies by Beyonce, Umbrella, Baby by Justin Bieber; he’s awesome and he was the one who actually really took me into Epic [Records] and signed me to them, originally. So he’s been awesome and another cool experience was when Timbaland asked to meet me, he had heard a couple of my tracks and was like ‘have to meet this girl, she’s awesome.’ I walk into the studio like ‘Hi Timbaland!’ and it really blew me away, we spent hours hanging out and talking and playing music and talking about collaborating and I was like I don’t want to cry in front of you because that would be embarrassing. So I’ve had some pretty incredible experiences.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE CREATION OF MUSIC THAT YOU LOVE OR RELATE TO THE MOST? IS IT THE LYRICS OR ACTUAL PRODUCTION OF THE TRACK? SONG WRITING?
That is possibly why I’m slightly different because I am obsessed with the whole process, even down to mixing. I just love it all. I love song writing, it’s probably my favourite thing to do apart from performing. No but then I love production, I love making beats and I love engineering. I engineered the whole album, I just love it. I mixed some of it too, I love everything!
Ok Ginny… Quickfire round!
YOU CAN’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT?
Concealer on my face!
MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPHONE/IPOD?
How Does It Feel by D’Angelo
PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT IN LIFE THUS FAR?
Getting my US visa. I don’t know why, I think I’d always dreamt of being in America and wanted to go there and it’s so hard to get one. So to be believed in and sponsored and to have a US visa in my hand – I took so many pictures of it! I called everyone I knew saying I have a visa!
FIRST CELEBRITY CRUSH?
Joseph Gordon Levitt. Back in those days!
BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN?
It’s going to be from my mum. Just ‘be authentic’.
IF YOU COULD GET A MESSAGE ACROSS TO A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE, WHO WOULD THOSE PEOPLE BE AND WHAT WOULD YOUR MESSAGE BE?
Because I love music so much – to all the big heavy-weight ego-tiscal arrogant people in the music industry: Open your minds and stop being the reason that artists are lying in bed at night crying and the public is wondering where good music is going. Do not be a brick wall between artists and the public. Calm down and let art be art.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT AND LOWLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER?
LOWLIGHT?
A meeting I had in London, I dared to share with them I wanted to be a recording artist and they dared to tell me that I wouldn’t make it, that I was just a songwriter. So I walked out of that meeting and went to the park down the road and cried my eyes out. But then I defiantly walked home saying that ‘it’s not true’ – a low, low point. There are a lot of people out there who do not believe that I’ll make it and that sucks.
HIGHLIGHT?
The day that I signed to Epic Records finally, was the exact opposite of what I just said. A bunch of people who were really respected, believed in me enough to put pen to paper and I was finally in the country that I wanted to be in, what I wanted to be doing, and I had support and I could walk out of there with a piece of paper that told the world that maybe I would make it. That was the highlight!
LASTLY, WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU WANT TO GIVE YOUR FANS?
Always tell me the truth. If you don’t like what I do, let me know. If you do like it – go and buy it. I always want to grow; I never want to stay the same. I never want to get lost in my own head because music is for other people; I’m not making it for myself. I am writing about how I feel but it matters to me, matters to you, so tell me what you think, really because I want to make sure that my music is actually having some sort of impact on people. ‘Bones’ isn’t some uplifting song but it has a story people can identify with and it’s not every day that you hear a song that basically describes how you feel. Humans’ understanding themselves is really important and I’m a big believer in loving one another and understanding each other so tell me the truth. Want to be a real fan? Tell me the truth, help me be better.
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