You won the International Songwriting Competition
grand prize in 2004 as the only unsigned artist ever to win!
“It was a big prize for me, in my little flat in Taranaki (NZ).
I never thought I’d do music as a living. I was going to be a teacher in a little town and I was happy with that. But winning the prize, going overseas and seeing the potential of music as a career,
I said ‘yeah, I’d be keen’.”
Your winning song Hallelujah was penned in mourning for your father. Do the best songs come from emotional depths?
“It helps to have a song that comes from something deeply emotional; when you play it, you draw on that. If you’re sweating blood and tears, your audience love you for it. That’s why break-ups are awesome, you can get so many songs out of that!”
Is there a hesitation in releasing something so personal?
“Totally. It’s been six years since dad died, and Hallelujah takes on a whole new meaning. Recording the song was horrible. I’d cry and take breathers every five minutes in the studio. Now I can sing that song and rejoice in the fact that I had my dad for a bit of my life. I got a message from someone the other day whose mother died of Leukaemia: they played Hallelujah at her funeral. I’ll get over my issues – to do that for someone is worth it.”
You seem like a heart-on-sleeve kind of girl...
“I am! It makes life easier in this industry. If you’re honest you can’t get in the shit, really. Everyone’s got their own opinion, so relish that.”
Born in New Zealand, you’ve come to Australia via Buenos Aires. Are you a wanderer?
“I have a short attention span.
I love travelling. The people you meet, the memories, like falling in love with a snowboarder in Argentina, partying on the Gold Coast drinking a bag of goon at Mermaid Beach.”
What’s on your iPod?
"I don’t listen to my iPod.
I’ve got this wicked record player. I sit in my house in this old chair and listen to records. Usually Autumn Leaves by Edith Piaf or dub music, or nice hip hop… When a record cracks and pops, it’s like ‘woohoo!’”
Gin’s Extended Play EP is out now via Island Records/Universal.
