IN CONVERSATION WITH GIORA
Interview by Samo Šajn
Giora is a London-based artist making experimental pop that feels both intimate and intense. With the new single POWER CANDY, they explore themes of power and vulnerability, ahead of their upcoming EP FREEWAY. We caught up with Giora to talk about the track and the world around it.
Photography by MAXIM STANO
POWER CANDY plays with the idea of power as something seductive and addictive. What drew you to that theme?
Power is seductive. Having it and being close to it. There’s something primal about it. A survival instinct. A hunger that’s a part of nature. But the games used to gain and increase power, those are a distortion of reality. It's an insatiable addiction, wanting more and more until there’s nothing left. Just look at the state of the world.
In POWER CANDY I’m exploring the side of power where we can choose to relinquish power to someone or something else as an act of devotion. To be dominated. Or to give the illusion of it. I imagine being eaten, torn open by a voracious hunger and it’s my choice to be consumed for my sweetness, because I know my well runs deep. So it becomes my choice to surrender to it.
The track moves between soft, emotional moments and heavier, more intense sounds. How did you shape that contrast?
The guitar and the piano maintain a rawness throughout the track, and I designed punches and cuts as a counterbalance to the sensuality of the lyrics. I wanted everything to be felt, producing in a way that moves with and adds to the emotion of the lyrics and melody, so that the softness and hardness of the song become tangible.
There’s a real sense of vulnerability in this release. Did you approach this track differently from your previous work?
It’s a gothic love song and I rarely write love songs. Not because I don't want to, but I have mostly felt a sense of urgency to explore other areas. It came out very sincerely, it’s a part of myself I felt ready to expose on this EP. A playfulness too. I wanted to say something about myself whilst saying something about the world and higher power.
Photography by JOHANN KÖÖP
You worked with Oliver Torr on the production. How did that collaboration come together?
Yes! We met a few years ago while I was living in Athens. I have played in Czechia a few times, where Oliver is from, so we’ve managed to remain in each other’s lives. We wrote our track Heart Shape Key when he was in London once for a show, and so when I had my EP demos ready, I knew I wanted to work with him again. He thinks cinematically too, and he gives me the space to express myself.
Your music often feels very immersive. Do visuals or storytelling play a role when you’re writing?
I believe you can tell a story through a visual and you can manifest a vision with words. I am definitely a visual storyteller. I visualise what I’m writing about and I can hear the way the sound needs to be to bring it to life. I have been told it ends up feeling very evocative and transportative.
You have a background in classical piano and composition. How does that still show up in your music today?
I studied piano from a young age and was writing songs at the piano, so when I was starting to produce and release music, many of my songs were piano-first. On POWER CANDY and the rest of the EP, I removed the piano as my main instrument and wrote mainly with the computer, using piano and guitar as accents and textures. That said, my approach to production and arrangement still ends up feeling orchestral in my head.
Photography by JOHANN KÖÖP
You’ve played shows across London and Europe. How do different audiences influence your performances?
It’s really special when audiences want to get immersed in the experience, to connect and to share something of themselves too. It becomes an energy exchange, it feels communal. It’s up to me to make that possible in the space, no matter the country or type of venue where I play, and to give my best performance. Because then everyone has more fun!
Alongside your own music, you run Holypop as a label and event. What kind of space are you trying to create with it?
Music is forever used for specific unifying purposes, like national anthems, prayers, sports chants, and my philosophy for Holypop is that music, and in particular pop, is sacred in its own right. I’ve been releasing under the Holypop imprint for a couple of years now, and I set up the live music nights to be an IRL space that honours music, community and experimentation in a joyful environment, building the spiritual experience around liveness.
POWER CANDY is part of your upcoming EP FREEWAY. How does it fit into the overall project?
The whole project is about feeling free to be myself, musically to be free, and on this track I am free to do what I please with my power. It’s the romantic expression of FREEWAY.
Looking ahead, what are you most excited about after the EP release?
Getting to play more shows, making new music and having a sweet summer.
"Power Candy is a gothic love song about power, control, and the pleasure of being consumed. Where desire, domination and devotion start to reflect each other in complicated and emotional ways.”
