Gabriella Cohen creates vintage, slow burn songs that sound like something escaping out of 1960's NYC rehearsal loft windows. The comparisons to The Velvet Underground and Mazzy Star are par the course when it comes to describing Gariella's vibe, but equally apropos would be Destroy All Monsters or even Big Star, as can be evidenced in the sizzling guitar solo closing out Sever The Walls, layered with an Alex Chilton reminiscent melody that is absolutely flawless. The songs are laid back and fierce at the same time, snarling, whispery, beat blues with flame on the canvas, the burn is potent, sonic smoke that lingers for days. This is the kind of music that fills up yer lungs, in a good way. AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what sort of life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way? Gabriella: What a poetic question. I feel like you might be a poet. Lately I’ve dabbled into R.D Laing’s poetry. Not for the light hearted. It’s a small book called ‘Knots’. I recommend giving it to someone you broke up with in your early 20’s. They might not take it well. There have been many highs and many lows, but you can get that in whatever industry you are in. If anything I believe a good life lesson that I am still learning, is how you react to things. Just observe how you react to things. And then go from there, strategically. AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them? Gabriella: Yes yes, one pivotal song that floored me (great choice of word) was ‘Such a Perfect Day’ by none other than Lou Reed. I was about 12- I found it on one of my sister’s tapes. I grew up really into body percussion, djembe, anything involving percussion. Drums was my first love. I was never discouraged. AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote? Gabriella: Yeah…. I think it was called ‘Coat’. Like, D C and G. A coy song for a youngster. AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers etc? Gabriella: I have learnt from Seinfeld, Dylan, Chico Buarque, Lou Reed, Cohen…. I have learnt from these artists by creating color in music you create life. AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? Gabriella: Yeah there is always a moment when you get really excited, that might be in the car when you just voice memmoed the thing, or when you can’t sleep cause the melody is going round and round in your head. It’s good to have that little click though. Usually means you’re onto something. AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, or a cathartic process? Gabriella: It can be as healing as you want it to be. But yes, generally I reckon it’s the closest I’ve gotten to meditation. And I don’t mean on stage, I mean in my room playing guitar. AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road? Gabriella: When I lived in Sexton Street, and was just getting my own music off the ground, I would invite Amela Duheric and Kate Dillon over in the mornings- we would have soft white bread with honey and black coffee with cardamom and more honey. Then Kate would sing and play violin, while Amela would sing harmonies and play melodica to my guitar. We were besotted with each other for a while, and besotted with the idea that we didn’t have to jam with cool boys who couldn’t communicate with us. AHC: When you set out to write an album of songs, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell? Gabriella: I believe the next album I write will have much more sway on these topics. Right now I am in some kind of back log monster of love and grief and all that stuff- they are good songs- I just wanna get them out there so I can move on and start talking present day. AHC: With the traditional ways that we listen to music rapidly changing, does it at all affect how you write and put together an album? Too often people are downloading/streaming and engaging with singular songs rather than albums as on ordered and thematic canvas, do you regret that your work may not be received in the way it was intended or created? Gabriella: No. Whatever way people discover it is good. It doesn’t matter if they are just listening to the same song they found on a Spotify playlist. Good luck to them! You can’t control people. But you can move to the country!!!! AHC: Do you have any words of advice for other musicians and singer-songwriters or anyone who is struggling to create something of value out there, who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process? Gabriella: Just get on with it! When you’re not practicing, somebody else is. Keep going, if you have something to say, do it with a grin. Be determined. Shower your sound person with love. Be kind to your fans. Turn down gigs if they tell you it’s good exposure. That’s bullshit. Tell them you want a fancy hotel room and a banquet of salmon and fine cheese and fruit and dried meat, if they can’t pay you. Exposure. You can expose yourself on a webcam if you want to. AHC: Do you have any new projects you'd like to mention? Gabriella: Only Full Flower Moon Band, my sister band. Led by my one and only, Kate Babyshakes Dillon. The spaceship that is about to unfold is a 16 track audiovisual album that is going to blow the world away. Take notice before she shoots off into an unknown outer region of Saturn. For more visit gabriellacohen.bandcamp.com/
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