Mia Gargaret, by Gia Margaret

Mia Gargaret

by Gia Margaret

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Steve B This is beautiful! Thank you, Gia. (Steve, Edinburgh)

hjmi An otherworldy and comforting album, love it so much <3 Favorite track: apathy.

wearethewillows This album has brought me a lot of peace and comfort. It's beautiful.

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
High quality, 160g, color vinyl LPs in extra heavyweight, full color jackets featuring photography & design by Carley Solether. 11 tracks, 28 minutes.

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Includes unlimited streaming of Mia Gargaret via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

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Cassette + Digital Album
Hi Fi Ferro normal bias tapes in baby blue shells imprinted with dark blue ink, packaged in full color, double-sided j-cards & clear Norelco cases.
11 tracks, 28 minutes.

SECOND EDITION OF 100
PRE-ORDERS SHIP OCTOBER 2024

Includes unlimited streaming of Mia Gargaret via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Aqua Blue Cassette
Cassette + Digital Album
High bias chrome tapes in aqua blue shells imprinted with white ink, packaged in full color, double-sided j-cards & clear Norelco cases.
11 tracks, 28 minutes.

Includes unlimited streaming of Mia Gargaret via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

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Ambient Shirt
T-Shirt/Apparel
Tie~dye sky blue cotton short sleeves (sizes XS-L, 2XL + 3XL) with indigo ink and blank white ink in the shape of rushing water. FYI : *Size XLs come in a darker blue hue with a splash of sunrise yellow ink*

Everything but the Yin Yang on this playful poke at a Zen aesthetic, with an earnest nod to the philosophy itself.

Designed/printed with/by Paul Frunzi

•limited edition of 50•

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Mia Gargaret Longsleeve
T-Shirt/Apparel
Ash colored heavy cotton printed with forest green and blank white ink in the shape of rushing water. Everything but the Yin Yang on this playful poke at a Zen aesthetic, with an earnest nod to the philosophy itself.

Designed/printed with/by Paul Frunzi

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1.	apathy 03:09	buy track
2.	body 02:19	buy track
3.	INWIW 03:00	buy track
4.	barely there 02:34	buy track
5.	for Zoya in China 02:53	buy track
6.	no sleep no dream 01:45	buy track
7.	lakes 01:37	buy track
8.	sadballad 01:41	buy track
9.	3 movements 04:13	buy track
10.	ash 02:40	buy track
11.	lesson 01:37	buy track

about

Mia Gargaret is an ambient, (mostly) instrumental album by Chicago, IL singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & producer Gia Margaret.

Mia Gargaret was not the follow-up album that Gia intended to release after the critical success of her 2018 debut, There’s Always Glimmer. But after she suddenly found herself without use of her primary instrument, she had to rethink her methods, at least temporarily.

Gia explains:

“After having to cancel tours because of illness, I was unable to sing for nearly half of the year. This left me feeling like a shell of myself, so I turned to my synthesizer for comfort. These compositions helped me hold onto my identity as a music maker. At times this music helped soothe my anxiety more than therapy or anything else could.”

Without singing or lyrics to steal the focus, the instrumental tracks on Mia Gargaret shine a light on Gia Margaret’s skills as a musician, composer & producer. Spare but immersive arrangements of synthesizer, piano & acoustic guitar simultaneously ache & soothe, building emotional landscapes that rise & recede like scenery through a train window.

“I wanted to make something that sounded hopeful, which is a little ironic because I felt essentially hopeless during the entire process. I was making music to self-soothe. I had synth loops going while I walked around my apartment, forming my own daily soundtrack.”

Mia Gargaret documents Gia Margaret’s self-healing. Album opener “apathy” includes an excerpt from her actual vocal therapy exercises. “body” samples a lecture from British philosopher Alan Watts, a continuous source of comfort & perspective for Gia in times of confusion. (Permission to use the sample was personally granted by Mark Watts, son of the late lecturer, in exchange for the use of “body” in his documentary film about his father.) Other tracks feature the sounds of footsteps, church bells, crackling fires, lake waves & other field recordings from Gia’s day-to-day.

“I wanted to capture the feeling of a truly strange time in my life, even though I would prefer to forget it altogether. This process helped me understand something about myself, & hopefully it can help others, too.”

Mia Gargaret ends with “lesson,” the album’s only track to feature Gia’s singing voice. The short song teases at what we can expect from the next Gia Margaret album, a return to more traditional forms of songwriting, due in 2021. In the meantime, Mia Gargaret stands as a gorgeous experiment & a memorable meditation on the healing power of music.

Mia Gargaret was composed, performed & recorded at home by Gia Margaret during the summer & fall of 2019, with guest performances by Emily Cross (clarinet on “ash”), Stephen Steinbrink (vocals, organ & guitar on “lesson”) & There’s Always Glimmer collaborator Doug Saltzman (electronic drum production to on “body” & “lesson”).

credits

released June 12, 2020

All songs composed, performed & recorded in the summer/fall of 2019 by Gia Margaret

Produced by Gia Margaret
Additional production by Doug Saltzman (4, 11) & Stephen Steinbrink (11)
Mixed by Gia Margaret & Nick Papaleo at Inside Voice, Chicago, IL
Additional mixing by Doug Saltzman (4, 11)
Mastered by Brian Zieske

Additional musicians:
Emily Cross- Clarinet (10)
Stephen Steinbrink- vocals, organ, guitar (11)
Doug Saltzman- Drum production (4, 11)

“Body” includes a sample of Alan Watts’ lecture “Overcome Social Anxiety.” Used with permission of the Alan Watts Estate.

Photography & design by Carley Solether

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Gia Margaret Chicago, Illinois

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