“I won't play it safe, I'm not that irresponsible! People who don't dream are F*****g dangerous”
Proudly original and ever-defiant Gala has always been the kind of woman to forge her own path.
An outsider from the get go, Gala left Italy as a teenager and landed in Manhattan. A stranger in a strange land, a rocker in a club land Gala was seduced by booming sound systems, crazy parties and the underground gay scene. While studying at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Gala wandered the NYC underground photographing artists and eccentric club-goers. Ultimately, her camera was the key to her success. In exchange for a photo of a European deejay she recorded her first demo. In no time, with no formal training, no industry connections, but huge amounts of attitude and determination, Gala became a dance floor icon.
Mailed overseas on a cassette tape, “Freed from Desire” became an international pop classic. In 1997 Gala was nominated for the "Best Dance Act" at the "Mobo Awards” in the UK next to: Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Orbital and was awarded “Best Foreign Artist of the Year” at the Midem in Cannes, France. Her album Come into my Life was released in 1998 with 4 singles charting in the Top 20 across Europe, selling a combined 6 million records worldwide. She was awarded a Gold record in the UK, and Platinum and Diamond records in Belgium and France and performed in venues such as Bercy Stadium in Paris and appeared on TV shows such as Top of the Pops in the UK with artists such as Janet Jackson, Oasis and Paul Weller.
Referred to by her fans as a “cult artist” for her minimalist look and haunting voice, Gala suddenly disappeared at the top of her success leaving behind an air of mystery, After her manager Steve Fargnoli ( Prince’s manager for over 10 years) unexpected death in 2001, Gala ended up locked into a deal with a record company that left her no control over her music. Longing to break free from her constraints and return to the freedom that had fueled her initial rocket to success, Gala left her European record company and moved back to NYC, this time settling in Brooklyn.
She immediately formed her own label, Matriarchy Records, and set out to redefine her sound, her life and her career. In 2005 she signed the independently produced song “Faraway” to EMI in France and subsequently in Greece, where it reached #1 on iTunes and #6 in CD sales. The song has been covered by the Greek singer Tamta (winner of the Greek “Idol” TV show) and has been featured on a TV ad campaign in the US.
In 2008 Gala teamed up with producer Marcus Bell and put together the ‘Tough Love’ album spanning the best of five years of collaborations with a wide range of musicians from Cash Money platinum-selling Lil Wayne helmsman, Revin Rudolf, avant-garde drummer Deantoni Parks (John Cale, Meshell Ndegeocello, Mars Volta), guitarist Joseph Friedman (Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Beyonce) and Tamir Muskat.
Starting to book herself independently through her own label she set out to perform around the world, from the Antique Theater in Arles to the Highline Ballroom in New York City, from the Palais du Sport in Paris to the Ethias Arena in Belgium where 40,000 people demanded more. In 2010 she was invited as the only artist to perform her album Tough Love at " 24 Heures Vélo" the biggest student party in Belgium at Louvain La Neuve. In 2011 Gala headlined at Forest National in Brussels the 15.000 people event organized by Radio Energia in San Paolo( Brasil) and a tour of the Zenith Theatres in France.
Invited to perform at "Dance in the Summer" in Beirut in 2011 - next to artists such as: Taio Cruz, T- pain , Dev, and Top 40 best Djs Dash Berlin, Gala presented a new ssingle “Lose yourself In Me” In just a few weeks Gala’s new single reached N#2 on MIX FM (Official N#1 Radio in the Middle East)
The song has been played, among other stations, on Fun radio and FG Radio in France; it has been played on high rotationon Impact FM and Radio Antipode, and has entered the new releases on Fun Radio in Belgium.
The video,
The “Lose Yourself in Me” music video, directed by Alistair Legrand and produced by The Masses (previous work with Heath Ledger Beach House, Dido, Bon Iver, amongst many others) premiered on the front page of France's #1 online video portal, Daily Motion.
Taste of Me is the second single of her conceptual singles rilogy. The song was produced by Marcus Bell and mixed by Andros Rodriquez whose credits include Florence and The Machine, Lenny Kravitz, and Kelly Clarkson.
The music video is something of a masterpiece. Choreographed by Benoit Swan, Artistic Director of New York’s avant guard dance company Cedar Lake, and directed by New York-based French director Alexandre Moors (Kayne West’s Runaway, Blue Caprice). Gala's video features Alvin Ailey dancer and choreographer Abdur Rahim Jackson. The Taste Of Me video appears as a one single lateral dolly shot that follows Gala and her fellow dancers across the floor. The choreography is intimate and personal, an organic dance that constantly moves forward. Inspired by her favorite director Alfred Hitchcock, Gala wanted to shoot a video that felt like a ‘single take’.
Gala is set to tease us with two exciting remixes, the first by producer legends the Hoxton Whores to be followed by the highly anticipated Almighty Club Mix, Starkillers and the Bimbo Jones remixes. |