9+1 Q&A with Gina Brooklyn

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

Award-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Gina Brooklyn is taking the music industry by storm and she’s doing it all at the young age of seventeen.

Her talent was discovered when, at just fifteen years old, she co-wrote and recorded her song “From The Outside with multi-platinum songwriting legends Mike Shimshack and Stephanie Lewis. The song was quickly nominated in the 2016 Hollywood Songwriting Contest, , won a bronze medal at the 2017 Global Music Awards, and placed as a finalist in the 2017 John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Her awards and nominations prompted Brooklyn to release her debut, self-titled EP in March of 2017. The project was released on iTunes and was well received by music critics and major media. The EP included her hit song “Faceless” which won the Artist Revelation category at the The American Tracks Music Awards in June of 2017. Additionally, her song “Beauty All Around” was nominated for “Best Pop Song” at the 2018 RoundGlass Music Awards in New York City. The nomination was listed amongst such music Legends as Ringo Starr, Grammy Nominated Artist Kokayi, and Traci Braxton.

In January of 2018, Brooklyn sent a pre-mastered version of her upcoming EP, produced by Idris Aquil of Universal Music Group, to a few select industry professionals. Within a month, Gina was signed to a two-year publishing and global distribution deal with industry-leading, Ingrooves Music Group.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

My latest release would be my new single “In My Mind”! It has such a cool and dark vibe to it- plus I wrote a funny story about the creation process that comes up later on in the interview!

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

Growing up I listened to a LOT of Mumford & Sons and I really admired their lyrics in all of their songs. I really appreciated the realness and rawness they were able to capture in their music and ever since then I wanted to be authentic with my music, just like them. I also listened to a lot of Adele- I loved her voice and the melodies in her music. I feel like the emotional aspects of her music really influenced a lot of my work today. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of SZA, Amy Winehouse, Cage The Elephant, Greta Van Fleet, etc. All of these artists I’ve listed have shown me (and the world0 what originality really is and they’ve inspired me so much in that way- to be as true and original you possibly can be. Non-music wise I really admire all the people around me. I get ideas from just being around them all.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

I think the one thing that differentiates me from other artists would be my voice- I’ve been told that it’s very unique and that there’s no one out there today that sounds like me. I’m still working on finding my sound as an artist; it’s more difficult than you think!

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

• Albums:
o ⁃“Melophobia” by Cage the Elephant
o ⁃“Sigh No More” by Mumford & Sons
o ⁃“Crtl” by SZA

• Movies:
⁃Back to the Future
⁃The Godfather
⁃The Giver

• Books:
-The Maze Runner
⁃The Red Pyramid (literally my childhood)
⁃Farenheit 451

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

I like both equally for different reasons- they are both very different experiences. I get an insane amount of adrenaline when I’m on stage performing, but when it comes to recording I can really focus on everything I’m doing without having the stress I get on stage. It’s impossible to compare them!

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

Yes! When I went to NYC to record a few songs with my producer Idris Aquil, I laid down vocals to “In My Mind” and it went well. For one of the sections I mentioned getting a rapper to fill in the slot and Idris agree, trying to get different people in the studio. All of them were either busy or not answering, and we proceeded to record the next song. A few weeks after we left NYC, Idris went to the studio to finish the remaining songs and tried to find other rappers. He still couldn’t find any and during a break he went outside to think, and started talking to some guy who was outside of the studio. It was funny because Idris told us the guy was busy waiting for his girlfriend to pick him up and after they got to talking he found out that he was a rapper and an actor! Idris took him inside and the guy wrote pages and pages of lyrics and laid down the vocals- he was a PERFECT fit! It was so funny when we found that out, because after we listened to the track when it was finished we were all so impressed. Shout out to Bonez703 for helping a girl out with her music! Go check him out because he’s really talented!!

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

I think the most unique track on my upcoming EP would be “Normal” just because of the funkiness and lyrics.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

My future plans include making music and turning it into a full-blown career! I love music with my heart and soul and if i’d be able to do it forever that’d be a dream come true.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

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Photo credits: Larufoto

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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