IN CONVERSATION WITH: GIA WOODS
Gia Woods is the Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter who fuses modern pop with an ultra-recognisable look, making her exactly what we expect a pop star to be. Since her first single "Only A Girl", Gia has constantly revealed personal challenges, struggles and how her debut song was also a way of freeing herself from society's expectations. Her latest EP “Your Engine” feels even more like a new beginning with a new and fresh sound and with strong visuals that underline Gia’s self awareness in terms of fashion and self indentity and also a constant evolution and personal growth. In 2024, Gia stepped behind the camera for the first time to direct the music video for "Your Engine" featuring Euphoria star Chloe Cherry. Gia talks to Copypaste about coming out with the song "Only A Girl" and being a voice for an entire community with this song, how the EP "Your Engine" is a whole new beginning in terms of sound and visuals, and how it felt to film with Chloe Cherry for the first time. latex photos by Angel Rivera / photos with blue background by Brian Ziff / other photos by Elle Cameron
How would you describe your music, visual style and identity in one sentence?
Hmm one sentence?? I guess I would say…A never ending timeline into my past, present and future that embodies all of the feelings, fantasies, desires, mistakes and evolution that replay play in my head.
Since the release of “Only A Girl” in 2016, your musical style has been constantly changing. Can you tell us about the evolution of the music you produce and the importance of experimenting with new sounds?
I grew up listening to so many different genres of music, but when I first started recording music, I was so used to making music on my guitar so I didn’t fully know how to accomplish the sounds that I wanted to make when it came to going in with a producer. I started to experiment with a lot of different instruments and sounds and now I’m able to really make what I’ve always wanted to make. Everything is a amalgamation of what I grew up listening, but also trying to find new ways in experimenting.
I hate when music becomes redundant and people just follow a formula.I wanna do more than that. I want people to just know it’s a Gia song.
photo by Brian Ziff
The EP "Your Engine" even sounds like a new beginning with an ultra fresh sound. What was the idea behind this project in terms of music, visuals and lyrics?
Thank you! I definitely feel like it’s so fresh and exciting, especially when I was creating it, I knew what the project meaning was before I even started the writing process. I wanted it to be a serious but sexy title, and I kept thinking why do I even do any of this? What motivates me to get up everyday, what motivates others? What’s that drug or thing that you do it all for and that’s when “your engine” came to me it’s the heart to your system.
I immediately started seeing visuals for it in my head and the lyrics were seamless. Every title had its own meaning and it all went so perfectly with the overall theme. That’s how I love to create. I love creating a world, a place, a feeling. It’s not just the music but it’s how the visuals add to the meaning of the music in a way too.
Already on "Only A Girl" you sang about personal topics like sexuality. Was it difficult for you to come up with lyrics for such personal topics or did it feel freeing?
Since I was closeted for so long throughout my childhood and didn’t come to terms with it until high school, I felt so free putting it out at the time. It’s crazy because I always look back at that like damn I really did that…and it was so satisfying seeing how many people resonated with that record. The second I started to see that, I realized there’s no reason to be scared.. we’re all in this together one way or another despite our circumstances we’re not alone and that’s a nice feeling to know.
photos by Elle Cameron
Can you tell us about directing your first music video and how it felt to be behind the camera for the first time for the "Your Engine" music video featuring Euphoria star Chloe Cherry?
Oh my god the most fun, the energy on set that day was one of my favorite ever! Everyone was so kind and easy and excited just to be there. The ideas came out exactly how I had imagined them, which doesn’t always happen so it made it that much more rewarding. I feel like the team and crew put so much planning into it ahead of time that once we were on set, we were like boom boom boom! Chloe was also so amazing to work with. She’s the sweetest angel ever and she made the video 10 million times better.
Do you have any new projects planned or any ideas for future projects?
You’ll just have to wait and see;)
latex photo by Angel Rivera / second photo by Elle Cameron