One of the most played tracks on radio these days has to be Gabriella Cilmi's Sweet About Me, which GenQ had the pleasure of promoting early on. GenQ Music Editor Leigh May had the pleasure of talking to this youngster about her debut album, Lessons To Be Learned and being a Museum Tour Guide..
GQ: Hi Gabriella, how are you today?
GC: Hi, good thanks, how are you?
GQ: I'm good ... I hear you're pretty flat out today, hey?
GC: Yeah, it's been pretty busy. I flew to Sydney last night, and arrived in Melbourne like 2 hours ago, so ... yeah ...
..in case things didn't work out, I told all my friends I was going to Queensland for a holiday, and I'd always come back without a tan, so, of course, going to London, it's always freezing there, so I'd come back tanless!"
GQ: Well, at least there's no jetlag when it's only from Sydney ...
GC: Yeah, I know ... the flight still messes you around a little bit anyway.
GQ: There's definitely a different culture between the two cities, isn't there?
GC: Yeah ... I like Sydney for different reasons too, but the food is better in Melbourne ...
GQ: ... and cheaper!
GC: Yeah, and cheaper, haha! Sydney's really expensive, but it's really pretty. I wrote some of the songs up there in Manly.
GQ: Oh awesome! Speaking of your album, that came out over here two days ago. Have you had much feedback about it yet?
GC: Um, not really, I think it was #3 on iTunes last time I checked ... not sure where it is now, but I checked last night, ha! Made sure it was alright.
GQ: "Sweet About Me" hit #1. How did that make you feel?
GC: Oh it was pretty cool. I remember I was in London, and I'd just gotten back from Melbourne, and it was in the morning that I found out, and it took until lunchtime for it to sink in. I have delayed reactions with everything ... don't laugh, it's really weird.
GQ: What about the first time you heard "Sweet About Me" on the radio?
GC: I remember I was driving to the studio, which was in this house ... it's the house that the real-life Alice In Wonderland lived in. It's this massive house, and we were driving there, and as soon as we rocked up in the driveway, it started playing, it was really weird, and I remember thinking that I wasn't sure whether I should listen to it, or change the station, or get out of the car, cos you can't be seen listening to and bopping alone to your own song, it's really bad.
GQ: It's an unwritten rule, isn't it?
GC: Yeah, haha!
GQ: So you were in high school when you recorded this album, and you told your friends you were in Queensland ...
GC: Yeah, in case things didn't work out, I told all my friends I was going to Queensland for a holiday, and I'd always come back without a tan, so, of course, going to London, it's always freezing there, so I'd come back tanless!
GQ: So when did you come clean?
GC: I came clean when one of my mates rang me when I was in London, and I told her "you can't call me, it's too expensive for you, cos I'm actually in London." And she was like "I kind of suspected you weren't in Queensland" but yeah, everyone's been really cool with it. When I was on Rove, they all bought tickets to sit in the audience which is really funny, cos I had to try not to look at them cos then I'd just laugh.
GQ: I have to admit, one of my favourite tracks on the album is "Don't Wanna Go To Bed Now". What was the inspiration behind that?
GC: I wrote that on the Mornington Peninsula in a beach hut, and I was reading a pyjama catalogue, so I think that's where it came from. It's really a lot more innocent than it sounds. It's all about having a good time and just not wanting to go to bed cos you want to stay up ... people think I mean one thing, but I really mean the other ... it shows what people really think about!
GQ: You also got discovered in an Italian street party?
GC: Yeah, I think it was in Carlton. We go to this festival thing every year, like we go to church first, then have this big party thing where people auction off seasoned salami for auction and things like that. We go there every year, and it's one of those things that you don't really want to go to, but it's kind of a chore. My uncle kind of pushed me to get up and sing, so I did Jumpin' Jack Flash, and Michael Parisi from Festival Mushroom Records was there, and he ended up signing me later that year, so I guess it's lucky I did get up!
GQ: Yeah, definitely! What would you be doing now if that hadn't happened?
GC: I used to say I wanted to be a Museum Tour Guide ... it's funny cos I just did an interview with a New Zealand woman, and she asked me to point out all the different buildings in the city and say what they were, and I just had a mental blackout, I couldn't remember what any of them were called, so lucky I didn't take that career! I know I'd be really bad at it! I really like Melbourne city though ...
GQ: Yeah, I love how it's like the old mixed with the new.
GC: It's funny cos we were driving in from the airport before and I was saying how much it looks like Gotham City, like sort of futuristic but then the contrast of the old with it ... and there's about a million Ferris Wheels here now too, they're just sticking them everywhere!
GQ: Getting back to the album, you recorded it in the UK. What was the reason for that?
GC: I guess the producers I was going to write the abum with lived in the UK, and I ended up later signing to Festival Records, who are based in the UK, so I guess it just seemed like a good idea to move there, and we have family in Italy, so it's not too far from there, the move wasn't too hard, so I guess that's the reason we moved there, which was a year ago now.
GQ: Any plans on what the next single's going to be?
GC: The next single is either Don't Wanna Go To Bed, or Save The Lies, so either one of them.
GQ: Sanctuary's got a really sweet sound to it as well.
GC: Yeah,I wouldn't mind that as the third single, but I don't know where it's gonna go from there. It's got a nice chilled-out vibe to it.
GQ: Most people only know you from Sweet About Me, so how would you describe your overall sound?
GC: I'd say it's kind of ... well, pop cos it can appeal to so many different people, but also ... I'd say pop-blues-glam... my Mum used to listen to stuff like The Sweet and T-Rex and stuff like that, so I tried to capture that funk-sort of vibe from that sort of music on tracks like Don't Wanna Go To Bed Now and Terrified.
GQ: So when you get around to touring Australia, what can we expect from your shows?
GC: Hopefully around October, I'll be doing a tour of Australia, cos I've toured with James Blunt, but I haven't done any of my own gigs yet, so it should be cool. I think it'll be a kind of organic feel, but we like to have a bit of fun, so we'll see how we go, I guess.
GQ: Ok, well I better let you go back to your day, but do you have any messages for our readers?
GC: Come down to our live gigs, and bring along your friends..
GQ: I so put you on the spot just then, didn't I?
GC: Yeah, haha! Well I guess I'll also say "Be excellent to each other" (ed: nice little Bill & Ted reference there Gab!)
