| GIN WIGMORE has paid her dues; just to sing for you. |
| Written by Luke Oram |
| Monday, 02 November 2009 10:25 |
 GIN WIGMORE tells me that from an early age, she had a master plan. “I wanted to live in New Zealand, on the Taranaki Coast. Have a little farm; surf, snowboard in the winter. Kids. Dogs. Work at the local primary school – that was me.” Clearly, it was a pretty divine twist of fate that transformed the aspiring farmer’s wife into New Zealand’s Next Big Thing. And divine is a word Gin uses often when she describes her whirlwind journey so far, a journey that began at the hands of a meddling sister. The meddling sister in question was wise enough to enter 'Hallelujah', a young Gin’s ode to her late father, in the International Songwriting Competition – the song beat out 11,000 songs across the globe making her the youngest and only unsigned winner of the competition. But even then, Wigmore’s ambitions were still as humble as the Taranaki Dream. “After the competition they flew me to the States. Standing there in L.A. I thought; 'This is stupid. I’ve got 2 songs. I’m not moving here, this isn’t for me.'" She packed her bags and turned her back on it all. But fate was hardly done with Wigmore. “Obviously I stayed on the radar for a few people. After a while Universal came knocking.” So the story goes… Did you hear the one about the winsome songstress who found the ear of the Major Label Bigwigs who signed her on the strength of a demo, thus thrusting the unsuspecting artist into a Meteoric Rise To Fame?  This is how it goes; Wigmore finally realizes that there may be something to this pop music thing. She writes a few demos and is well looked after by the Universal fold. One day fellow up-and-comers Smashproof contact the label looking for a unique voice to complete the hook in their single. The ball gets passed to Gin and the rest is history – what started out as a pay-the-rent vocal session became the hooky riff to the year’s biggest national anthem; “I recorded this little riff and sent it into the ether, a few weeks later it was one of the biggest songs in New Zealand.” Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Wigmore is spouting some customary false humility – she’s genuinely dazed at the twists and turns of her “three year journey". The ironic thing about the Smashproof connection is that her guest cameo became the platform for her solo success; the single found its way across the desk of Sylvia Rhone, who was struck by the freshness and originality of Wigmore’s gritty soulish voice. Cue some serious wining and dining on Australia’s Woolamaloo Wharf and our Taranaki lass, was Motown’s newest signing. It goes without saying that Wigmore’s plans to make a “low-key record in Australia with some session musicians” got an instant upgrade, courtesy of some more divine luck, perfect timing and, strangely enough, Mandy Moore. Having decided to record Gin’s debut at the hallowed Capitol Records in L.A., all that was lacking was an equally prominent backing band – enter The Cardinals, as in Ryan Adams’ Cardinals. “Word was out on the street that Ryan was getting married to Mandy Moore, had some kind of ear issue, and was ditching out, so my A&R guy swooped in after his final show in Aussie and said to the Cardinals ‘Hey look, I’ve got this artist called Gin, in 6 weeks she’s recording in LA, do you wanna be her band?’” As far as A&R guys go, you could say that Gin’s man had scored a divine coup. “I’d always wanted to have this kind of country-ish, dirty rock and roll band and they are all of that and more – it was just perfect timing.”  In L.A., Wigmore and The Cardinals set to work putting together the stunning debut that is 'Holy Smoke' - it was a process that Gin says was completely organic and wholly inspiring. “It was so fresh, their happy accidents were perfect; they listened to the demos once, charted them out and then started jamming.” The resulting album built on Gin’s mature-beyond-her-years songwriting sense, backed by the chemistry powerhouse of The Cardinals – the fruits of which the kiwi music scene is lapping up in the form of her first single, the pop-meets-soul jaunt ‘Oh My God’. The rest of ‘Holy Smoke’ is a mixture of equal parts melancholy, soulish R&B and hip-hop inspired pop gems, all tied together by Gin's whiskey-scoured voice. “We finished a day early and we were all sitting there hugging in the studio, crying, thinking 'this is so gutting'," Gin says of the unique bond she made with Ryan Adams’ musical backline. “They were so kind and supportive of me all the way.” It seems the affection Wigmore has for the Cardinals is mutual, they’re popping down here for a show with her later this year. You can call it destiny. You can blame it on the tour-de-force that is music management – either way, Gin Wigmore is now a big deal, no matter which way you cut it. I ask her at which point she realized Gin had gone supernova. She laughs. “I don’t know if I’m at that point yet. There’s still so much more to achieve. I’m waiting for the day I crack the states and I’m sitting on a yacht just off the coast of Portugal drinking beer with Manpower performing daily at 6pm.” What about the farm, I say. You can’t have dogs on a yacht. Gin laughs again. “Yeah you can. Depends on how big the yacht is...”  |
