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Complex
is first word that comes to mind when considering Hollywood based,
Australian artist and producer gilli moon...
gilli moon is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, pianist, actor,
producer, author, painter, motivator, entrepreneur, visionary and
empowering community builder. Her restless creativity and rebellious
nature continually urge her to push the envelope in the studio, on stage
and with whatever she touches.
She's an illustrious, energetic poly-media artist and her multifaceted
albums and dynamic, entertaining live shows have touched music lovers
worldwide, garnering high praise from the most jaded of critics. The
eternal chameleon in artistry and thought, gilli moon creates music that
is fresh, rebellious, passionate and unique. The voice of a siren and her
piano purging songs that ooze raw emotion and sensuality, gilli moon is
the quintessential renaissance woman. iTunes has been unable to classify
her. She stands alone.
gilli (pronounced as with a 'j') has received numerous print and online
press reviews for her courage, power and dynamic energy as an artist and
inspiration for other artists, has won many awards and has worked with
other highly respected prominent artists, including Simple Minds, Placido
Domingo and Eric Idle (Monty Python). This year she was interviewed in
Newsweek Magazine for her tenacity with the Internet, and she has been
interviewed alongside Aimee Mann in discussing their mutual success in the
indie music scene.
She's had music at No. 1 on the Australian mp3.com site and constantly
featured on numerous online e-zines, radio stations and music sites for
her outstanding achievements.
As the only independent artist represented, gilli graces the first Salon
Sounds CD compilation for 10,000 Paul Mitchell hair product salons,
alongside Norah Jones, The Carpenters, Richard Marx and Tom Jones.
A multi award winner, gilli moon's songs has received Best Song Awards
several times over in the Netherlands Song Expo, Australia's Johnny Dennis
Light Music Awards, and many more. She has won Best Female Artist twice in
the Rock City Awards (L.A) (winning over Aly McBeal's, Vonda Shephard),
final nominee in the Los Angeles Music Awards and most recently her latest
album, extraOrdinary life, was finalist in the United States
Independent Music Awards (judges included Melissa Ethridge, Norah Jones
and Jonatha Brooke to name a few.)
Warrior Girl Music, her record label she created, was honored with
the Label of the Year award at Philadelphia’s 2003’s
Independent Music Conference.
She released her fourth studio album extraOrdinary life in August
2005, combined with a world tour.
gilli moon’s last three albums, Girl In The Moon (1998), temperamental
angel (2001) and Woman (2002) received outstanding reviews and
set her course as one of most intriguing and dynamic artists to watch out
for in the independent music scene.
gilli has now released her fourth and most defiantly her greatest album
yet, entitled extraOrdinary Life - a powerful collection of solid
mainstream songs, groove-laden world beat rhythms and ethereal vocals that
invite you into gilli's world. The album is an adventurous journey of
autobiographical songs and stories, and intimate music conversations about
gilli moon’s inner truths, emotions and passions, anecdotes about
falling in love, and out of it, about living in Hollywood, and about
freedom, humour, simplicity and a life long journey of discovery.
gilli moon's shows are highly energetic and powerful and she combines
music, art, dance and little theatre into her show. gilli is truly a
multi-dimensional experience. Her performance is full of action, her voice
a tapestry of emotion and sensuality and her music an expression of pure
raw emotion.
moon describes her live show as an "emotional ride".
"It's full of energy," moon explained. "It's a combination
of full-on rock: energy, action, and rather heavy. Then it sort-of cuts to
a complete silence: quiet ballads where I'm on the piano. Then it peaks
again. It's very emotional going with the 'temperamental' theme."
Born in Milano Italy, and raised in Australia, gilli was brought up in a
pioneering lifestyle on an isolated mountain property on the edge of
wilderness. There she taught herself music and art under candle light,
playing classical piano from the age of four and hungry for music from
around the world: mostly soul, funk, disco, indigenous Aboriginal
didgeridoo rhythms, world beats and local Australiana folk. She also
played lead roles in musical theatre throughout her schooling.
Her artistry is inspired by the isolating “Aussie bush" living a
self-sufficient, alternative and pioneering life in a home built by her
parents from the trees and stone on their land, solar power and natural
resources.
At 18, she left for Rome, Italy to seek her family roots (father’s side)
and experience the world. The mid 1990s brought gilli back to Sydney where
she completed two Bachelor of Education degrees in Visual Arts and
Business, and then she rebounded overseas to New York City which attracted
her to the bright lights of Broadway.
New York was a huge inspiration for gilli as she began to truly capture
the colors and energies of emotion in her own music, jumped into
contemporary commercial sounds and even began to write her first musical.
Constantly adventurous, she then returned to Rome, Italy and had the
fortuitous opportunity to work in Opera with Placido Domingo and Maestro
Zubin Mehta.
Recently interviewed by Buzz Communications, gilli expressed, “My
music is quite eclectic. It used to be a curse for me, as record companies
couldn’t pigeon-hole me; I'm influenced by many artists and styles of
music. I started playing classical piano at 4, and then grew up with my
parents love for soul, R&B and ‘70s grooves. By 16 I was in musical
theatre playing Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz plus others, and then the
‘90s came and dance, pop, world music and the rest sucked me in. I love
it all. Now, my eclectic style has become my advantage; I love crossing
the boundaries and testing new waters by juxtaposing sounds and sonic
textures. Maybe I was ahead of my time when I was shopping to those
labels? I should have told them if I had had the gumption...!”
In ’97 gilli moved from Sydney to Los Angeles to expand her horizons,
and soon established herself as a prominent independent music artist.
"I felt like there was no where for me to go in Australia. I kind of
felt that there was an inner music industry circle and I was left standing
on the outside. So I left. But I have missed Australia every day."
In her first year in L.A, picked from an R&B/Hip Hop showcase, gilli
made a guest artist appearance on Nubar-Brooks’ album, Lust (1998
/ Drama! Music), singing You Belong To Me, a funky trip hop/electronica
hit that landed in several TV and Film projects, landed No. 1 on
Belgium’s Planete Indie radio station and was nominated for Album of the
Year. In that same year she headlined the Australian-American Chamber of
Commerce’s Ball (the following year was Olivia Newton John). Also that
year, gilli was recognized as one of the "Top 100 Unsigned Artists of
Southern California" by L.A's Music Connection Magazine.
Soon after, her first limited edition album Girl in the Moon (1998)
established her as a promising girl to watch, making a significant dent in
the Hollywood and Internet music machines, accumulating a fan base as far
as Japan, Russia, Turkey and The Netherlands. She was featured on MP3.com
as Woman of the Week as well as in the hottest Internet Radio
Station on the Net, MP3's Battle of the Babes. The internet has
played a powerful role in her promotion.
In 1999 she was featured on MTV's The Cut as newly
discovered talent and simultaneously hit the Global Internet Music Charts
through FirewallUk.com. This brought about an opportunity to be guest
artist on the album, Perfect Wordz (2000 /tribe Records) with the
band Jessica Christ. Her time with Jessica Christ encouraged her to truly
experiment with her stage persona, using costumes, theatrics and unique
song arrangements to create a spectacular live performance, pushing the
envelope on issues such as gender, relationships and Hollywood politics.
Rather than waiting for a Major to sign her, gilli started her own record
label in 2000, called Warrior Girl Music. Under her company, gilli
moon has produced 10 albums for several artists, as well as all of her
own, and is home to other artists & songwriters from as far away as
France and Finland who are as unique, rebellious and undefined as gilli
is. A self-produced record and career are startling accomplishments in the
continued age of corporate rock, and moon isn’t shy about discussing her
start in the business and evolvement into an indie artist of note.
More about Warrior Girl Music
“I began by looking for someone else, 'them, they, the others' to come
along and make it happen for me. Most young artists live in this illusion.
I thought 'ok, I have talent, they will come.' The reality is, we can't
wait around for others to make it happen for us. I began doing demos with
producers but after spending thousands at a time I was still never
satisfied with the end result. I also was signed to a label for a few
years. Still... I became frustrated because I could not follow my true
creative path and what my soul was telling me. It was only when I formed Warrior
Girl Music and began producing my music (some tracks with co-producers
I trusted, but most just me) that I came into my own. I began to trust my
own musical instincts and it has proven to be the right path for me.”
She cooked up her own online music ploy and released the CD temperamental
angel (2001), her 2nd solo album. This rebellious album, of which she
wrote all the songs and co-produced with Evan Beigel (Atonaltheory, Badi
Assad), sends powerful messages about self empowerment, embracing the full
range of human passions and emotions that our personalities express,
through a uniquely alternative, edgy sound mixed with gilli's soulful
voice. temperamental angel is an expression of personality, of raw
and sensitive emotions, and how we relate to the people in our lives
through the various love-hate disguises of our personas. Keeping with her
vision, much of the production was spontaneous following a very organic
approach, with all recording using live instruments. She purposefully
recorded it and mixed it to sound like a low-fi garage production, with
the mastering infidelity and musicianship matching any major artist. The
Star Newspapers, Chicago put her album at no. 9, in their top 25 records
of the year.
TheGlobalMusic.com writes, “by her creation, gilli has allowed the
listeners of her music to paint worlds of imagery with their minds. …The
lyrics are unlike any that I've heard from a pop artist, and tell me that
gilli moon is more about art and presenting her passions than creating die
cut pop songs.”
After extensive touring across the United States and Australia, gilli moon
released her third album, Woman (2003), encompassing the emotions,
passions and experiences of a young woman growing up, dealing with
relationships and becoming self-empowered as an individual.
"The songwriting is still intimate and drawing from personal
anecdotes about my own life living around the world," gilli says.
"The last record (temperamental angel) was dealing with a lot
of angst, some anger and frustrations, a bit like a rebellious teenager,
whereas Woman is like a coming-of-age piece, showing strength and
convictions about life and love."
The Woman album touches topics including female sensuality and
sexuality, relationships between the sexes, self-empowerment, openness and
honesty, and how the media can often exploit the body and sex in a
negative way. Life is about love of others and love of self, and gilli
sends these messages through her music, lyrics and album art. She is very
much into making "concept albums". While Woman is organic
in approach, keeping the raw rock band style in recording, it also
includes her playing the well-oiled piano and some electronic drum 'n bass
and loops. More self-penned pop songs than ever, Woman is
alternative, yet more radio friendly. With singles, Woman (and a
music video,) Organic, a new Ice Jupiter Groove remix of the ’01
hit Naked, the album also features gilli’s delicious and sultry
version of the INXS track Need You Tonight. As producer, gilli has
teamed up with engineers Matt Thorne (The Eels, Trapt, Kate Ceberano) and
Ken Moore. Plus guest artists include vocalists Cindy Alter (Clout) and
Brazilian superstar Badi Assad, Gordie Germaine on guitar, Jeffrey Dean on
bass, Evan J. Beigel on keyboards, Ric Craig on electronic drums and guest
Brian Burwell on drums. She even rallied her local theatre company in
Australia, Wollombi Valley Artist, to participate in a music video
for the album, on their Richard III (Mad Max style) set.
“I'd hope that listeners connect in their own personal way, whether that
is a mood created by the music, or perhaps assimilate with the lyrics. My
songs are autobiographical, but my aim is to move the listener in a way
that makes them think, change, grow, and see their own world in a new
perspective. I don't share my music for personal glory. I get my own buzz
playing it and writing it. What I love is the reaction from the audience
showing me they assimilate and feel something. Too many people's senses
are dull these days. I hope I can awaken them”.
Sometimes gilli incorporates her artwork in her live shows. She calls this
“SensuArt”. SensuArt is a creative process bringing as many senses
together in the one moment to create a spontaneous happening that takes
the performance to a higher level beyond just one sense.
“For example, on stage I often paint a large clear Plexiglas canvas
while singing and moving with my band. This allows the audience to
interact visually rather than just sonically. So many band singers just
stand there front of stage and just sing. It's boring as hell; others
dance or whatever. I do that too. But paint, the colors of paint, and the
movement of the brush in my hands creates a new dimension to the
performance. I first saw Picasso paint on glass on TV (a show from the
‘60s) and it gave me this idea. He painted like he was painting on the
TV screen itself, on me. It was invigorating to be the subject of his art.
"I don't believe there's another act, anything else I do in life when
all my senses are revving so simultaneously out of control (well perhaps
one other act...) the feel of the paint, the ivory keys, the canvas
texture, the heat off the amps and the lights, the pounding stage beneath
my feet, what I see coming through me from deep inside me to surround me,
the scent of the oils, the taste in the air, the power of my music and the
greater power of the inner voices demanding me - enabling my soul's
expression - I can't help it - it's when I'm most alive through these
little deaths."
gilli moon’s songwriting has proved strong for her career, being a
songwriting award winner in The Netherlands, the U.S and Australia, as
well as having had songs featured in independent films and network U.S
television programs. Her songs have gained acclaim with international
audiences: featured in television shows such as the WB’s Charmed,
the Disney Film Rip Girls, CBS' That's Life as well as films
I Just Draw, Whisky, Riddles and Dandelion Wine, and The
Healer’s Sun. Her songs have also graced theater productions and
have been recorded by other artists including Dutch artist, Erikah Karst
(Mercury/Universal), produced by David Kershenbaum (Tracy Chapman’s
"Fast Car"). Other artists who have covered her songs are Dutch
artist Eve Adams, and L.A based artist Nocy.
In 2002 she won the highly acclaimed songwriting award – Song of the
Year - organized by the Benelux International Song & Culture Festival
(The Netherlands); Best Popular Song by the Johnny Dennis Light Music
Awards (Australian Guild of Screen Composers) Twice received Best Solo
Artist at L.’s Rock City Music Awards (Rockies); nominated Best Female
Singer/Songwriter by the Los Angeles Music Awards; and, honored as
“Outstanding Contribution as an Artist” by Hollywood’s Artist For A
Better World organization.
As much a motivator for other artists as an artist herself, gilli
published her first book, I AM a Professional Artist - The Key To
Survival and Success in the World of the Arts an inspiring and
motivational survival guide for all artists. gilli has now become a leader
in the new music revolution, empowering artists across the nation with her
MPWR sessions (path to artist empowerment) focusing independent music
artistry, production, marketing and promotion, as well as professional
artist development for all types of artists. She is also the co-founder
(with friend and songwriter Roxanne Kiely), and president/CEO of
Songsalive!, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to supporting and
promoting songwriters worldwide. www.songsalive.org
After nearly 3 years on the road promoting the 2002 release, Woman,
across the United States, Canada and Australia - gilli moon, submerged
herself in Los Angeles for the latter half of 2004 and early 2005, and
recorded her fourth album, entitled extraOrdinary life.
An adventurous journey of autobiographical songs and stories, and intimate
music conversations about gilli moon’s inner truths, emotions and
passions, anecdotes about falling in love, and out of it, about living in
Hollywood, and about freedom, humour, simplicity and a life long journey
of discovery.
extraOrdinary life celebrates 13 brand new self-penned songs, a
spoken word track and an Italian song. An ENHANCED CD, it features a 10
minute “making of” video, and a 20 photo slide show embracing her
album, photography which has come to visual life by Hollywood’s
celebrity photographer Jim Steinfeldt (Tina Turner, Madonna, Miles Davis,
Willie Nelson).
extraOrdinary life is a groove oriented album, mixing sensuous
basslines, emotional piano and gilli moon’s lilting melodic voice, with
songs making attention at AAA and alternative radio. With an emphasis on
organic, raw musical textures, gilli’s trademark “edge” is present,
combining a cool rebelliousness of eclectic guitars, techno loops, live
drums and world-beat percussion. It’s only independent, alternative
artists like gilli moon that are able to take music production risks, and
can truly manage to challenge the current tired old musical norm on
today’s radio by creating an album that pushes the envelope. extraOrdinary
life is audacious and fresh, a definitive departure from her prior 3
albums Woman (02), temperamental angel (00) and Girl in
the Moon (98).
Recorded in 3 different locations including Los Angeles, Sydney, and New
Orleans, the new ENHANCED CD sees gilli moon, artist and producer,
collaborating with her favorite collection of alchemists and fellow
mavericks, including programmer and engineer Matt Thorne (The Eels, Trapt,
Kate Ceberano, Plastilina Mosh); engineer Evan Beigel (Badi Assad), 2 bass
players Jeff Dean & Ken Moore; guitarists Gordie Germaine &
Donovan Raitt, Aussie drummer Tim Davies, Jennifer J (Eric Idle) on
backing vocals & a string of percussionists, horn players and
mavericks from around the world.
extraOrdinary life offers standout tracks: the up-tempo Undone
(with matching music video now playing), the evocative and story
compelling Hollywood, the sensuous The Kiss (co-produced
with Evan Beigel), Circus of Life (already used as theme song for
Australia's hit indie musical in Wollombi NSW), and the bittersweet love
song Spaceship. gilli moon's productions have always taken
much-needed production risks, and push the envelope sonically, yet still
mainstream accessible to the hearts and ears of generations. All songs
from the album are available for download as mp3s for your iPods,
ringtones for your cell. Or purchase the CD to embrace the beautiful
artwork, 'making of' video, slide show, and good ol' fashion music stereo
sound that really doesn't compare in an mp3!
"This album certainly has more emphasis on social perspectives and
world harmony. If we can heal ourselves, and be more connected with our
inner self and our community, then the world pretty much takes care of
itself," gilli moon concedes.
The new album will leave you breathless in its raw emotion, find you
dancing to it’s groove, and allow you to slide into it’s abyss of
sonic pleasures.
“My message is simple: be passionate about what you do. I believe
passion is the key ingredient to life. I also send messages about relating
with each other. Men and women often have communication issues where they
don't understand each other. Relationships are so important and how we
communicate to each other is integral to understanding and respecting each
other for who we are. I, like all of us, have had my fair share of
relationship problems and I search for love, like all of us. By being open
and honest, with direct communication and understanding, can we truly
create deep and meaningful relationships. By acknowledging we have various
guises and personalities (masks we wear), knowing that all of them are
"who we are", then we can be accepted among others.
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city: Beverly Hills
state: CA
website |
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