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swan heart

by nina gala

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • limited edition cassette + zine
    Cassette + Digital Album

    Made in collaboration with UK based label Deamon T.V, this limited edition physical release comes in an edition of 50, available in both dusty pink and white. Each tape comes with a copy of ‘retreat: the making of swan heart’, a zine created by gala, featuring poloroids and hand written diary entries from her time creating the album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of swan heart via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
I left my man I left my home the alley cats the furniture all the paintings on the wall the wooden spoon the sugar bowl little lies seeds of doubt weeds the run the garden down the parts we hid of ourselves show themselves now eyes the windows to the soul why were all your curtains closed? a lantern tight in my hand something I saw I can’t ever see again old scars, loose threads the wedding bells in my head blood brothers, best friends all your promises I asked you nice then I got on my knees then I got mean all the noise of this century I can’t calm down can’t concentrate but for you darling I tried and I tried tired arms and hopeful eyes I said it nice then I got on my knees you turned your back I never saw it coming
2.
swan heart 02:00
pain like milk pouring over into the dirt ache behind the palm decorated in rain water my swan heart perfectly poised and pressed and I share my wings with you
3.
we looked like angels and it felt like heaven I whispered softly I feel lime green so special we looked like angels and it felt like heaven wet thighed and sky blue transcendent with you one day I’ll call you again you’re a memory till then something I can reach out and touch but can’t touch back one day i’ll call you my friend you’re just a dream till then something I can reach out and touch but can’t touch back
4.
on your pillow one on my chest a love letter left over from our childhood and you whispered perfect you screamed precious new black hair and new brown eyes easier still a pair you recognized and you whispered perfect you cried precious
5.
healing 01:36
6.
7.
tangerine 02:02
bittersweet your arms around me our tongues talked so soft and now our bodies a sweet perfume tangerine a light in the room that covers everything
8.
casalena 04:18
hold me like the darkness holds the moon quell these fears that echo brush my feathers smooth i’m not ready for this but I’m ready for you i’ve played the virgin mary madonna too once I wanted to be married now I don’t know what I want to do it’s time to wear my fathers name can’t deny from which where I came but I wanna love without all this pain and shame manipulation fantasy empty dreams haven’t I earned my place on earth after all this suffering

about

In the summer of 2020, gala found herself at the end of a six year long partnership, in the middle of a pandemic and living alone for the first time. Over the next six months, with not much more than a mattress on the floor and her amp plugged into the wall, she started writing the songs which would become her debut, "swan heart".

With support from emerging Baltimore-based producer Erik Schwarzenberg (Revolver, Little Lungs), who co-produced the album, gala has expanded her sonic universe to include bass written by gala herself, percussion, and string arrangements by Jon Birkholz (Adjective Animal, Super City). While emotive storytelling remains at the center of gala's practice, these embellishments help swan heart stand out as the most sophisticated work in the artist's collection.

credits

released October 14, 2022

all songs written and performed by nina gala
string arrangements by jon birkholz
percussion by erik schwarzenberg

produced by erik schwarzenberg, nina gala
mixed by erik schwarzenberg
vocals, guitars & bass engineered by erik schwarzenberg
percussion engineered by garrett long at the watermelon room
mastered by mat leffler-schulman at mobtown studios

additional performers:
violin by yu-ting wu
viola by allen hicks
cello by zack branch

photography, artwork: nina gala
artwork design assistance: taylor casalena

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all rights reserved

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nina gala Baltimore, Maryland

intensely intimate songs that draw attention to the richness of our inner worlds

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