Gabriella Cohen has positioned herself as a treasure of the Australian music scene over the last few years. Having released her debut album Full Closure And No Details to rave reviews here at home and abroad, she has seen her popularity gradually, and rightfully soar. The young artist has a particular vocal inflection which sinks its hooks into the listener and doesn’t let up. Her introspective lyrics and songwriting prowess beyond her years were a hallmark of her debut record, and have carried over into her recently released singles.

Her second record Pink Is The Colour Of Unconditional Love is set to drop on the 1st of June. We had Gabriella take us behind the record, to shed some light on how it came to be, and what it means to her.

Tell us about the album title, and the themes of the record.

The album title was a personal epiphany I stumbled upon in the living room of my friend Hayley Bracken’s house on in Fiztroy, thanks to the wise words of her mother, Lady Bracken. I set out to make an expansive body of sound, and wanted to play with more instruments and textures that felt more colourful to me than the last record. Kate reckons it feels like a big salad. I’d agree. 

What was the initial springboard for the album to come to life?

The album was being born before I knew it, in my tiny cherished room in The Westbury Hotel in Balaclava, Melbourne, mid 2016. I was in a very lucky position to be writing everyday and feeling creatively nourished. Before I knew it I had a collection of songs that all correlated to each other in some way or another. I knew this would be in the next record, I just had to find a place to record it.

Where did you record the album, and did the environment influence at all?

Kate and I moved to the country in Seymour, Victoria, and lived on a gorgeous cattle farm called Zintara. We spent our days leisurely recording, swimming in the lake, and cooking really nice food. Many cockatoos were screeching through our takes, (very welcomed) gigantic, towering rocks and lolling stoney mountains.. A sight to behold. It’s exactly what I envisioned and more… I think it was really important to take time to really live it.  

What do you hope people take away from the album when they listen to it?

A solemn, inward nod.

How do you feel about the record, and what does it mean to you? 

This record means the world to me. I’ll be glad to have released it next week. The more people that tell me how personal it is, I slowly, slowly realise I agree with them. It has been intertwined and wrapped up and taken on my adventures around the world for the past year, so in a way it is the unveiling of that. It is a small fish at the bottom of the ocean, and a brown papered wrapped gift tied up with some twine. It is an offering to the incredible support I have received around the world, from people I am humbled to call friends. 

Originally published May 2018