[INTERVIEW] Giolì & Assia Share Creative Process Behind New Album FIRE HELL AND HOLY WATER + More After High Ground Music Festival 2022

Giolì & Assia · Fire Hell and Holy Water

iEDM: You just came off a beautiful set at the High Ground Music festival! How did it feel to perform for a city like Denver, which is known as a hub for electronic music? 

Giolì & Assia: It was very exciting to be on stage at the High Ground Music festival. It's not our first performance in Denver, and every time we come back, we always love to find the audience warm and welcoming and ready to have a good time.

iEDM: From live performances to shooting music videos, your music has taken you all around the world. Is there anything your travels have taught you about life itself? 

Giolì & Assia: We believe that traveling is essential to increase one's knowledge and to discover the cultures and traditions of other countries. But traveling constantly, and always being on tour, has also taught us to appreciate much more the moments when we are at home with our family. Moments that we took for granted as a child, but now we try to enjoy them to the fullest.

iEDM:  With such an extensive touring schedule, is there anything you do to stay grounded and centered throughout the chaos of travel? 

Giolì & Assia: We call our families on a daily basis, and we write to our friends very often, trying to schedule outings on the days when we will be home again. The best part of being a couple and traveling and working together is that even when we travel, we do things that remind us of home, like ordering food and eating it in bed while watching Netflix, right after a show, or maybe the next day.

iEDM:  Not only have you been busy touring, but you just dropped an incredible album, Fire Hell and Holy Water. What was the inspiration behind the album?

Giolì & Assia: The key message of this album is hell seen as a metaphor to describe depression. We used Greek mythology, in particular the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, to encourage people who are facing difficult times, such as Eurydice in hell, not to give up and not to entrust their hopes to other people who could betray us even unintentionally, but to base all our strengths and hopes on ourselves.

iEDM:  The lyrics throughout the album are so deep and emotionally driven. What's your writing process like when it comes to expressing yourselves through lyrics? 

Giolì & Assia: Before this album, our creative process was very different. We used to compose the instrumental of each song first, and only later we imagined the melodies for the voice and lyrics. However, for this album, we mostly used the reverse creative process, first imagining the topic we wanted to talk about inside the songs, then writing the lyrics on a melody, and then composing the music. 

For example, with Euridice, we wanted to reinterpret the Greek myth, writing the lyrics in metric from the point of view of Orpheus. Only later did we compose the music. 

iEDM: Not only is there passion in your lyrics but the melodies and soundscapes you write amplify the emotion in each track. Is there a particular feeling that you try to capture with your sound? 

Giolì & Assia: Each song contains a different emotion and hides a unique message. Therefore each song tries to arouse different emotions in the listener. For example, "Meaning Of Life" was written after the death of Assia's cousin due to cancer. We wondered what the meaning of life was and if there was a purpose for which we are born. The message that the song contains is precisely this, that given the fact that there is no apparent purpose or meaning in life, and given the smallness of every human being, it is important to fully enjoy and satisfy every will, goal, hope, and ambition, without worrying too much about the consequences, because tomorrow we may not be here anymore.

iEDM:  As a whole, you have such a unique style of dance music fusing indie, house, and pop into one concise sound. Who would you say are your biggest influences? 

Giolì & Assia: We are inspired by different genres of music, and different artists, for example, Florence + The Machine, London Grammar, Black Coffee, Paul Kalkbrenner, and Stromae.

iEDM:  With your background in live instrumentation and singing, you're able to bring a unique live experience to the dance scene. Do you think incorporating live aspects into your performances allows you to express yourselves in a deeper way as opposed to just a DJ set? 

Giolì & Assia: Yes, our live show is certainly more emotional than the DJ set because we bring all the music of the new album live, sung and played live with the piano, drums, and handpan. "The Intro", in particular, makes us shiver from the first note. However, the DJ set brings to life another side of us, which we love as well because we like to discover music from other producers, and we love to see people go wild on the dance floor.

iEDM: Not only do you have exquisite taste in music, but you're known for your fashion both on and off the stage. Do you feel that music and the art of fashion go hand in hand? 

Giolì & Assia: Certainly, fashion is like music because it allows you to express your personality, your character, and your art, but through shapes, colors, and fabrics instead of notes and melodies. Since April, we have been collaborating with two stylists who have been able to immediately translate our ideas and songs from the new album into clothes and outfits for the videos. For example, the outfits chosen for the album cover and the "Eurydice" video were essential to express the sweetness and delicacy of the message behind the song. Instead, the red latex coats chosen for the video on the volcano in Iceland were iconic and fundamental to express the vital energy of the volcano.

iEDM:  From touring the world to dropping a new album, 2022 has been quite the year! As we look forward to 2023, what can fans expect from Giolì and Assia?

Giolì & Assia: There will be a lot of news in 2023. For example, we will go on tour in countries where we have never been, such as some countries in Latin America and Asia. We will also work on a documentary focusing on the album and some behind-the-scenes of the trip to Iceland.

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