ginla is a Toronto-based duo comprised of multi-instrumentalists Joe Manzoli and Jon Nellen, who both spent considerable time playing a number different musical styles while attending school in Boston, before they decided to collaborate sometime after graduating. With ginla, the two have honed in on an avant-garde style of pop that earned them a spot on the revered roster of Terrible Records earlier in the year.
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ginla released their self-titled debut EP a week ago via Terrible, a 6-track exploration of their sprawling sound that seemingly draws influence from electronica, indie, new-wave & R&B. It has already drawn a lot of comparisons to Radiohead's experimental opus Kid A, which is quite a feat in itself. When asked about the process behind the record, the duo stated:
The record was made at a critical point in both of our lives—a time where tangibility seemed fleeting; a sort of exploration of physicality and movement in our own lives; traversing through conflict. Where reality ended, fantasy manifested itself. It was a period of learning where these two seemed to begin and one would end. Although we were separated, at times, working from different locations, it was a time of working together, navigating each other’s thoughts, forming a cohesive working environment where we both felt at ease—able to create and share.Strangers entered the picture, friends even; nothing felt solid. From here it became an audible and tangible exploration of these moments lacking physicality—the feelings that we couldn’t note or capture. The moments that seem meaningless are those that remained substantial. Those moments—chaotic, yet pinpointed—are where the record stemmed from. Nomadic, unpredictable, and without order.
