Gigi is a Canadian music recording project based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, formed in 2005 by the songwriter Nick Krgovich and record producer Colin Stewart after Stewart acquired two vintage plate reverb units and asked Krgovich to write songs —

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

-inspired 1950s and 1960s-style pop music — to make use of them.Harper, Kate (January 11, 2010).
Owen Pallett, Mirah, Ladyhawk Members On Gigi Album
, Chartattack.com. Retrieved July 20, 2010. With 40 musicians from indie rock bands collaborating, the group released an album, ''Maintenant'', on the

Tomlab Tomlab is a German record label based in Köln. It has released works by bands such as The Books, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Deerhoof, Thee Oh Sees, Les Georges Leningrad, and acts associated with Blocks Recording Club, such as Final ...

label in 2010, to mostly positive reviews.

History

Krgovich is known for his work as a member of P:ano and of No Kids. Stewart has previously worked as a

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

for such groups as Black Mountain,

The Cave Singers The Cave Singers is an American band from Seattle, Washington. Composed of former members of Pretty Girls Make Graves after its disbandment in 2007, former PGMG-member Derek Fudesco teamed up with Pete Quirk (of Hint Hint) and Marty Lund (of Cobra ...

and

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. Regarding the origins of the project, Krgovich said, "Colin Stewart from the Hive studios just acquired these huge vintage plate reverb units and he really wanted to use them as if he was recording The Crystals or something, so he asked me to write some 'classic'-sounding pop songs to be recorded live off the floor, by a large group of musicians, Phil Spector-style."Hughes, Josiah (January 27, 2010).
Nick Krgovich Talks Gigi Project with Owen Pallett, Karl Blau and Ladyhawk, Reveals Plans for New No Kids Album and EP
, ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

''. Retrieved July 20, 2010. In the end, 40 artists were included as collaborators, with musicians such as Owen Pallett, Mirah, Karl Blau, and members of Ladyhawk and Weathered Pines. The group was one of three to be selected to be part of the first Indie Band Residency at the Banff Centre in 2008, an opportunity for up-and-coming bands to spend two weeks writing and recording, with access to studios, producers and engineers. (The other two bands were Ohbijou and the Adam Brown.) The album, ''Maintenant'' (the French word for ''now''), was recorded over three years and released in 2010.

Reception

In an album review,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

said, "At its best, ''Maintenant'' feels both effortless and timeless—much like the classic pop from which its architects clearly draw so much inspiration." ''

Fast Forward Weekly ''Fast Forward Weekly'' (''FFWD'') was a news and entertainment weekly which provided news, alternative viewpoints, entertainment information, review articles and specialized advertising. It was distributed throughout Calgary, Banff and Canmore ...

'' found the sound to be "like a sampler from a long-forgotten '50s record label, spotlighting ballads and upbeat twisters that should have been floating on AM waves for the last half-century." ''Chart'' magazine's reviewer praised the "varied voices", which "ensure once the retro-kitsch has worn off, listeners will stick around." The critic Tom Harrison, of ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'', was mixed in his review, writing, "Krgovich and Stewart don't quite get it right as there are too many singers and players to manage, but that is part of the charm." The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review noted that the album "succeeds in every way a project like this should: that is, it manages to fulfill a fantasy (i.e. one in which Rose Melberg is transported back to the early '60s, where she is the lead singer in a stellar girl group) without sounding hokey or gimmicky," and in a generally favourable review,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

wrote, "Gigi understand that the most important period-era sound to capture here isn't a " Be My Baby" kick-drum boom or a Bacharachian bossa nova swing (though both are in full effect), but rather the sound of repression—of forcing a smile while your heart sinks, of maintaining appearances while you're dying inside."Berman, Stuart (February 26, 2010).
Album Reviews: Gigi: Maintenant
,

. Retrieved July 20, 2010.

Discography

* 2010: ''Maintenant''

Track listing

# "No, My Heart Will Go On" (w/ Chorus) # "The Hundredth Time" (w/ Duffy Driediger and Ryan Peters) # "Dreams of Romance" (w/

Zac Pennington Parenthetical Girls was an experimental pop band formed in Everett, Washington in 2002, and disbanded in 2013. History Begun primarily as a recording project between Zac Pennington and Jeremy Cooper, the band, originally known as Swastika Girls, ...

) # "Alone at the Pier" (w/ Rose Melberg) # "Everyone Can Tell" (w/ Ryan Beattie) # "One Woman Show" (w/ Joey Cook) # "I'm Not Coming Out Tonight" (w/ Marissa Johnson and

Sydney Vermont Hello, Blue Roses is a Canadian musical collaboration involving Sydney Hermant, a visual artist from Vancouver, and her husband Dan Bejar (of Destroyer and The New Pornographers). History Hello, Blue Roses was created by Hermant and Bejar in 20 ...

) # "Some Second Best" (w/ Chorus) * # "I Can't Bring Myself to Smile" (w/

Bobby Birdman Rob Kieswetter, better known by his stage name Bobby Birdman, is an American musician. Kieswetter is originally from Nevada City, California, and lives in Los Angeles, California. He has released albums on Hush Records, Not Not Fun, Fryk Beat, St ...

and Katy Davidson) # "Strolling Past the Old Graveyard" (w/ Karl Blau) # "The Marquee" (w/ Katie Eastburn) # "Impossible Love" (w/ Chorus) # "Won't Someone Tell Me?" (w/ Mirah) # "I'll Quit" (w/ Owen Pallett) # "'Neathe the Streetlights" (w/ Nick Krgovich) * missing from vinyl release

References

External links

Gigi
at CBC Radio 3 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gigi Musical groups established in 2005 Canadian indie pop groups Musical groups from Vancouver 2005 establishments in British Columbia