A witchy woman approaches Gabby Bianco in an old London bookstore, saying she’s been missing something. Enticed, Gabby draws a card. It reads: Feminine.

“In twenty something years, my relationship with my feminine has evolved more than a Darwinian theory.”

Turns out the missing link was her. The whole world has had an ongoing affair with femininity; as it swirls around we try to catch and define it. Culturally, it is perceived as one thing. We link intrinsic behavior and societal needs to come up with a box that we are expected to grow into. Ha, that didn’t work for me and it certainly didn’t work for Gabby.

“We spent the earliest parts of our female lives struggling (and always failing) to embody the womanhood men had sold us: confident but never overpowering, sensual but never available, gentle but never meek, creative but never too unique, clever but never brilliant.”

All of this led to a new chapter in Gabby’s life. Well known for her work in indie – rock duo, Smoke Season, Gabby has always been a flamboyantly brave symbol for individuality. Their ear worms will forever exist in our psyches — but Gabby noticed a new wave of herself coming to the surface; stunned by the massive gap that should be women in the producer’s chair, she decided to grab the reigns. No longer was she going to rely on other people to execute her vision.

“I vowed to confidently sit in the producer’s chair on this project — a role I had previously seen mostly occupied by men — and I played every instrument on the song.”

She engineered and produced it, too. It shouldn’t be so intimidating to do so nor surprising that she did — but in an industry dominated by men, it becomes an act of bravery and display of strength. 

“Honestly, I commit. I commit like it’s my ship and I’m sinking in the sea.”

Sampled vocals glitter the track while a gentle beat pulsates throughout. The chords shift underneath Gabby’s voice on what MILK calls an “electronic chill-wave”. The track is so well curated that you can listen to it like a smooth ride over and over again, and the lyrics speak to every woman’s heart who has ever felt held under the surface or estranged by traditionally male professions. BIIANCO urges women to employ other women and to foster the growing community of incredible female leaders. Throughout her new EP she features an all female crew, including on the music video for Get Up (look out for that one dropping soon).

“You wanna watch me fall? So watch me get up get up get up this time.”

Darker elements have people comparing this new Gabby to Portishead and Bob Moses, but the mosaic of BIIANCO is freshly its own. We can’t wait for her debut EP; stay tuned with her journey by catching a local show and following her on Instagram.