Gets the better of her
‘‘I’ll make a record and put it out and that’s it. It doesn’t need to do anything for me.’’
project, in which she handed her song Girl Gang – a striking, percussion-heavy ode to women everywhere – to five female creatives.
Where many artists might feel protective over something they created, Wigmore wanted to ‘‘breathe new life’’ into the song, showing people ‘‘women can coexist in the same field beautifully’’ and that there ‘‘doesn’t need to be competition.’’
The second layer of the album comes in the way it makes the listener feel. It’s rich with emotion, but doesn’t project insecurities.
There is no feeding into those thoughts or expectations she knows are predominantly driven by men in suits who think they know what women want.
‘‘I’ve seen so much of that in my music career because hey, ‘If you just got most of your gear off in the video you’ll sell so much more. Don’t you want to be a winner? Don’t you want to be a Gin Wigmore
star?’ It’s like, ‘What the f... are you talking about?’ ’’
These days when she writes songs, Wigmore asks, ‘‘What kind of message is this saying to myself and to others, and is this what I want the world to look like if I have a daughter, and even for my son?’’
It seems simple, but she does see standing by her own values as necessary.
This awareness of the industry and its subtle manipulations inspired her to make adjustments to more than just her music. She dyed her hair, put other women at the forefront of her music videos, and really let her ‘‘music the shine’’.
‘‘I think that’s the beauty of music if you can stay in the game long enough – you get to really see everything. It’s almost like you get out of the picture then you start seeing things for what they really are, and you can make really informed decisions on how you want to proceed.’’
The ‘‘wise old wizard in the woods’’ might not have plans to move back home, but Kiwis can count on Wigmore continuing to champion what’s right, no matter where in the world she may be.
Gin Wigmore will play Wellington on February 5, Christchurch on February 6, Dunedin on February 8, and play the headline set at Auckland’s North West Wine, Beer & Food Festival on February 9.