{"id":39725,"date":"2021-01-14T12:30:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T17:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=39725"},"modified":"2021-01-14T14:44:13","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T19:44:13","slug":"gaeya-gives-the-earth-a-voice-on-debut-ep-awakening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/gaeya-gives-the-earth-a-voice-on-debut-ep-awakening\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaeya Gives the Earth a Voice on Debut EP \u2018Awakening\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo Credit: Annie Hyrefeldt<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Swedish world-beat artist Sandra Zackrisson adopted the stage name Gaeya as an homage to the Greek goddess Gaia, who acts as a voice for mother Earth. And that’s the role she aims to play with her music \u2014 speaking out about issues affecting the Earth, as well as celebrating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zackrisson is partly descended from the Sami, a Scandinavian indigenous tribe, and her sonic style and lyrical content stem in part from their music and philosophy. “Nature and the relationship to nature always were present during my childhood and during my younger years when I worked with music,” she says. “But it wasn’t until I was a bit older that I realized I could combine those two, and that resulted in Gaeya in the end.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaeya’s debut EP, Awakening<\/em>, spans five enchanting songs that sound almost like the soundtrack to a fantasy video game, with her Disney-princess-like voice against ambient piano, steady percussion, and dreamy synths. The lyrics interweave to narrate a deep personal journey that’s synchronous with the larger journey of the Earth and humanity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mystical opening track, “Contact,” sounds almost like a cry to extraterrestrial or otherworldly beings, though Zackrisson wrote it about the search for human connection. The video<\/a> plays into the fairy-tale-like vibe of the music, with Gaeya wandering through a magical forest, then moving through hypnotizing choreography with a dancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next is “Truth<\/a>,” an upbeat, powerfully sung track about “finding your own truth and what you stand for and sharing what you believe in a loving way and respectful way so you respect others’ differences,” she explains. Between forceful drums and high-pitched yells, it sounds almost like a battlecry for truth-seeking in a world full of lies. Its video gives off an even more empyrean vibe than “Contact,” with an animated green paradise and a glowing light in the woods, representing the path toward one’s own inner light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Aureola” gives off a poppier, more electronic vibe, beginning with vivid verbal portraits of “brightness while moonshine\/touches my skin\/counting the planets\/circling through my head” then describing the process of bringing a dying planet back to life \u2014 “wise will we try\/to bring life to a drought” \u2014 and the atmospheric “Micro Orbits” is about finding peace and being one with the Earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n