Singer-songwriter Gigi Perez talked with The Current’s Morning Show’s Nilufer Arsala about her debut album At the Beach, in Every Life, and her upcoming performance at the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival on Friday, July 18.

Use the audio player above to listen to the interview, and find a full transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Nilufer Arsala: You are listening to The Current's Morning Show, I'm Nilufer Arsala. Gigi Perez is a singer-songwriter who you're probably pretty familiar with. She's gone viral on TikTok, and you've heard her songs "Chemistry," "Sailor Song," and "Fable" here on The Current. Gigi has even stopped by our studios for a live session that you can find on The Current's YouTube page. Well, Gigi is on the lineup for this year's Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, and she recently released her debut album, it's called At the Beach, in Every Life. Gigi, welcome to The Current's Morning Show.

Gigi Perez: Hello. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Nilufer Arsala: Well, it's been a really big year for you. The last time you stopped by our studios, I think it was last October, before the song "Fable" came out. I was wondering if you can talk about the album title and what that means to you?

Gigi Perez: You know, I remember coming in back then, before "Fable" came out, and we had such a blast. So, I'm really excited to be here again and talk about the album. At the Beach, in Every Life, it came to me. I just found out I was being released from my first record deal, and I was dealing with a lot of intense emotions. The context of the album is experiencing hardship and the losses people go through in life that aren't really as heavy, in my eyes, as death. But I think that after experiencing the grief of losing my older sister, certain negative experiences, or certain losses like losing a record deal at the time, it hit very hard. And I think that when I wrote the song “At the Beach, in Every Life,” it was that point of I was also in a very loving relationship. And I remember being very in love at the same time as this loss that was happening., I had this moment of locking in. It was probably 30 minutes after I got off the phone about it, and I wrote “At the Beach, in Every Life.” And that was the first song off the album, and it's the part of "if all my dreams come up empty and I wash up on the shore, you'd find me at the beach in every life through every door." I think that song is about the intrinsic value that people have outside of what their worth is in any sort of, what the world tells you or what the market tells you, we all have intrinsic value, and that's through the ugly, dark experiences like grief or, if you're on top of the world. It really doesn't matter where you are, love's gonna meet you there. And the beach is like that kind of heaven to me.

Nilufer Arsala: That's beautiful. So did I see right, that you self-produced your entire album?

Gigi Perez: Yeah. So I self-produced it, along with two of my really great friends, Aidan Hobbs and Noah Weinman. I got into production right around that time that I was being released, and I knew I was moving back home, I knew that I was broke, and my parents were happy to take me in, and I'm so grateful for that. I just learned [production] on YouTube and Reddit, calling my friends and asking,"Hey, does this sound good, or does this not?" and I fell in love, a love I didn't even know was possible to feel. What I felt when I was writing music for the first time at 15, and figuring out what the guitar was, and figuring out what the piano was and how I wanted to play it, because I never took lessons. I remember back then everybody was like, “take lessons, take lessons, they're gonna help you.” And I think I definitely would be down to do lessons in some sort of capacity at this point. But I think the same way that I learned the guitar is how I learned production. It felt a little bit more intuitive, and just going with what was what I thought sounded good, versus is this right or not? Because I don't really know what's right or wrong in that way. But regardless, I just had so much fun, and it feels the same way it did at 15.

Nilufer Arsala: You are listening to The Current's Morning Show, I'm Nilufer Arsala. We're talking with Gigi Perez about her debut full length album At the Beach, in Every Life. You've gone on a lot of tours too. You were on tour with Hozier, you opened up for Mumford and Sons, and you also have a new song out. Can you talk a little bit about your collaboration with Mt. Joy?

Gigi Perez: That was so much fun. You know, when Matt and I met, we didn't know who each other were. I mean, it's kind of funny that I didn't know who he was, because I'm a huge fan of Mt. Joy, I had been for years, but I didn't know what he looked like, and we didn't discuss that until way after the fact. It was hilarious. We were at a writing thing, but it was chill. It wasn't like a real writing thing. And we hung out. He started playing some chords and singing a melody, and then I hopped in, and it was super fluid. And then Rob Bisel, Joe P, and Ben from Mumford and Sons, everybody's just jamming, and the song was born. And then we're like, oh, we should really put this out, because it feels really awesome.

Nilufer Arsala: Yeah, it's a great song called “In the Middle,” the collaboration with Mt. Joy. I was listening to it yesterday. I just I really love it. You were also in the lineup for Bonnaroo this year. Were you able to play before it was canceled because of the weather?

Gigi Perez: So I wasn't able to play Bonnaroo, but Remi Wolf saved the day, and we did her superjam. It was at this venue in Nashville instead, and it was really sweet. So we got to do that. But as far as the real festival, I was definitely really looking forward to it, but looking forward to the next time.

Nilufer Arsala: Well, there is another festival on the way, and we're all really excited about it here in the Twin Cities. You're scheduled to play the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival this year. That festival runs from July 18 through the 20, and you're scheduled for opening day. That's so exciting that you get to help kick off the festival. Is there anything you're looking forward to about the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, or about coming back to the Twin Cities?

Gigi Perez: I mean, I'm just so excited. I remember the last time I was there, and just the energy in the air of the city and getting to be back with you guys. I'm just excited to play some music.

Nilufer Arsala: Singer Songwriter Gigi Perez is on The Current's Morning Show. You know, Gigi we're really, really excited that you're coming back to play the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival. Gigi is helping to kick off the festival Friday, July 18, at Harriet Island Park in St. Paul. Her debut album At the Beach, in Every Life is out now. Gigi, thank you so much for stopping by The Current's Morning Show today.

Gigi Perez: Thanks so much for having me.

Gigi Perez Website: https://www.gigiperezmusic.com/
Minnesota Yacht Club Festival: https://www.minnesotayachtclubfestival.com/