London-based multi-instrumentalist and singer MAGUIRE has revealed a brand new single, the dream-like ‘Wrestling’, released via Seven Four Seven Six. The single is the first to be taken from her forthcoming EP ‘Fantaisies’, and is produced by Liam Howe (FKA Twigs, Lana Del Rey).
Developing on from 2019’s debut EP ‘Préludes’, ‘Wrestling’ introduces the listener to a more cinematic and expansive sound; its poised elegant piano refrain gently building alongside her hypnotic vocals into a crescendo of luscious strings and a chorus of irresistible harmonies.
“‘Wrestling’ maps a hopeless struggle with insomnia against a backdrop of longing for the comforts of a past love who once provided peace in the dark lonely hours; pleading with sleep to relieve my incessantly whirling mind.” explains MAGUIRE, “Inspired by a poem called ‘The Sun Rising’ by John Donne about two lovers demanding the sun leave them alone to enjoy more time together, ‘Wrestling’ turns this conceit on its head – the bed becoming a prison rather than a paradise.”
She continues: “I was also inspired by the poet Elizabeth Bishop who speaks of “nightlong, limblong warmth” in her poem ‘Breakfast Song’. That yearning for the human touch which brings with it at once a sense of connection and disintegration is a recurrent undertone throughout the new EP.”
MAGUIRE has found a fan in the form of musical legend Annie Lennox, who posted a clip of the hypnotic video on her instagram feed. She exclaimed that the “exquisite” song had made her cry, and felt a lot of people would identify with it.
Gillian Maguire is an artist who finds musical form for ineffable expression, her work is as inspired by the writing of Virginia Woolf and John Milton, as it is in Radiohead’s unconventional harmonies, or the orchestrations of Nick Drake.
As such, MAGUIRE’s music poses questions rather than professes answers, revelling in the complexities of emotion. Her sound is atmospheric and grand, yet each note is precisely placed, each word selected and articulated with attention to the smallest detail. It’s no surprise that she’s drawn to the meticulous dedication of Japanese craft, the rigorous genius of Bach and Bill Evans, or the intimate lyricism of Joni Mitchell. MAGUIRE’s music is the tip of an iceberg, the result of fastidious learning, reading and listening, and a fascination with the secular power of performance to induce altered states of consciousness.
As well as her solo artist project, MAGUIRE also forms one half of Awkward Moments, an experimental electronic project with producer Mimi Xu, which pursues other avenues for escape via the dance floor.
