Joanna Gemma Auguri - Hiraeth
Today, Joanna Gemma Auguri shares ‘Your Dark Colours’, the fourth instalment from her upcoming album Hiraeth, set for release via Duchess Box Records on 28th June. Adding to the anticipation, the new track is another cinematic ballad that puts Joanna’s bewitching vocals at the forefront of the composition, backed by rich, sparing instrumentation . The release follows on from earlier singles like ‘Break Out’, ‘Isle of Longing’ and ‘What We Call Love’ and with a clear picture of the project beginning to emerge, we had the opportunity to sit down with Joanna to find out a little more about Hiraeth and the person behind the music.
Throughout her life, Joanna has attempted to use music as a conduit for expression however, with the release of her debut album 11 and this upcoming project, it feels as though she is now finding her voice as an artist, “I played the first concert in my twenties, but it was entirely different music. I was writing German lyrics with an electro duo and then I started acting school. I was working in a theatre for quite a while and I started to sing and this theatre music did something to me because I understood that when I step on stage and sing, I can tell a story”. Now, with her new record, she is ready to tell her own.
Joanna Gemma Auguri in the studio. Credit: Kiron Guidi
Born in Poland, Joanna moved to Germany at the age of five alongside her parents in a bid to escape the political turmoil that had enveloped the nation. This rupture in her childhood has proven to be one of the defining experiences of her lifetime and on her new album, she attempts to interrogate some of the feelings that have stayed with her ever since, “There has been some kind of longing accompanying me my whole life. It's like the longing for a lost place but, when I wrote this album I realised that it isn’t only a lost place in the past, but also a contemporary utopia, a place in the world that is a little bit like a paradise, a place where we are facing no wars”.
In a world of increasing turmoil, Joanna’s compositions offer a temporary haven with the album’s lush instrumentation and vivid vocals standing as acts of defiance against destruction. Creating the record provided her with a sense of solace amid the chaos of the modern world, “Going into the studio with these musicians was a healing process for me,” she explains.
Joanna Gemma Auguri in the studio. Credit: Kiron Guidi
The album’s foundations were initially laid in Joanna’s room, starting as always, with the accordion. She then collaborated with her band, building layers of instrumentation around her demos before entering the studio where the project began to take shape. “I think at least a half of the magic was Ingo Krauss hands on the sound because we recorded it at the Candy Bomber Studio and he brought a lot of experience with him, I’ve never worked with a sound engineer like him”. Right from the beginning of the process, there was a sense that something special was coming together, as Auguri reflects, “I had the feeling that this was the perfect setting and the perfect collaboration for the sound, he [Ingo Krauss] could really hear where it was going”.
The group of musicians assembled to record on the project was broad and collectively they worked closely together to take Joanna’s ideas to the next level. She explains, “For me it really unfolded when we started recording with the instruments. Every musician that came into the studio was really talented and offered so much”. Collaborating in the most raw and organic way, excluding things as rudimentary as sheet music to enhance improvisation allowed them to form an intimate, almost spiritual connection that is reflected in the tenderness of the music. With drums, double bass and cello forming the bedrock of many of the tracks on the record, its sound is elevated to whole new heights.
Joanna Gemma Auguri in the studio. Credit: Kiron Guidi
One of the recurring themes on Hiraeth is the idea of home, a concept that remains fairly abstract to Joanna, who confesses, “I never felt quite at home in Germany and I also never felt at home in Poland where we used to live”. Despite this, her music serves as her refuge. Wearing her experiences on her sleeve, reflections of her youth present themselves like flashbacks throughout the tracklist. “I was in a Catholic church choir and this was where I experienced music for the first time and I really loved the polyharmonies of the voices. I'm not in the church anymore, but I still like to go there because you feel a kind of special energy in the room. It’s where people have issues, desires, where they bring their sorrow, where they bring their hopes, and I think this makes it very emotionally charged, and I could always feel that'', Auguri brings those same polyharmonies to the listener throughout the record and with the help of a local choir, creates a sense of grandeur and depth of emotion that places us directly in her childhood shoes, spellbound by the sounds that entangle us in their rapture.
Naturally, the journey of creating Hiraeth was not only a professional endeavour but a deeply personal one for Joanna Gemma Auguri. Each track reflects her quest for a sense of belonging and peace, themes that resonate universally in the context of the current global picture. The album's title itself is derived from an old Welsh word meaning a longing for a home that is no longer or perhaps never was and encapsulates the sentiment of the project perfectly.
As the album release date approaches, the anticipation continues to build. Joanna’s fans eagerly await the full experience of Hiraeth, hoping to find the same solace and emotional depth that Joanna herself discovered during its creation. With ‘Your Dark Colours’ and the preceding singles setting the tone, it’s clear that this album represents a milestone in her career, showcasing the continuation of her evolution as an artist and a storyteller.
As we immerse ourselves in the lush instrumentation and evocative vocals of the singles released thus far, it is evident that Hiraeth is more than just an album. It is a sanctuary of sound, a place where listeners can escape, reflect, and find comfort in shared human experiences. Joanna Gemma Auguri has not only crafted a beautiful collection of songs but has also opened a window into her soul, inviting us all to join her on this deeply personal journey.
Hiraeth is set for release via Duchess Box Records on 28th June.
