Galore on Becoming More Than a Persona

Emerging from the theatrical world, Galore is an artist who defies simple categorization. What began as a stage persona has grown into a multifaceted musical project, blending the intimacy of cabaret with the expansiveness of original songwriting.

With roots in Italy and a creative home in London, Galore navigates a spectrum of influences, from jazz standards and show tunes to poetry and avant-garde theatre, crafting a universe that is as eclectic as it is immersive. In this conversation, they unpack the origins of their first original release, explore the threads that connect performance and identity, and reveal how their work exists not as a linear story but as a living, evolving metaverse.

Galore began as a theatrical persona before becoming a recording artist. When did you realize this project could live beyond the stage?

Although Galore was indeed born on stage, years before the release of ‘You Love Me, You Love Me Not‘, it’s also true that the song had already been written years before the first production of my show “That’s Life: an evening through heartache and laughter”.

So, I suppose it’s safe to say that all of my musical turmoil is already intrinsic within me, and as time goes by, I make sense of it and decide to share it with the world in the form I find most suitable. Once my first show run came to an end, I began to dig in my vault for songs that could add more colour to Galore’s world, and I very happily chose this one to be the first stroke of paint.

You grew up queer in Italy and later relocated to London. How did changing countries shape your confidence as a performer and storyteller?

I moved to London for my academic studies. Here, I graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in Kilburn, and I was able to measure myself against a vibrant group of young creatives, which helped me lay the foundations for my artistry and career to take off. London slowly but surely gave me back the voice I felt was stifled during my adolescence in Italy, by allowing me to encounter many musicians and the theatre community, and later on, poets and writers of all kinds, helping me gain the confidence to tell my story.

‘You Love Me, You Love Me Not‘ is your first original release. Why did this song feel like the right starting point for your recorded work?

It’s hard to put my finger on one reason. I suppose I found this to be the song that encapsulated my essence the best. In under five minutes of music, you have a pretty accurate depiction of my mind, and I find that a key factor when choosing your debut song. As a writer, you must trust your gut. I can’t tell you exactly why these songs stood out from the array of my compositions; I just know that the minute I laid the pen on the table to look back at what I had written, I knew that this would have been the one.

Coming from a background that includes jazz standards, show tunes, and musical theatre, how do you decide what parts of that vocabulary carry over into your original music?

I like to think of my artistry as a love letter to all the women who have inspired me – an eclectic mosaic of sounds that glues together the parts of each singer I love the most. Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, Nina Simone, Mina, Patti Lupone. They all transcend genre, and once their music been digested long enough, it simply translates through my pen without me particularly thinking about it.

You’ve described your work as a metaverse rather than a linear project. Do you imagine listeners entering it from multiple points, or following a specific emotional trajectory?

Galore was never conceived to be just one thing. It would be reductive for me to fit all of my creative self into a box, and very hard for me to predict where I’m headed next. I’d like my audience to feel free to join me on this mad journey from any avenue, whether it’s theatre, poetry, or music, and have fun dissecting all the facades I like to present my persona with.

What responsibilities do you feel toward your younger self, the one who needed Galore as a shield, now that the project is entering a wider public space?

Thank you for this question. You very positively startled me with this one! I do feel a responsibility, in fact, and that is to keep chasing my younger dreams no matter how hard life gets and no matter how much I seem to be talking myself out of projects sometimes, because they’re too absurd or unreasonable. There’s a realism one hits when getting older, and artists must stay away from it.

Your performances move between intimacy and theatricality. How do you decide when to pull the audience closer and when to keep a certain distance?

It’s peaks and valleys; it gets easier with practice. That’s why I love theatre and having a live audience in front of me! First, you make them laugh, you assert your presence, and you gain their trust; then you shock them, and you make them cry. Everything has a time and place, that’s what I always keep in mind when writing my scripts.

You’ve performed in very different spaces, from theatre bars to jazz venues. How does space influence your performance choices, if at all?

Performing on stage, it’s always different. You hear of artists playing residencies in the same theatre every night, and I am sure even for them, not one night is ever like the one before. It’s all in the energy of the room. I love a cabaret bar for one, I love being able to walk around the audience sitting at small round tables, asking about their day as I sing some John Coltrane. It allows me to be intimate and at one with the public. Plus, I love flirting with audience members!

Are there hobbies outside music that help you disconnect, or even influence your artistic choices in unexpected ways?

Poetry is definitely my best friend these days, both reading it and writing it. I love the thrill a writer feels when facing a blank sheet of paper and the infinite combination of words is upon them, it’s such fun!

Do you have specific routines that help you ease into creativity, or do you prefer to keep things loose and reactive?

Disconnect. There’s a discipline to creativity, and it’s hard to master. Some say if you sit at the same desk every day, eventually something good will come your way. I, for one, think that inspiration can come in the most random of circumstances, and that’s why I never leave my house without a pen and my diary. You have to be willing to listen. If we have these bloody phones on all the time, disturbing the frequencies of our minds, how can we expect ourselves to make art?

When you imagine the next phase of Galore, do you think in terms of sound, narrative, or context first?

Narrative always comes first for me. I’m a theatre kid, I love to set a scene! Once the image is clear, I proceed to write music or choose the next arrangements. I am now in the process of writing a few shows, two of which see Galore under the spotlight again, and it’s very exciting to see them come together.

What would you like listeners to understand about you after hearing your first original song, even if they’ve never seen you perform live?

That I’m here to stick around and not just follow trends. My music won’t ever be for the faint of heart; it comes with a cost, but I’ll make sure it’s always worth it.