Proudly original and ever-defiant singer song- writer Gala has always been the kind of woman to forge her own path. Named by her parents after Salvador Dali’s and Paul Eluard’s eccentric muse Gala was raised in Italy following her mom to feminist meetings, art galleries and Patti Smith’s concerts, She in turn would drag her parents to empty movie theatres to see re-runs of ‘Help.’
An outsider from the get-go, Gala left Italy as a teenager and landed in Manhattan. A stranger in a strange land, a rocker in a club land Gala was seduced by booming sound systems, crazy parties and the underground gay scene. She wandered the NYC underground photographing artists and eccentric club-goers. Ultimately, her camera was the key to her success. In exchange for a photo of a European deejay she recorded her first demo. In no time, with no formal training, no industry connections, but huge amounts of attitude and determination, Gala became a dance floor icon.
Mailed overseas on a cassette tape, “Freed from Desire” became an international pop classic. In 1997 Gala was nominated for the "Best Dance Act" at the "Mobo Awards” in the UK next to: Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Orbital and was awarded “Best Foreign Artist of the Year” at the Midem in Cannes, France. Her album Come into my Life was released in 1998 with 4 singles charting in the Top 20 across Europe, selling a combined 6 million records worldwide. She was awarded a Gold record in the UK, and Platinum and Diamond records in Belgium and France and performed in venues such as Bercy Stadium in Paris and appeared on TV shows such as Top of the Pops in the UK with artists such as Janet Jackson, Oasis and Paul Weller.
Referred to by her fans as a “cult artist” for her minimalist look and haunting voice, Gala suddenly disappeared at the top of her success leaving behind an air of mystery. While performing “Let a Boy Cry” on the French TV show Taratata', Gala met Prince’s manager Steve Fargnoli who began representing her. After his unexpected death in 2001, Gala found herself locked into a deal with a record company that left her no control over her music. Longing to break free from her constraints and return to the excitement, adventure, and freedom that had fueled her initial rocket to success; Gala left her European record company and moved back to NYC, this time settling in Brooklyn.
She immediately formed her own label, Matriarchy Records, and set out to redefine her sound, her life and her career. In 2005 she signed the independently-produced song “Faraway” to EMI in France and Greece, where it reached #1 on iTunes and #6 in CD sales. The song has been covered by the Greek singer Tamta (winner of the Greek “Idol” TV show) and has been featured on a TV ad campaign in the US.
Gala then teamed up with producer Marcus Bell and put together the ‘Tough Love’ album spanning the best of five years of collaborations with a wide range of musicians from platinum-selling Lil Wayne helmsman, Revin Rudolf, avant-garde drummer Deantoni Parks (John Cale, Meshell Ndegeocello, Mars Volta), guitarist Joseph Friedman (Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Beyonce) and Tamir Muskat (ex-Gogol Bordello, Balkan Beat Box).
Starting to book herself independently through her own label she set out to perform around the world again, from the Antique Theater in Arles to the Highline Ballroom in New York City, from the Palais du Sport in Paris to the Ethias Arena in Belgium where 40,000 people demanded more. In 2010 she was invited as the only artist to perform her album Tough Love at " 24 Heures Vélo" the biggest student party in Belgium at Louvain La Neuve. In 2011 Gala headlined at Forest National in Brussels and a tour of the Zenith Theatres in France.
In the past few years, Gala has produced over 5 music videos such as “I’m the World,“ which incorporated the video installation, “The Song I Love to” by the Argentinean artist Sebastiano Mauri.
This year years Gala has been collaborating with Brazilian Girls, Mark Plati, (David Bowie, Prince, The Cure) Curry and Coco, Mendez, and other like-minded musical conspirators.
