Home Giolì & Assia bless with their new album ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water’: Listen
Giolì & Assia bless with their new album ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water’: Listen
Giolì & Assia
Image Credit: Graziano Piazza

Giolì & Assia bless with their new album ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water’: Listen

Home Giolì & Assia bless with their new album ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water’: Listen

it’s us, it’s duality’ explains Italian duo Giolì & Assia on their much-anticipated ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water

Since making themselves known in 2017, the Italian duo have been spreading their unique magic across the electronica circuit. Hailing from Palermo, Giolì & Assia have offered a unique, creative sound that defies barriers, even that of sound. Committed to contributing to something different, they combine their talents as instrumentalists, singers, songwriters, DJs and label owners and use their music as a language for their convictions. It is certain that the world of music has been enriched by this Sicilian duo, who now fully deliver their third studio album ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water’.

Available via Ultra Records in spatial and 360 RA, the LP inherits its name from a famous Italian proverb, keeping closely to Giolì & Assia’s origins. Conceptually, the album represents the intense ups and downs they went through as a couple and also the health problems and the suffered loss of family members during the pandemic. ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water’ encapsulates the already known singles ‘Fire, Hell And Holy Water‘, ‘Silence‘, ‘I’ll Be Fine‘, ‘Playing Chess‘, and ‘Eurydice‘ and eleven new original deep cuts. There are 16 tracks in total, in what was promised to be the duo’s most ambitious album ever, without a shadow of disappointment.

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Enclosing multiple dichotomies, the album is described by the producing duo as:

‘it’s us, it’s duality, it’s mother heart, it’s a feeling. It can be darkness and light, anxiousness and calm, madness and peace, timeless and perpetuity, travel and experience, silence and chaos, love and hate’

One of the strongly present statements is Giolì & Assia’s fight against misogyny in an industry still very much geared towards the male gender: ‘As female writers and producers, we have accomplished everything entirely by ourselves.’ They also emphasise that it is ‘important that the album makes a statement, and that people know it’s our own.’ This LP is for the pair ‘the best thing we’ve done so far – and we love it’.

Giolì plays several different instruments in dialogue with Assia’s intense vocals in 16 gripping chapters. Dramatic and cinematic, ‘Intro‘ sets the tone. Drenched in emotional sounds, it acts as a preparation for what you’ll absorb next. This is followed by ‘Meaning of Life‘ whose angelic vocals invite you to introspection, on an inner journey guided by a deep, organic, almost animal soundscape. The title track ‘Fire, Hell & Holy Water‘ is a faithful representation of the metaphors that are explored on the album. The proggy, enveloping rhythm bewitches immediately, leaving you in a light trance that allows you to better absorb the lyrics. ‘Silence’ is a favourite since its release, exuding delicate and melodic vocals that are wrapped in phenomenal beats.

The percussion echoes and the synths weep, in a minimal track that works very well on the dance floor. ‘Extasy‘ and ‘Jaula‘ are two vocal-lead tracks that are dressed in more low and dark tones. The former offers delicious tribalism achieved with organic sounds and the latter is a safari of animal emotions, with passionate chants in Spanish. Urban and pop-infused, ‘Shooting In My Chest‘ causes a disruption in the album’s sequence, transporting you into an eclectic atmosphere of strong feelings. ‘My Tears‘ closely respects its title, unfolding in a suffering narrative in which the drums determine the intensity of the emotion. Offered with a prelude, ‘Playing Chess’ is an ode to dichotomies offered under charming piano chords and Assia’s sweet vocals, which gain new light with sparkling percussion. Recovering the melancholic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice, ‘Eurydice’ is a romantic ballad dedicated to the madness and the impossible that is transposed in the name of love.

‘I’ll Be Fine’ is a certainty sung with determination, accompanied by elegant piano chords. A duo and also a couple, Giolì & Assia condense in ‘Bittersweet Love‘ their incredible love story, which does not fade away. ‘Even If The Time Will Pass By‘ is offered in two parts. The first is the cry of a piano that progressively spews out its deepest feelings, emotions that become more serious and concrete as they accompany the vocal in the second part, like an evolution. The closure belongs to ‘The Outro‘ which surprises with its idyllic and ethereal character as if it were the soundtrack of a war scene, of pre-war meditation, or rather, the magic potion to endure everything that may come.

There are 16 tracks soaked in feeling and meaning that represent a faithful sonic portrait of Giolì & Assia. It’s impossible to listen to this ambitious album without feeling the soul of the Italian duo and listening to your own feelings. Dive into ‘Fire, Hell and Holy Water’ below:

 

Image Credit: Graziano Piazza

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