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About nina

Baltimore City

Singer, songwriter and guitarist, nina gala, creates intensely intimate songs that draw attention to the richness of our inner worlds and the preciousness of our feelings, experiences and dreams. gala has become known in Baltimore's rich underground for quieting rooms with her unmistakable voice and emotionally charged solo shows since the project’s inception in 2015. Following the release of two EPs “gala.” (2017) and “renaissance” (2020), gala made an exciting return… more

Jump to a project:

we looked like angels ~ virtual live performance

  • we looked like angels ~ a virtual live performance
    an intimate virtual performance of 'we looked like angels,' track 3 from "swan heart". This piece was originally recorded and release during the height of the pandemic when live performances were not possible.
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    bare bones: a short film by nina gala (2017)

    "I need a chance to smell the roses before I grow old and die" sings gala on "bare bones" a song from her debut ep, "gala." the accompanying film, aims to magnify and celebrate simple moments of beauty and wonder. carefully cropped and framed images of natural wonders like soft flowing waves atop golden sand, the shiny flesh of an orange, and the wet crevices of honeycomb. These otherworldly visions all combine and collide in the film, and blur the lines between our reality, memory and dreams.


    • bare bones: a short film by nina gala
      "I need a chance to smell the roses before I grow old and die" sings gala on "bare bones" track 5 from her debut ep, "gala." the accompanying film, aims to magnify and celebrate simple moments of beauty and wonder. carefully cropped and framed images of natural wonders like soft flowing waves atop golden sand, the shiny flesh of an orange, and the wet crevices of honeycomb. These otherworldly visions all combine and collide in the film, and blur the lines between our reality, memory and dreams. The film was featured at Light City 2018, Baltimore, MD.
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    "gala." (EP, 2017)

    "gala." is a memoir-- an exploration of girlhood, vulnerability, trauma, and silence.

    the entirety of "gala." was written and performed by nina, recorded by jon birkholz at hippo hut and mixed by chris freeland at beat babies recording studio.
    LYRICS: 

    born wet: 7:14
    theres so many words i've never spoken
    tiny jewelry lockets never opened
    i buried my tiny mind in sand and snow
    i tucked away my love in the back of the top drawer

    i was born wet
    but i had to walk
    made to speak
    forbidden to talk
    shy in the summer
    you cut my hair off
    i looked like joan of arc
    in a turtle neck
    and denim overalls

    some things you just don't get back
    that others have taken
    you kick and then you scream
    and then you play dead

    don't forget to leave a light on
    somewhere inside yourself
    you will have your entire lifetime
    to try and dig it back out

    and here i am
    and i wasn't meant
    to be beautiful
    or brilliant
    yet here i stand
    not as ugly as you imagined
    somehow beautiful
    and brilliant
    i was born wet but i had to walk

    little mothers: 5:43
    when did my uncle 
    start saying i love you 
    every single day 
    all these acts of kindness 
    somehow combined into 
    a great big wave 
    and i sailed away 

    the neighbors called us 
    little mothers 
    cus we took care of ourselves 
    sneaking through the forest 
    hovering over the stove 
    putting dad to sleep 
    well i've been hell 
    so i know a pineapple paradise 
    so maybe i'm in over my head 
    don't knock me off my feet 
    life just don't seem worth living without my dream 

    so i'm reaching for the fruit 
    i don't know if it's ripe 
    but i've got to try 
    so i'm reaching for the fruit 
    hoping for something sweet 
    hoping for something right 
    get me the fastest black horse 
    you can find 
    and i'll ride away

    dog days: 5:04
    parachute of fear and doubt 
    always looking for the ground 
    or my way out 
    settle now 

    cus i love you right out in the open 
    there is no hunter and no prey 
    spent years in a shell 
    in the darkness of the ocean 
    but every dog has it's day 

    drunk off your hum 
    you sing in my ear all day long 
    careful hands make quiet minds 
    come inside 

    cus i love you right out in the open 
    the tallest tree in the storm 
    i'm living off of the shock of your lightning 
    you're my best friend forever more 

    if i'm an orchard 
    you're an orange grove 
    a field of wheat 
    the sweetest honeycomb 
    i'm loving you until i grow old 
    i find solace in what's to be seen 
    and told

    bare bones: 5:00
    i don't like this circumstance 
    locked up all the time 
    i need a chance to smell the roses 
    before i grow old and die 

    memorys a funny thing 
    we grow older but it stays young 
    and everything we thought we knew 
    starts to unravel 

    whats out there and whats inside 
    of everybody else's mind 
    i wanna see your spirit crawl outside 
    of your body and dance in moonlight 

    tonight 

    baby put your tarot cards down 
    you keep drawing the face of death 
    but you know you don't have to worry no 
    cus you've got to die to be reborn again
    • nina gala ~ gala. (ep full)
      nina gala's debut ep "gala."
    • bare bones: a short film by nina gala
      "I need a chance to smell the roses before I grow old and die" sings gala on "bare bones" track 5 from her debut ep, "gala." the accompanying film, aims to magnify and celebrate simple moments of beauty and wonder. carefully cropped and framed images of natural wonders like soft flowing waves atop golden sand, the shiny flesh of an orange, and the wet crevices of honeycomb. These otherworldly visions all combine and collide in the film, and blur the lines between our reality, memory and dreams. The film was featured at Light City 2018, Baltimore, MD.
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