GABRIELLA CILMI STARTS A FRESH CHAPTER and signs to v2 records, New SINGLE ‘PURE LOVE’ out now.

Gabriella Cilmi was just 16-years-old when she landed a global smash with her breakthrough single ‘Sweet About Me’. But just five years later, she retreated from the spotlight, tired from the pressures of the industry. Now armed with the confidence to know who she truly is as an artist, Gabriella Cilmi is set to make a long-awaited return, starting with the release of her new single ‘Pure Love’. Listen HERE. 

Credit: Daniel Broadley

‘Pure Love’ affirms that Gabriella still possesses a touch of that youthful flair that made her so engaging the first time around, but now it’s seasoned with a self-empowered attitude and the character that comes with life experience. Finding her own voice, the song sees Gabriella put a modernist spin on her storied influences: the sumptuous soul and classic R&B of Aretha Franklin and the Chess Records label together with the searing blues and emotional turbulence of Janis Joplin. 

Gabriella says, “Pure love is a homecoming record for me, it's about coming home to yourself. To me this song really feels like a mantra of surrender and I wrote it as a reminder to get out of my head and back into the moment . I hope it can help others do the same.” ‘Pure Love’ was written by Gabriella and was produced by Peter Miles (Orla Gartland, dodie), who recorded live-to-tape at his Middle Farm Studios in Devon during a harvest moon. Raw, unfiltered and deliberately free of perfectionism, ‘Pure Love’ signals a grounded and self-directed return to the artist Gabriella was always meant to be. The final touch came with mixing courtesy of Vince Chiarito (Kali Uchis, Jalen Ngonda). 

The idea of starting a new chapter started when she revisited a video of her full-throttle performance of ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ from her childhood. Her partner suggested that she needed to reconnect with who she was back then, so that’s what she did - resulting in new songs, the first of which is now here with ‘Pure Love’. Gabriella Cilmi has returned to live shows in recent years, including this month’s War Child show alongside Jack Savoretti and Katherine Jenkins. There will be a big summer of festivals and shows to be announced - stay tuned for more.