Ahead of the singer-songwriters incredible, world-record-breaking feat on Friday of releasing a huge 13 albums simultaneously, we sat down and chatted to Gitika about such a task! Check it out below!

What inspired such a huge release undertaking?

It wasn’t really inspired in the traditional sense. It was more a recognition of what was already there. The songs had been written week by week over several years as part of a regular practice, without any plan for release. At some point I realised I wasn’t sitting on a handful of albums, but on a body of work. Releasing them all at once felt like the most honest way to present them, without reshaping the story after the fact.

Would you say there is a wide variety of sounds throughout? How did you decide which album to put each track on?

There’s definitely a wide range – partly because the songs span different years, moods, and phases of a five-year stretch of my life, and partly because the prompts often pulled me into unexpected places. There was no genre box to stay in, so I burned the box. There is no box.

That freedom gave me the chance to explore without worrying about an audience, as long as I enjoyed making the song – and usually enjoyed listening back to it. When it came to sequencing the albums, I kept it simple: I listed the songs in the order they were written and recorded and let that chronology do the talking.

Each track was created from a weekly prompt — did you find that basis to build on helpful? Would you encourage others to try it, as well as writing from their own experiences?

The weekly prompt was incredibly helpful because it took me out of my own head. Instead of asking, “What should I write about?”, I could simply respond to what was in front of me that week.

The prompts from iheartsongwriting.com are as diverse as Camel, Virginia Woolf, Equinox, Camber, Spark, Eurovision, X— and I’ve followed nearly 300 of them now. Interestingly, the songs almost always ended up being personal anyway — sometimes poignant, sometimes very quirky.

I’d absolutely encourage others to try it. Prompts don’t replace lived experience; they give it somewhere to land. They’re especially useful for getting unstuck, finding an alternative path, or quieting the inner editor.

Were there some songs written that didn’t make the cut for the albums?

Yes- 159 to be exact. And 160 next week. And 161 the week after.

The albums represent a curated selection from a much larger pool of songs. Some didn’t fit the arc of the albums, some felt unfinished, and some simply needed to stay behind the sofa a little longer. When I decided to add a thirteenth album of The Ones That Got Away, I was delighted to discover how many gems were still hiding there. Not everything you write needs to be released for it to have done its job.

It must feel pretty cool to know you’re about to break a world record!

It’s more of a fun fact than anything. There are people everywhere doing wondrous things and making extraordinary creative work without ever proclaiming it to the world.

The record isn’t really the point -it’s just a side effect of turning up consistently over time. If it helps draw attention to the value of sustained creative practice, that’s lovely. But the real satisfaction comes from having honoured the work properly, rather than drip-feeding or diluting it to fit expectations.

Where do you go from here? I imagine at least a small break from writing, right?

Actually, no. Being a songwriter feels a bit like being an athlete – you have to practise regularly. I’ll continue writing a song a week with a word prompt from iheartsongwriting.com, the fabulous songwriting club based in Australia.

Writing has become a way of knowing my week rather than something I switch on and off. I need to do it now. What has changed is the sense of space – the shelves are a little clearer. That makes room for something new, though I don’t yet know what shape it will take. I’m happy to let that reveal itself slowly… or quickly, if it wants. I’m ready.

Any plans on taking the albums on the road, and doing some shows around them?

Possibly – but not in a conventional “tour” sense. I’m more interested in intimate, context-rich performances where the songs can be heard properly and in relationship with each other.

I’m also drawn to mixed media. I love music and image together, so I’m excited about creating videos, and about making a book of handwritten lyrics – hopefully written out by friends, old and new. And perhaps other artists might take the songs on themselves. That would be the best outcome of all.

If you could have written a song with anyone in history, who would it be and why?

Historically, it would have to be Bowie – without question. If anyone gave people permission to be kooky, to experiment, to burn the box, and even to fail, it was him. I also suspect he’d have been very good company.

If we’re talking about living people, it would need to be someone I’d actually like to hang out with and realistically get a bus or a train to see — probably Nitin Sawhney or Amy Wadge. Any chance of putting in a good word?