Born in Morocco and based between London, Los Angeles and Casablanca, future pop star Ghita has already been tipped by the likes of Clash, PAPER, HighSnobiety and Idolator. Now Ghita is poised to propel herself into the pop landscape in 2020 with the release of her new single ‘Out Of My Life’.
‘Out Of My Life’ was produced by the Grammy-winning production team The Stereotypes, whose credits include Bruno Mars and Cardi B. The song emerged unexpectedly during Ghita’s final writing session before Christmas. It started off as a reggae-influenced track, but Ghita’s piano-playing switched it to a ballad before it evolved once more to become a slick, dynamic pop banger. Ghita’s remarkable vocals are the track’s golden ticket to attention, as they convey heartache for what’s lost but also hope for what comes next.
“It’s about to keep a strong friendship with someone after the relationship is over. It’s something I had a really hard time doing, simply because I genuinely cared about him as a person” explains Ghita.
That emotion is captured in the track’s accompanying video, which was filmed in London by Jimi Drosinos. It cuts between two narratives split by a short period of time. In the first, Ghita is in the midst of a romance that appears to be blossoming. Yet in the second they’ve clearly separated. Ghita runs errands around London, her star quality shining through with the help of a vintage Mercedes–Benz sports car. But her seemingly ordinary routine masks a darker tale…
“I kept thinking of different ideas for the video, but I immediately clicked with the idea of playing the psycho. It’s always fun and reveals a real part of me!” she laughs.
While the video is darkly comic, it also reflects a serious point about Ghita’s perspective. She’s determined to blaze her own trail, and in the process offer fans an inspiring example of making things happen for yourself. It’s about owning her destiny as an independent, creative woman – there’s no point wasting time pining over broken relationships.
A key part of Ghita’s creative process is to make music instinctively based on her mood rather than over-thinking it. There’s a big pop influence in her sound, but it’s always informed by other elements: plenty of R&B flavour, some rapping alongside her singing, and occasionally a touch of hip-hop. Her African heritage is also a source of inspiration, notably the global Afrobeats scenes and especially the music of North Africa.
She also stands out as a rare trilingual artist who expresses a variety of vibes and emotions via different languages. In addition to English, expect to hear Ghita using French (her first language) and Arabic in future tracks.
Ghita (pronounced Rita) was raised between her homeland of Morocco and Switzerland. It was an upbringing that exposed her to contrasting worlds and cultures throughout her childhood, which ultimately also influences her music and vocal style. She left Switzerland for Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music before relocating to Los Angeles. Her first big break came when she opened for Maroon 5 at the Mawazine music festival in Morocco.
Ghita has made a big impact from just three self-released singles. Those tracks have already hit 5 million streams, with fan favourite ‘HateULoveU’ hitting Spotify’s Global Viral Top 50, but 2020 is the year that Ghita is reborn with ‘Out Of My Life’ giving us the first taste of what is to follow.