Once you’ve heard Gin sing, you won’t forget the name. For the uninitiated, here are the basics on the sublimely talented Gin Wigmore. Gin is 23, a Kiwi, a gifted songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and she sings like you’ve never heard anyone sing before. Gin was born in Auckland, lives in Sydney and is about has just recorded her brilliant debut album, Holy Smoke, in Hollywood’s famed Capitol Studios. Gin created Holy Smoke with Mike Elizondo as her producer [Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Eminem, Nelly Furtado, Maroon 5] and with The Cardinals as her backing band [as in the very same Cardinals from Ryan Adams & The Cardinals]. Cardinals’ guitarist Neal Casal has described Gin as “unquestionably one of the most exciting new artists to emerge in many years. Her songwriting is at once diverse, intelligent, melodic, and soulful. Her voice is raw and emotional, with phrasing far beyond her years. Her debut record is a fully realised statement of intent, promising a great career ahead.” Fellow Cardinal Jon Graboff says: “Gin’s songwriting seems to subtly embrace so many different musical forms and lyrically, there’s often a maturity and depth that you wouldn’t normally associate with someone so young. There’s profound connection between her and all the great, soulful singers who’ve come before her and she adds a new chapter to that story.” Exactly how did a blonde-and-blue-eyed young Kiwi find herself in Hollywood’s most famous recording studio, sitting on Frank Sinatra’s old leopard skin chair and putting down tracks for her debut album with one of the world’s best rock bands? If you’ve already heard Gin Wigmore sing, a lot of those questions answer themselves.