Ginger Winn’s New Single “Freezing” Sets the Stage for Sophomore Album

2024 brought the music of a new artist with one of the most unusual discovery stories in the industry’s history. The artist in question is Ginger Winn, the newest alternative musician to relocate to Kingston’s fast-growing community of creators. This South Carolina-born singer-songwriter would come to join forces with her co-writer and the record label Keep Good Company Records by collaborating remotely to pen the tunes of her debut album (and most songs on her sophomore effort), all while she was living 8,000 miles away in Cape Town, South Africa.

Ginger’s acclaimed debut disc, Stop-Motion, was fashioned here in the Hudson Valley with hit-making producer David Baron (Lumineers, Lenny Kravitz, Lana Del Rey, Shawn Mendes).  Atwood Magazine called it “a tender dulcet musical daydream… a sun-kissed and folk-tinged reverie full of life’s highs and lows, hopes and heartaches, ebbs and flows.”

Through Baron, Ginger met A.J. Yorio, the co-writer of “Scared to Start,” the breakthrough viral single by Michael Marcagi produced by Baron. In January 2025, Winn would travel to Yorio’s new studio in Cincinnati with the 10 demos planned for her second full-length album, recording them plus four additional bonus tracks. 

There were a lot of unexpected and delightful turns in the making of the album, as there have been throughout Ginger’s first year as a recording and touring artist – some memorable gigs, collaborations and new releases like the single “Dear John,” a track that memorialized the Beatle released on the 45th anniversary of his passing. 

On Friday, March 7, Ginger announced  and previewed what’s to come in her 14-song sophomore album, Freeze Frame, with the release of the single, music video and live in-studio performance of “Freezing.”  With its heavy guitar riffs, driving percussion, and layered vocals, “Freezing” represents a bit of a departure in style. It’s a fiercer, darker alt-rock mix, a step away from her debut disc’s dreamy, folktronic ambiance.

Read on to hear about what’s in store for Ginger as her career continues to take off.

INSIDE+OUT: Before we get into the new album, let’s talk about what has transpired since the release of your debut album.  What have been some of the highlights in terms of performing and your move to the Hudson Valley?

Ginger Winn: One of the highlights was traveling to Italy in Spring 2024 to shoot the video for “Averna.” It was my first time there, and it was a huge, crazy experience. Also, I’m really falling in love with the Hudson Valley.  I came up here to do the album with David Baron, and I just kept coming up here, which led to me moving up to Kingston.

The new single, “Freezing,” has a darker alt-rock sound than your debut.  What was the reason for this, and what artists may have inspired this new sound?

Ginger Winn: The first album was produced by David Baron, who has a lot of cool vintage synthesizers, which influenced the sound of the album.  The producer I worked with on my new album, A.J. Yorio, is much more alternative, a sound driven by electric guitars and big beats. We didn’t have those David synths, so we leaned on what we had – cool electric guitar tones. Where Stop-Motion was more pop, this new album is in the style of what I did when I started, returning to my roots and a darker, indie sound, which is what all of the demos initially sounded like.

With the single “Freezing,” A.J. had a music track that he liked, and he sent it to me to see if I could come up with words and a melody.  Matt had sent me some lyrics he wanted to turn into a song, and I thought they would fit together perfectly.  It was a swift, smooth process and the perfect way to announce this album and collaboration.

The single’s video is also high-quality as is all your work in this genre.  When and where was it produced? And what were the inspirations for it?

Ginger Winn: The video was shot and directed by Mikala Gallo, whom we worked with on four videos for my debut album.  It was shot at A.J.’s studio in Cincinnati and the Rondout in Kingston at one of my favorite stores, Maison Après, owned by my friend, Kaitlyn Murray, where I live. It was great to bring Mikala back on, and she’s so much fun to work with.

Tell us how you met A.J. Yorio, the producer of your new album. And what in his past work drew you to partner with him?

Ginger Winn: Working with David Baron in March 2024 started all the relationships with the musicians we work with, as he seems to know everyone! Matt started following A.J. on Instagram as David knew him through his work producing Michael Marcagi, with whom A.J. collaborates. A.J. was posting some cool instrumental clips, and Matt, being the interesting person he is, contacted him and asked if he wanted to work with us, more specifically, “want to make an album?” It’s been a complete pleasure working with him.  Sometimes you just click with people, and that’s what happened with us. It was a really casual and fun experience, like two kids throwing around paint, and that comes through in the music.

Your first album was done here in the Hudson Valley with David Baron. What was it like working with Yorio in Cincinnati, and what role did a winter blizzard and the LA fires play in the recording and some of the new tracks you penned while there?

Ginger Winn: I arrived in Cincinnati in January, the day before a massive blizzard.  There was over a foot of snow, so we couldn’t drive. We actually did our first song together, “Escape,” virtually, with me doing vocals from my Airbnb with some recording equipment I travel with, and he is working on the music in his studio in the same city.  At the end of our week-long session, A.J. was supposed to go to LA to work, but the fires started, so we extended our stay. One of the songs we wrote with the extra time was “Blizzard.” Lyrically, it was about what was happening in both places: “There’s a blizzard in Ohio, and L.A.’s burnt to ashes.” It’s an example of when catastrophic things happen, it’s good to write about it.  It was a co-write with Matt, A.J., and myself.  I think we wrote it and recorded it within a day.

Take us through what we can expect from this new album. Tell us about some of your favorite songs on it and how they might be a departure from your past work.

Ginger Winn: My favorite song on the album is “Glass Rib Cage.”  Matt and I wrote it while I was living in South Africa and brought the demo to A.J. It was one example where we kept a lot of the demo’s feel.  I’ve recently been working on expanding my vocal range and wanted to capture that. I was inspired to try this new vocal approach by Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine.  I did a lot of the vocals, experimentation and recording in my Airbnb.

“Hyperallergic” was my least favorite tune in its demo phase. I was sick and in Germany when I was working on it. A.J. brought this utterly different energy, with the percussive sounds that set the mood and the guitar tones he came up with.  It turned out to be one of everyone’s favorites.  “Cold Plunge” was my favorite demo, but A.J. asked if he could alter the chords in the verses, which made it much better.  I love “Socrates” too because I got to play electric guitar on it, which I didn’t do much on the album.  Also, the fact that we’re singing lyrics about Winnie the Pooh!

In addition to your debut album, you achieved great critical buzz with the single, “Dear John,” which is about John Lennon. Tell us a little about the tune and how it got you invited to the upcoming Fest for Beatles Fans later this month.

Ginger Winn: Fest for Beatles Fans reached out to me when I released Dear John in December and they asked me if I would be interested in playing, and, of course, I was. This song has been a highlight of my recent live sets. Matt came up with an interesting lyrical concept, and it has a cool melody.  And the production by Hudson Valley locals Jack Petruzzelli, mixed by Justin Guip, is fantastic. 

This fall, you had the opportunity to be the first indie rock artist to perform at one of my favorite NYC events, the San Gennaro Festival.  How did that go, and how did it lead to your collaboration with a popular crooner, Sal the Voice?

Ginger Winn: It was my first time at the San Gennaro Festival and it was an enjoyable and beautiful event. I got to perform with Sal, who is a very talented musician. Tina, Matt and I are going to be writing some originals and helping him produce an album.

The story of how you partnered with Tina and Matthew Baione, not only on managing your career but with Matthew as a lyricist, is pretty unusual. How has that relationship grown since your debut album?

Ginger Winn: Since I came back to the U.S. in March of 2024, they’ve become family. They make people’s dreams come true –  from musicians like me to the graphic designers and videographers we work with. They are amazingly creative and efficient. They are fantastic to work with and have such pure hearts.

You’ve been performing a lot in our area recently. What have been some of your favorite moments playing here?

Ginger Winn: I loved playing the Bowery Electric and recently had my first performance at the Colony in Woodstock.  I opened for Hayley Jane, which was a thrill. They also have a great soundman in Ethan. An emotional one was the debut of my performance, short documentary and short film at the 9/11 Museum for our song, “8:48,“ about the terror attacks.  I also am excited to release my new single at The New Colossus Festival at Drom in New York City tonight and to raise money for mental health at the Go All in for Mental Health Benefit Concert at West Kill Supply in Kingston on March 23, and the Beatles Fan Fest on March 29 in Jersey City.

I’m excited to announce that we will be reprising one of the best events Keep Good Company Records created, which was the first waterfall session at Woodstock Way Hotel last year to launch my debut album. On June 13, we will host the second waterfall-side concert, one of many new events we will host in collaboration with the Woodstock Way Properties, INSIDE+OUT Upstate NY and Nourish. You can sign up to receive event updates here. 

Now that you’re living in Kingston, how has it changed your life, both as an artist and personally?

Ginger Winn: I just finished setting up a home studio like the one I had in Cape Town and am psyched to be working to produce and co-write with other artists. I am officially launching Ginger’s Bakery, my production imprint, in collaboration with Keep Good Company Records. I’m now settled down enough to have good friends like Karlie Flood, who, with her family, runs Rewind Kingston, a thrift and vintage store, and she works as Keep Good Company’s in-house Director of Creative Strategies and is the co-founder of Nourish. I also love going to Rough Draft, getting lattes at Half Moon Rondout Cafe, collaborating at Maison Apres, and drinking more good-quality coffee at Monkey Joe’s. 

See you at the next Waterfall Session on June 13th! 

Follow/Connect with Ginger Winn via Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | TikTok
Keep Good Company Records  @keepgoodcompanyrecords

Photos Courtesy of Keep Good Company Records.
Follow Photographers on Instagram:  Brooklyn Zeh | Mikala Gallo  | Cole Thompson

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Contributing writer Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and former publicist living in Hudson Valley NY.