Gia Ford has returned with new single ‘How Do I Reply?’, marking her first release of 2026.
The track follows Ford’s widely praised 2024 debut album Transparent Things, which helped establish her as one of the UK’s most distinctive new voices and led to a nationwide tour. She re-emerged last autumn with ‘God’, and now steps forward again with a song that pares everything back.
Written with minimal adornment, ‘How Do I Reply?’ leans into restraint and directness. The song was prompted by a line from Hermann Hesse, and unfolds as a quietly theatrical piece of alt-pop, built around voice, space, and a sense of emotional immediacy.
“It’s about as no-frills as I’ll ever go, but that’s what makes it fun,” Ford says. “I managed to keep it within my universe contextually. It was inspired by a Hermann Hesse poem.”
The release arrives ahead of a short UK run as part of Independent Venue Week later this month. Ford will headline shows in Portsmouth, Cardiff, Hull, and Glasgow, before closing the run with a hometown date in Sheffield.
‘How Do I Reply?’ reinforces Ford’s instinct for understatement, trusting tone and delivery over excess, and letting the song do the work.
