A QUICK CHAT WITH GEORGIA FIELDS
Can you tell me a bit about your inspiration for your single ‘Holding My Hands Out’?’
I began writing this song just after my second baby was born, during a particularly vulnerable passage of time… and then I finished it during one of the Melbourne lockdowns (enough said!). I wanted to explore that primal desire we all have to be held, to be comforted. At the time I was listening to artists like Sharon van Etten and Sarah Blasko, and was inspired by their simple but anthemic choruses. I was also deeply moved by the novel ‘Islands’, by Australian author Peggy Frew. ‘Holding My Hands Out’ is partly inspired by her character June, as well as June’s mother Helen.
What are your influences and how do they affect your songwriting?
As a pop musician, I’m always interested in exploring how universal feelings can be distilled into three and a half minute snippets of melody & words. How is it that a love song written by one person can resonate with millions of others? So to that end, I’m interested in storytelling, in mythology and archetypes – and how they can be embodied in the pop-song context. Stylistically, my influences change constantly but in the last few years I’ve been coming back to musicians like Aldous Harding, Methyl Ethyl, Feist, Weyes Blood, plus the classics like Bowie and The Spice Girls.
What’s the creative process like for you?
Do you mean the songwriting process? I generally start with the words. Then, before I’ve had the chance to let them settle into a rhythm or a meter, I start singing them (so that the melody can inform the phrasing). I used to have endless time to sit with an instrument and gently coax the songs out. These days with two kids, I do a lot of songwriting in my head, in the car, and if I can snatch a few minutes here and there to keep working on something at the piano if the kids are occupied. I have to work faster and more efficiently. It also means that if I can’t remember the song idea, it probably wasn’t strong enough. Brutal, but fair!
If you could change something about the Australian music industry what would it be?
I would make it safer and more accessible. We’ve come a long way, but there’s further to go. I would also like to see a specific touring and recording funding pool that covers childcare costs and other support costs for working mums in the music industry. Touring suddenly becomes VERY expensive if you have to bring a child and a babysitter.
What do you think life would be like for you if you didn’t have music as an outlet?
Boring.
Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with? Why?
So many! I’d love to collaborate with dancer/choreographer Juliet Burnett. She uses her body like a storyteller, it’s so compelling. I also was in loose conversations with a jewellery-maker a few months ago, about making some responsive pieces together! I’d love to sing a duet with Weyes Blood. Or Father John Misty. Or both!
What’s your advice to young people who want to make a career for themselves in the industry?
Start! Also, if you’re a singer-songwriter or a musician, be prepared to put the hard yards in learning how to manage yourself before outsourcing that role.
Who’s the most interesting person you’ve worked with/met?
Start! Also, if you’re a singer-songwriter or a musician, be prepared to put the hard yards in learning how to manage yourself before outsourcing that role.
Favourite hangover cure?
I don’t have one anymore! Alcohol and I broke up. Best decision I ever made. Some people can have “just a few” but I’m not one of those, and hangovers were taking up too much of my precious creative energy. I don’t know if it will be forever, but I’m really enjoying having a break from the booze, and I know I’ve been in better form musically as a result, too.
Any upcoming shows?
I’m celebrating the ‘Holding My Hands Out’ single release with a warm and cosy afternoon show at Melbourne’s Wesley Anne. It’s been almost 8 months since I performed live, so I’m really excited to perform the album and bring the songs back to how they were written – on my guitar, keyboard, and live looping station. My longtime collaborators the Andromeda String Quartet are going to jump up and play a few songs, with some other surprise special guests, and indie-folk wunderkind Amelia Allen is opening. It’s going to be a really sweet afternoon of music! I’ll be booking shows further afield as the album gets closer, towards the end of the year.