In the Chair is a regular feature on Eventalaide, highlighting artists from across Australia and occasionally overseas. Everyone gets the same questions. It is just meant to be a bit of fun so please treat it as such.
Questions by Geoff Jenke
A true artist in every sense of the word, Georgia Fields first emerged onto the local music scene in 2007 with her debut EP Drama on the High Seas of Emotion, before solidifying her reputation as one of Melbourne’s most beloved singer-songwriters with the arrival of her debut 2010 self-titled album. Landing Album of The Week for both ABC Radio National and Beat Magazine, plus an appearance on SBS’ Rockwiz and the Queenscliff Music Festival main stage, Georgia went on to release her critically-acclaimed album Astral Debris in 2016, shortly after her first daughter was born. In 2017, she revealed a retrospective EP Afloat, Adrift, recorded live with the Andromeda String Quartet, and in 2020, after the birth of her son, Georgia launched Mother Lode: an online community for musicians who are mothers.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Name: Georgia Fields
Alias: Fields; GF
In less than 50 words
describe your music and yourself.
I’m a lyrics-driven lover of melody, with an appreciation for
kooky sounds and interesting production. Genre-wise, I sway somewhere between
art-pop and indie-folk. Favourite colour is purple; favourite food is coffee.
_________________________________________________________________________________
What was the first record
you bought with your own money and where from?
I
bought the single of “Even When I’m Sleeping” by Australian band Leonardo’s
Bride from my local CD store. I still have it somewhere.
80’s or 90’s Music:
I
have a pretty eclectic music taste, but if I had to choose between the two
decades… 90s is most nostalgic for me. However, 80s had the best hair (sorry,
90s).
What music are you
currently listening to?
I’m
enjoying new and recent releases from a lot of local artists at the moment –”
There is a Field” by Hello Satellites; self-titled by Phia; “The Nightline” by
Batts. I feel really lucky to be making and releasing music in such a vibrant
community here in Melbourne, and across the broader Australian scene. I get a
lot of inspiration and joy from hearing what my peers are up to.
The Best live artist/band
you’ve seen:
I saw
Sarah Blasko with Orchestra Victoria in 2013, and she blew my tiny mind. I also
highly recommend Melbourne band Eddie and The Fast Boys – the only way I can
describe them is: imagine putting Ben Folds Five, Queen, and Father John Misty
in a blender and serving on a bed of crisp lettuce with a side sauce of musical
theatre. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!
Your “In the mood for
love” song:
End
Credits for E.T. The Extra Terrestrial by John Williams
Your favourite Saturday
night party record?
Ray
Guns Are Not Only Just the Future – the bird and the bee
Your favourite Sunday
morning chill out record?
Wonderful
Oblivion – Charm of Finches
Which song do you wish you
had written?
Either
“God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys… or “Love is a Losing Game” by Amy
Winehouse. I’d take either! Both absolute masterclasses in melodic longing.
Roger Daltry once said
“Rock N Roll has no future”. Do you agree with him?
I
mean, taking that statement very broadly, nothing has a future? In the end,
everything we ever touched or loved will crumble to dust? Eventually the sun
will become a black hole and swallow the earth whole, and with-it time itself?
Rock n roll was/is about breaking the rules; it’s about subverting the dominant
culture. It goes hand in hand with sexual liberation and the deconstruction of
traditional, binary gender roles. The grandmother of Rock n Roll is Sister
Rosetta Tharpe, a black queer female guitarist and singer. I see Rosetta’s
rebel spirit is alive in pop music today, with boundary-pushing artists like
Harry Styles and Lizzo and St Vincent. Styles of music are going to constantly
evolve – maybe it’s less about 4-piece rock these days? But that rule-breaking,
rebel heart of Rock n Roll continues to beat. Loud.
Vinyl, CD or
Streaming?
We’re
a bit old fashioned at our place… We only have a turntable in our lounge room,
so we listen almost exclusively to vinyl at home. I love the tactile-ness of
it. I love that albums are entire artifacts; entire worlds. My husband used to
work at a record store, and I had a modest collection when we met. Vinyl is my
preferred listening format, for sure. But we also discover and research new
music via streaming platforms. We only have a CD player in our car, and that’s
reserved for our kids’ favourite music: T-Rex, Sally Seltmann, Beatles, Led
Zepplin (mercifully, we still have some influence on their listening tastes).
If you could record or
play live with any artist (dead or alive), who would it be?
I
would love to sing a duet with Tom Waits. Also, Jake Webb from Methyl
Ethyl.
What is the most useless
talent you have?
Unfortunately,
all of my talents are useful. Even the useless ones.
Your finest recorded
moment?
I’m
super proud of ‘Water to Water’, on my forthcoming album. I wrote the song
about a pregnancy loss. It’s a one-take vocal and guitar performance. It’s not
perfect… but there’s a mood. There was a very special feeling in the room of
the church when we recorded it, and when I listen to it now, I’m transported
back to that space and time.
If you could open a show
for any artist/band, who would it be?
I’d
love to support Thelma Plum, or Feist… There are so many bands on my dream
list! It’s very special when an artist you admire asks you to open for them.
Not because you’re performing for the artist – in reality, the artist you’re
supporting often misses your set because that’s the only chance they have to
eat dinner and go to the toilet before they play… No, the reason it’s special
is because you get to perform for a room full of people who love that
headlining artist as much as you do. So, there’s an immediate affinity with the
audience, and that’s the really exciting part of performing. Connecting with an
audience.
Stuck on a desert island
for a year and can only take three albums. What would they be?
Warp
and Weft by Laura Veirs
Designer
by Aldous Harding
Self-titled
by Phia
Favourite all-time movie:
Strictly
Ballroom or the aforementioned E.T.
Who would you rather be
for a day, Mariah Carey or Taylor Swift?
Mariah
all the way!
Best show you have ever
played in your career:
I
moonlight as a string arranger… In 2015 I was invited to re-orchestrate the
entire Ziggy Stardust album for string quartet and voice, and perform it live
at the Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI), for the David Bowie
exhibition which was on tour from London. That was cool!!
Ed Sheeran or Robbie
Williams?
In
what context?
Who is the nicest person
in Rock n Roll at the moment
Davey
Lane!
What do you hope the next
12 months hold for you?
I’ve
assembled a brand-new band for the Melbourne show of my tour, and I’m really
looking forward to playing more shows and festivals with them in 2023. I’m
coming back to Adelaide for some shows in the Fringe program, too. I’m also
excited to get back into Mother Lode, the online community I founded for
musicians who are mothers. Releasing “Hiraeth” has been such a journey, and I
want to give myself the chance to breathe and celebrate the huge milestone… But
knowing me, I’ll be itching to start writing and mucking around with my loop
pedal.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Throbbing with an alluring undercurrent of hypnotic textures, the brand-new track In My Blood from Naarm/ Melbourne art-pop alchemist Georgia Fields is a meditation on the wine-dark waters that lie between desire and compulsion. A corroded synth line flickers like a detuned radio, cutting Georgia’s singular grace with an unsettling sense of menace. Pulsing with warm and wondrous undulations, the tension throughout In My Blood’s intricate – yet ultimately restrained – production builds steadily towards a beautiful, almost joyous sense of release.
Georgia’s distinctive vocal brings to mind the piercing, understated clarity of Metals-era Feist, and the shoulders-back power-stance of Sharon van Etten.
Out now, In My Blood is the fifth and final single from Georgia’s third full-length album Hiraeth, due Thursday November 17.
GEORGIA FIELDS – UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
SAT
19 NOV |
BRUNSWICK BALLROOM, MELBOURNE VIC | ALL AGES
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All
Moshtix Outlets
SUN
20 NOV |
DAYLESFORD HOTEL, DAYLESFORD VIC | ALL AGES
Tickets available from daylesfordhotel.com.au
THU
24 NOV |
LAZYBONES, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All
Moshtix Outlets
SUN
27 NOV |
IT’S STILL A SECRET, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from tickets.oztix.com.au
SUN
11 DEC |
WHEATSHEAF HOTEL, ADELAIDE SA | 18+
Tickets available from tickets.oztix.com.au
SAT
17 DEC |
ODESSA WINE BAR, CRESWICK VIC | 18+
Free show | info via www.facebook.com
SUN
18 DEC |
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE VIC | ALL AGES
Free show | info via www.facebook.com
No Comments