Melbourne singer-songwriter Georgia Fields has been a fixture in the city’s music scene for over a decade now, but she’s still constantly evolving, always searching to progress her sound.
On new single ‘Holding My Hands Out’, released last month, Georgia and producer Josh Barber (Gretta Ray, Gotye) experimented with found objects, crafting the song’s snare sample with some highly unexpected objects (more below).
On the sparsely solemn piece, though, Georgia remains at the forefront: she possesses a powerful pop voice that’s at once forceful and elegant, and on ‘Holding My Hands Out’, her vocal control of the song is supreme.
“It’s a song about that primal desire we all have to be held,” Georgia explains. “It’s about reaching your hands out for comfort, but grasping at shadows. From a songwriting perspective, I was inspired by the simple yet anthemic choruses of artists like Sarah Blasko, Weyes Blood and Sharon van Etten.
I was also hugely impacted by the novel Islands, by Australian author Peggy Frew. There’s something about Peggy’s writing that cuts straight to my heart – I’ve found all her novels deeply affecting. Holding My Hands Out is partly written from the perspective of her character June, as well as June’s mother, Helen.”
The accompanying music video – directed by longtime collaborator Rohan Spong – achieves a similar feat, putting Georgia’s face firmly front and centre, surrounded by fluttering moths.
‘Holding My Hands Out’ is a taste of Georgia’s forthcoming third full-length album, the follow-up to 2016’s Astral Debris. Titled Hiraeth, it’s inspired by the Welsh word that has no direct English translation; as Georgia clearly knows, there’s beauty to be found in mystery.
Love The Beatles?
Get the latest The Beatles news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
If you want to hear Georgia’s voice up close, she’s performing an all-ages matinee show at Melbourne’s Wesley Anne this Sunday, July 10th (more details here).
To celebrate the release of her new single, we caught up with the singer as part of our Get To Know series to find out more about her life and music.
Georgia Fields’ ‘Holding My Hands Out’ is out now.
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
My Nana played jazz piano, loved The Beatles, and was well-steeped in show tunes from the golden era of Broadway. She knew a thing or two about melody, and pop songs that pull at your heart. I wouldn’t have to describe my music to my Nana – I have a feeling she understood it better than I did!
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
I’m releasing my third album later this year, so I’m in the fun process of sharing some singles in the lead-up. ‘Holding My Hands Out’ is about the primal urge to be held – it’s about reaching for comfort but grasping at shadows. Producer Josh Barber and I had a lot of fun crafting the “snare” sample by layering vintage wind-up toys and half-broken wooden percussion. We also made a last-minute decision to bring my string quartet into the studio, to play from the final chorus into the outro, and I’m so glad we did!
‘Find Your Way Back’ was the first single we released from the forthcoming album – and it was also the first song I recorded with Josh Barber. It was a bit of a start/stop process, because we had to work between Melbourne lockdowns. I remember we had a group of female vocalists booked to sing this big call-and-response section in the bridge, and we got really lucky to squeeze that recording session in before restrictions came back into place!
It was such a beautiful energy in the studio that night, because many of us hadn’t sung in a room with other people for almost a year. As for what the song is about – I moved a lot as a kid and I ended up going to 7 different schools. ‘Find Your Way Back’ is a love letter to the lost places of my childhood, and about searching for home.
What do you love about your hometown?
Melbourne has such a vibrant, eclectic, and thriving music scene. I feel so lucky to be a part of my creative community here – to be inspired and challenged and supported by my artist friends. I also love Melbourne coffee. Yes, I know that makes me a cliché!
Career highlight so far?
Re-orchestrating the entire Ziggy Stardust album for strings and voice, and then performing it at ACMI for the David Bowie exhibition (which was visiting from the V&A in London) was pretty fun!
Last month I was invited to sing with a 50-piece all-women choir called Pitch Face (yes, really) – we did a cover of ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ with 4-part harmonies and it was equal parts beautiful, silly, heavenly, and cathartic. There is nothing on earth like standing on stage with 50 women’s voices belting out harmonies behind you. Oh, and their choir uniform is double denim.
Fave non-music hobby?
I’m a mum to two bright-eyed and bushy-tailed kids under 7, and I’m an independent, self-managed musician who also works part-time, so my favourite non-music hobby is getting more than four consecutive hours of sleep a night!!
Jokes aside, like many indie musicians who are mothers or primary carers, I honestly struggle to find that balance between taking care of myself, keeping my music career on track, and taking care of my family.
During the pandemic I launched Mother Lode: an online community for musicians who are mums. The Instagram is a place to connect and share ideas/resources. The website hosts longer form interviews with musician-mums, highlighting their unique challenges, successes, and perspectives on family life and the music industry.
So I guess you could say that facilitating Mother Lode is my favourite hobby. And my 7-year-old has taken up embroidery, so that’s fun and strangely relaxing.
What’s on your dream rider?
A dinosaur. And Celestial Seasonings Bengal Chai tea with almond milk!
Dream music collaboration?
I would love to sing a duet with Weyes Blood. Preferably in matching suits.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully exactly where I am now, but with more wrinkles, more records, and more collaborations and fun projects with my weird art friends.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
‘Baby When You’re Gone’ by Bryan Adams and Sporty Spice. Or ‘Molotov’ by Kira Puru!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t go door knocking – select a door and kick it in.
What’s one obsession you have that no one would guess after listening to your music?
I am a big John Williams fan. I walked down the aisle to the theme from E.T.. I forced my husband to compose the string quartet arrangement (what’s the use of being married to a musician if you can’t force them to compose elaborate arrangements of your favourite film scores?), and he surprised me by asking some of our trumpet-player friends in the congregation to join in at the end, and then he played his harmonica. I ugly cried! It was the best.
