Sydney duo Georgia Fair, aka Jordan Wilson and Ben Rile, met in high school. Jordan remembers Ben, a bright faced kid coming up to him after drama class in Grade 8 and it wasn’t long before they were jamming every weekend in the basement of Ben’s home, playing every song that they loved and listening intently to their favourite artists.
Since their first meeting, the duo have come a long way – with visits to SXSW, two full length albums, and an EP under their belt. In order to celebrate the release of the new single ‘Are We Not Alive’ (which you can hear/view at the bottom) the twosome decided to sit down and tell us about their top five favourite musical duos. How fitting.
The Go Betweens
“I suppose we feel quite kindred to Grant McLennan and Robert Forster, such different writing styles, but so complimentary. They had this unique creative contrast, artistically but even physically. I never got to seem them play, but we did get a chance to see Robert perform ‘Finding You’ with The Panics when we were touring with them some time ago up in Brisbane. I usually have a new favourite song of there’s every week, but right now it’d be ‘Bye Bye Pride.’ Many emotions come up upon reflection of this band, to many to really go into.”
Simon And Garfunkel
“We were never big into ‘folk’ music as kids, or any really softer style music full stop. Though we started to do stripped back versions of these punk songs we were playing and we attracted some attention. That’s when people started telling us to look into Simon and Garfunkel. That was a vortex man. Listening to ‘Scarborough Fair’ in Ben’s car on repeat. There’s a synergy you can’t describe.”
Nick Cave And Warren Ellis
“Sounds like these guys have stumbled upon some magic together. Sonically Warren steps up to match Nick Cave’s incredible songwriting and it’s a powerful force. I’m sure this could only come from years of friendship. ‘Jubilee Street’ is a beautiful representation of this relationship. It soars.”
Angus And Julia Stone
“I remember seeing them at the first festival I ever went to. I’d just left school and my eyes were bright. I must have been summoned into the the tent where they were playing, because I had know idea who they were, but stood in awe at the delicate power they held in the palms of their hands. Not to mention the humbleness with which they seemed to approach me as a member of the crowd. Something magic happened that evening. I know first hand that they’ve touched countless people around Australia. God bless ’em.”
Neil Young And Stephen Stills
“This just seems like a conversation that I would like to be in the middle of. Their is incredible friction between these two men, but a mutual respect seems to always pull them back. It’s always amazing to see a relationship, especially one of this intensity, stand the test of time. You can tell they’ve had to float in and out of each others lives, but you can sense the love they had for one another always prevailed. Again such contrasting spirits, but a similar musical yearning at the core.”
