Georgia Fair

Georgia Fair is Jordan Wilson and Ben Riley

the bell catches up with Jordan Wilson of Georgia Fair to talk about their debut album All Through Winter being released tomorrow, Friday the twenty first of October. 

The lanterns outline two figures set against the darkness picking a delicate melody across the strings that continues in time until the harmony comes to a crescendo, there’s the hover of a cymbal and it ends.

Silence.

There was a moment’s delay and then the crowd began to clap. Softly at first, too afraid the noise would shake them from their mesmerized daze into reality.

This is how it was listening to Georgia Fair play on their ‘Marianne, hold me now’ tour with Daniel Lee Kendall. A few jokes here and there and the push and pull of emotions when you move from the charms of an old favourite like Something Easy to the haunting melodies of tracks like Marianne. 

Georgia Fair’s first EP was released late 2009, with the second to follow a year later and now their debut album All Through Winter to be released this Friday the twenty second of October.

Though it feels as if Georgia Fair has been around for years and even if they’ve only just been released their songs take on a place as classics from the very beginning.

‘Sometimes it feels like I’m really new at this but then I think about it and we’ve been playing our way around for a good few years now and since we were really young.’

Jordan is down to earth about the band’s success, their recent tour with the Panics and the chance to work with Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses.

‘You don’t really expect these things, but now that we’ve done it its such an honour and you don’t take stuff for granted, we want to play with as many people as possible.’

All Through Winter was recorded in Asheville, Texas. Home to snow capped mountains and Bill Reynolds, the bassist of arguably one of the best bands in America Band Of Horses.

Brown leather jacket, thick black rims and that typical texan facial hair, watching an interview of Reynolds at the Grammys he’s the kind of guy who’s down to earth, grateful for the music and what he does.

Something Georgia Fair saw firsthand,

‘He’s a really laid back dude, really funny you wouldn’t know he toured the world constantly. He’s such an interesting guy too – he has so many stories, he used to hang out with Willie Nelson, we’re always learning from him.’

After having played with Band of Horses for nearly a decade and having produced records for the likes of folk songstress Lissie to fellow band member Tyler Ramsey, Reynolds is no doubt experienced.

‘We had a few producers in the mix and we were lucky enough that he had the time, we had a few phone calls and then we were on a flight to America. We loved his band so much and the records he’s produced, we sent him a few of our demos and I guess that’s also why he agreed to work with us, he liked our demos a lot.’

And as far as a setting to record their debut album, Asheville sounded beautiful.

‘We went for a lot of walks in Asheville, in the mountains, we were living in a pretty beautiful spot, a little cottage close to the mountains so there were sights all around us.’

Though this might be mistaken as the inspiration behind the album title. All Through Winter makes more of an allusion to the writing process during the lead up to their stay in America.

‘It encapsulates a lot of things, that’s [All Through Winter] a lyric from one of the songs called Time and the songs a bit dark. As we were writing this record it felt like we were going through a bit of a grind – it’s a bit of a metaphor I guess, a record for the times we’ve been going through to get this record out.’

This is a feeling reflected in the ‘alter ego’ portraits of their album cover and translates through to nostalgia of the record, characteristic of Georgia Fair’s music.

‘That’s one of those things I never really seem to be able to get away from, it’s not that I want to but I write a lot about nostalgia because I get these images in my head of times that have been, or times that have may have been… I like to embrace it, there’s a beauty in it.’

Most apparent in the track Time that appears further into the record, a subtle song that seemed to come together flawlessly,

‘They’re all special in their different way though one of my favourite moments is the song Time because we stripped it right back, and there’s really beautiful atmospherics on there that ben put on with his guitar. It was really one of those special moments in the studio where we were all working on it together and it ended up being a really great track.’

Georgia Fair’s debut album All Through Winter is an extension of their well-formed melodies and breathtaking harmonies, which at last showcases their songs in one extended sitting. 

All Through Winter is released tomorrow across Itunes and music stores Australia wide. 

Nikki Thorburn

To the place reveals a beautiful paradox of human nature – the nostalgia we keep for the place’s we’ve not yet visited, the the ones so often on our mind. In almost out of body experience, Nikki came to know this phenomenon first hand as she travelled overseas last year,

“The night I wrote it [To the Place], I had these images of me in these streets and a room, just somewhere – I didn’t even know where it was… last year I was living in London and I used to busk and I was selling demos, and someone got a hold of the demo from London and he knew a music producer in Paris… 

So I ended up meeting this music producer who was really cool and he helped me out, introduced me to a video guy – so I recorded this footage for To the Place in Paris. It was me in the streets of Paris this beautiful room in his apartment– I look back on the footage and think this is what I imagined when I wrote the song.”

To the Place is a title that resonates with the feel of the record, there's a little longing, some pure bliss...

“I named it To the Place because, especially when I wrote that song, it was just a time when I didn’t feel like I was where I wanted to be – I wanted to be somewhere else… I’m quite restless in that way, I’m always wanting to be somewhere else, somewhere more.”

The songs flow from one another, following Nikki’s inner musings. At first Walking in Circles, our purpose unknown, until the images come to mind of that place we’d rather be, that Sunshine Freeway.

“It’s a real summer song.”

There’s the wash of the ocean and the trickle of keys down the piano. Then later, my favourite line, where the suburbs become countries, sugar canes and river gum trees, side stall markets at the turn offs to the town.

“ I think a lot of it too, is that I’m someone who loves being on the road, when I’m touring I love going on the next place and travelling – I’m inspired when I’m moving and meeting new people.”

Just as Nikki has a way with words, so too does she with image – along with her music, she finds her creative expression within film. Walking in Circles is countryside manor with a twist, swirls of paint and ribbon and Eyes Closed was an ethereal shoot with wreaths and miniature ponies.

“It was so much fun, but then again I always have these crazy ideas, like the film guy when I first told him the idea and he was like “Really? You want horses and kids – that’s going to be a nightmare to film!”… I don’t know how it worked, but it did!” (Eyes Closed will be released later this year).

Though it’s not always about what you know, but who you know. There’s definitely a sense to that about the Australian music industry, as Nikki told me, “I know people in the industry who can help me along, because otherwise you wouldn’t have a clue.”

After being impressed by her music, Nikki was lucky enough to have Ollie McGill ( keyboardist of the Cat Empire) to produce her debut EP, To the Place. 

“I was expecting a ‘heads up, really good work – keep going!’ But instead he was like ‘come to Melbourne, I’ll produce you.’ It was cool because when I took my songs to this crazy jazz pianist, there’s a another level to the songs…“

Too often the mix of an EP falls flat, lacking the energy of a live performance - in contrast To the Place maintains the perfect balance between loose and tight. A captivating sound that could be described as ‘jazz tinged, ethereal, folk-pop feel,’ as Nikki laughs.

With shows later in the year supporting Mark Wilkinson, Tinpan Orange and a follow up EP Eyes Closed it seems that Nikki’s finally getting there, to where she wants to be, that something more.

“For me, I always put my music before anything else.”

Here's one of Nikki's recent videos for Brave Like a Lion from her forthcoming EP 'Eyes Closed' and beneath I've cheekily posted my favourite track from To the Place, 'Sunshine Freeway.' 

To the Place is available on Itunes, and soon - Eyes Closed!  

Ruby for Lucy

Ruby for Lucy

Julie came with the name and Kat loved it –“they’re two characters, a make believe of sorts.”

Le Depot Patisserie

10.30

 One pain au chocolat, two croissants and three lattes later.

Kat: It was kind of funny actually, we met in a bizarre way. I was really bored at work one day and thinking so sick of working in this corporate world I wanted to get back into playing music. 

So I typed into Google musicians wanted sydney and on this website I see this one little peculiar advertisement ‘I really want to make some songs with someone.”

I emailed Julie and it turned out she only put it up that morning, worked in the same industry as me, lived around the corner and we were the same age.

Julie: So I just walked over to Kat’s house with my guitar and I’ve been doing it ever since.

A little later

Synchronicity is one word to describe Ruby for Lucy. Kat and Julie pre-empt one another’s thoughts and finish each other’s sentences, it’s a lovely thing that seems to flow from their daily lives into their art.

Kat: We have opposite strengths so it works quite well.

Julie: When I first met Kat I could only play about four chords pretty badly on guitar but I was really interested in writing melodies and lyrics –

Kat: I cannot write to save myself; it would be very lame if I wrote the lyrics!

Julie: So it gets split nicely down the middle –

Kat: And it goes back and forwards, back and forwards.

See what I mean about the sentence thing?

10:37

Their promising debut Catching Bream was recorded with their ‘crazy french producer’ Steeve (note the two e's), then later as Julie made her debut as a grey nomad, travelling for three months across Australia, the album came to fruition.

Julie: We went into the recording studio thinking it would be just Kat and I, but then our crazy french producer convinced us that the songs could be something more and we ended up doing bass and drums and all sorts of other things.

Kat: It was a very organic process.

Julie: Steeve is a musician himself and he’s probably the only person I know who can get away with spelling his name with two e’s but it suits him, he’s definitely earnt his e’s.

Kat: It was really quick, it took us about two months - 

Julie: I had to go away on holidays and Kat was left with the baby. I was trying to drive into cities to get reception and download the tracks from the internet, emailing to Kat,

‘I think that sounds okay, maybe a little less whirlizter – otherwise, thumbs up!’

10.40

I always thought that they were childhood friends, it’s an easy mistake to make; under the guise of Ruby for Lucy the girl’s music is reminiscent of times now passed, of bicycles and books, teacups and gnomes and of course, grandma’s sentimental porcelain.

All memories beautifully captured on their album artwork for Catching Bream.

Julie: These two girls we knew did it for us, they were amazing. I just loved the fact that when they first showed it to us I still hadn’t seen everything there was to see - it was multilayered.

Kat: They just got it.

Me: The record came together really well, it had this suburban imagining feel to it, as if you were reminiscing – I just sort of assumed that you grew up together.

Julie: That’s a lovely thing to say, It’s funny I did a radio gig in Canberra and the guy who was interviewing me said, ‘You seem to write about a lot of mundane things and your album looks like its covered in wall paint.’

And I was like, well I prefer to think of it as being fascinated by the everyday, its more what our lives are about, you know?

Kat: It’s relatable to a lot of people.

11:00

 Then there’s the hook, like all good albums you can play Catching Bream countless times and with each listen still find something new.

Julie: We wanted to make something that when you peel all the layers back, right to the very heart of it, is thought about. If you were to dissect one of the songs, you could then have something to think about in the lyrics.

I’m very obsessed with language and words so it’s really important to me that songs read like a story, there’s some substance there.

Kat: We said when we got together, let’s just write songs that we like and if other people like it then that’s a bonus.

Then some:

Somehow our interview transformed into a book club of sorts, a music appreciation session - whatever you want to call it. So here's is a little list I wrote for you guys, It’s called Ruby for Lucy recommends:

Agnes Obel (listen to ‘riverside’)

The Dice Man (‘It’s the best book I’ve read’)

 The Nimrod Flip Out (short stories)

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (fun)

 Restaurants on Glebe Point Road (no explanation necessary) 

One Big Damn Puzzler (as Kat emphasized – it’s a book too).

The title track, Catching Bream is my personal favourite - there's a beautiful, gypsy, caravan vibe.

Feel free to check Catching Bream out on Itunes, it's lovely, I promise! 

Dead Letter Chorus

 

the bell talks to Gabrielle Huber from Dead Letter Chorus about the band's new album, Yearlings. 

“You’re washing it away from yourself but you’re making it art as well.”

These songs are as well formed as the scenes they construct. It’s almost as if Yearlings takes on different lives, in some ways it’s as comforting as gran’s apple tea cake and in others as tense as a tightly wound string.

It comes as no surprise that the tracks spin the delicate story of two lovers – where else but in relationships are these extremes of emotion found. As the band’s female lead Gabrielle Huber lets in,

“Our songwriting tends to be a lot about relationships, I guess they’re the most intense part of our lives where we feel emotions in their raw form.”

Is it difficult to translate these experiences into song?

“It’s definitely a cathartic process. I’m an emotional person and sometimes I find these emotions hard to deal with but when you can put it in a song and perform it to people… you’re washing it away from yourself but you’re making it art as well.”

It seems that the word artwork encapsulates my feelings towards Yearlings.

It’s as if each song takes me to another time and place sometimes near, often faraway. It’s difficult to describe but take a listen to tracks like Yellow House and Covered by Snow and you’ll see what I mean, 

As the stories begin where others left off you could easily mistake that each track was written with another in mind, although this wasn’t the case…

“We wrote them all as individual entities, unrelated to another… when it came to the track listing we realized that there was a pattern going on, we put them in order and it took the course of the ups and downs of a relationship, a beginning and an ending. We thought that would be a nice narrative to the album, to take you on a little bit of a journey.”

This is a band whose friendships are as comfortable and well worn as the steps leading to their Yellow House. It takes likeminded people to make likeminded music and Dead Letter Chorus is no exemption,

“I have such a clear idea of how I want the songs to sound, when you give it to the members of your band you’ve got to trust them and know they’ll interpret it in a way that’s good for the song. It’s a comfort to know that you trust one another and you have control over the songs because it’s like a family.”

With all this said, I’m still a little curious - what does Yearlings mean? And what’s behind those horses on the cover?

“It was something about horses being regal creatures and Yearlings means a one year old horse. It took us a year to do the album so it was really fitting.

We wrote the songs a couple of weeks leading up to our first Canadian tour and we wrote the rest of them throughout the tour. It was a really quick process, the songs came organically.” 

2010 was certainly a year to remember as Dead Letter Chorus not only penned these songs, but also produced them with the assistance of Les Cooper.

“We’ve always self produced and we really wanted to take someone else on board, like a six member of the band… we really noticed the difference to have that extra element, a fresh set of ears coming in was important in how the album came to fruition.”

After minutes spent attempting to write this final sentence, the one that captures the album as a whole and entices everyone to have a listen, I can’t seem to remove one thought from my mind.

In all seriousness, Yearlings is like a wonderful assortment of jellybeans – there’s something to please everyone. 

 Drop in to JB Hi Fi for a copy of Yearlings, or any other reliable music store. Also feel free to check it out on Itunes.