Sydney quintet Georgia June first turned heads last year with their scorching debut single, “Cool”, putting a stake in the indie-rock scene with powerful vocals, electric energy, and arresting riffs. The breakthrough single was written by frontwoman Georgia in New York, while she was there undertaking a mentorship she’d landed with Billboard Magazine. Her undeniable talent continues permeate the band’s latest endeavours, and their brand new single “Try Again” offers the same intoxicating mix of complex lyricism, with equally thoughtful and bold instrumentation.
We caught up with the outfit ahead of some massive tour dates to chat about why you shouldn’t snub support acts, the Kanye-inspired visual moodboard for their new video, and their latest Big Brother-reminiscent project.
When did you start making music together?
We started making music at the beginning of 2017! Lewis and I met in High School but ironically he joined the band last. Joe was first, we started writing a bunch, hanging out, and from the get-go got along really well. He always understood the vision. Soon after, Jack and James joined as the three of them were really good friends through uni. Lewis finally completed the jigsaw and the rest is history.
When you’re not making music, what are you doing?
I think before we made music together we were already great friends so not a lot has changed. We see a lot of each other, and are not at all impartial to a pizza and negroni at Gigi’s pizza in Newtown.
How would you describe the music you make?
If we had to sum up the music we are currently making in two words, it would be dark pop. Lyrically, it’s honest. I’d like to think I wear my heart on my sleeve, and although I can’t articulate my emotions in a conversational environment, with music I find myself pouring my heart out. On top of that, we all have different music tastes, which means we all bring something a little different to the table. The term, ‘dark pop’ encapsulates our love for bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails and our (my) love for Taylor Swift and P!nk.
Can you take us through your songwriting process?
Most of the time, I will have the skeleton of the song and bring it to our writing day — every Monday. From there, we all begin workshopping together, usually trying to find the core emotion. When this starts to take shape, the song embarks on a sonic journey. Some songs take a couple of hours to get them to their destination, others take a few writing sessions and a lot more heavy lifting.
The response to “Try Again” has been phenomenal – did you expect it would affect audiences the way it has?
“Try Again” was a gamble. It is one of our favourite songs on the upcoming record and is a great representation of the music yet to come. People were torn about it being the single, I think we always had a gut feeling that it was going to be one of the standouts. We’re glad people love it, because it definitely feels like the next chapter.
Directed by local top gun Gabe Gasparinatos, your “Try Again” music video is gritty brilliance – can you tell us what the creative process was like, and what input you have in the visual aspects of your work?
Gabe is such an incredible director. We both knew it needed to be simple and effective. I am huge on mood board front, so Gabe and I started exchanging ideas and pinterest boards over text . We had access to the church and started piecing together visuals we love. Tom Black is also an amazing DOP with the steadiest hands ever, he made me look a lot cooler than I am. The dance moves were improvised on the day, all the feet shots were actually filmed to hip hop, Kanye and Triple One making the most appearances.
How did you come up with the brilliant GJ Diary Room series?
I was racking my brain for a while to create a platform that was not entirely music related for people to have a better understanding of who we are off the stage. I used to really love watching Big Brother, so I guess it originated there. As the concept has developed, it has become a platform to air our grievances and include cameos of our friends from other bands to talk about theirs.
As an obsessive fan of many bands and artists, I often spiral into a tunnel of needing to know everything about them. Hopefully the Diary Room can be that for someone else! For instance, Zayn Malik’s biggest pet peeve is nail biters- BOOM*
Your ‘DJ GJ.’ Spotify playlist is packed full of bangers – where and how do you uncover most of the music you listen to?
We try our best to listen to as much new music as possible. Streaming recommendations and curated playlists like ‘Discover Weekly’ and YouTube’s automatic play is also awesome. We also love seeing live music, especially the support bands. Gang of Youths and Cub Sport opened up for The 1975 on different occasions. The Preatures opened up for P!nk, and Hatchie supported Beach House.
Your ‘Try Again’ tour is right around the corner – what can audiences expect from a Georgia June live show?
Brand new setlist! We’ve been writing away and extremely excited to bring a show with lots of energy, new songs, and new merch.
You’ve got Festival of the Sun and Lost Paradise coming up in the back half of the year. What else have you got planned for the rest of 2019?
We are writing album numero duo at the moment. We’ve been demo-ing every week as well as getting new songs in the set. I think we are trying to be as prepared as possible for 2020 and making sure the set is stronger with every show that we play. As releasing music goes, it always feels that sonically and emotionally we’re a step ahead of what’s actually coming out. Releasing the album early next year with a taste of what will follow is all on the agenda.
Watch the video for “Try Again” here:
And catch Georgia June on tour here…
GEORGIA JUNE TOUR DATES
Thursday 10 October – The Gasometer – Melbourne, VIC
Saturday 2 November – The Vanguard – Sydney, NSW
Thu 12 – Sat 14 Dec – Festival Of The Sun – Port Macquarie, NSW
Sun 29 Dec – Wed 1 Jan – Lost Paradise – Glenworth Valley, NSW
Photos by Sophie Hill.