Georgia June are the fresh new faces taking over Australia’s indie rock scene. With their debut single ‘Cool’ garnering immense support from platforms like Rolling Stone, Pilerats and triple j Unearthed, they’re definitely dubbed as ones to watch. We got to speak to frontwoman Georgia about the quirky music video for ‘Cool’, the first time she heard her song on FBi Radio and her societal responsibility as a musician.

.

.

.

Hey Georgia, how are you today?

I’m good, how are you?

.

I’m good, thanks. So first of all, congratulations on the success of the your debut single ‘Cool’. It’s a fantastic debut.

Thank you so much!

.

Tell me how the concept for ‘Cool’ come about.

So basically, I wrote it about a year and a half ago. I wrote it after being at a party where I was just surrounded by all these popular and cool kids and I was never really one of them, I was always really nerdy and quite lame in high school and I went home and wrote this song and yeah, it just kinda happened. It was written really quickly so it was just supposed to be a reflection of the moment and how I felt at the time.

.

You recorded the the song while you were in New York under the guidance of names like Billboard and ex-Passion Pit member Ayad Al Adhamy, did being mentored by these veterans in the industry really influence the sounds we hear on ‘Cool’?

Yeah, definitely. I think that in particular with John [Witenberg, co-producer] and Ayad, who produced the track, having their take on this song that I had written, it wouldn’t be what it is without them. We were just all on the same page of what we wanted the song to sound like and they definitely brought it to life. And then with Billboard, it was just insane and I’m super grateful that I was able to be mentored by them and they were just so inspiring in guiding me and helping me figure out what I wanted this project to be and letting me see what they do on the industry side of things, it was just incredibly inspiring. It just made you want to be a part of the Music Industry even more. So, I’m very grateful for the whole experience and it was definitely super influential on the track.

.

.

The instrumentation in ‘Cool’ is very reminiscent of femme rock icons like Blondie and Joan Jett. Are they musicians that really influenced you to begin writing music?

Yeah, definitely! Particularly, bands like Blondie, Joan Jett, Divinyls, Pretenders — they’re all bands that are female fronted that really inspired me and I really take influence from what they’ve done and bring that to this project and make it my own in a way. And even bands like Talking Heads and artists like Prince have been super influential for me. That’s what I grew up listening to so they’re always my go-to artists to listen to when I’m ever feeling a bit stuck or if I just wanna listen to good music, I’ll just listen to those kind of artists.

.

After your time in New York, you came back to Sydney where you formed your band, how did you and the boys meet?

So, I met Lewis [Mosley, synth/guitar] in high school. Then, Joe [Plunkett, bass] and I did a couple of gigs together at beginning of the year, and then, I had met Jack [Johnston, guitar] and James [Spittaler, drums] through Joe. But then, it was only after I had met them all and we all realised we all go to the same university anyway, so it all worked out really well. It’s very handy with all our schedules and we just all get along really well, even beyond music. So, as soon as I came back from New York, we all got a coffee and we all knew where we wanted this project to go and we were all on the same page about our goals for it and we just all work together really well. It’s definitely become a real collaborative space and we write all together now and make decisions as a group and as a band. I think, the project was always meant to be a band so it’s really nice and I feel very lucky to be able to work with such amazing guys.

.

So, let’s discuss the music video for ‘Cool’. What inspired the idea for the music video?

I definitely wanted it to be very 80’s The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink-esque and I wanted it to reflect me in high school in comparison to me now and have two scenarios, one in class and one with the band. I sat down with James Adams, who’s a really good friend of mine and I’m really lucky to have him on board, and told him my idea and showed my really dodgy storyboard. Then, we brainstormed on how we can bring the idea to life and I had never anything like that before so I was in very good hands with James and it just all came together really nicely. During the day, we were all trying not to stuff up but it worked out well.

.

So will we see that John Hughes-esque, 80’s inspiration through your future music videos to come?

I think so, yeah, definitely. I definitely want to keep that aesthetic going because that’s something we all like in terms of visuals so we hope we can bring that through in the future ones.

.

.

Since the release of ‘Cool’, you’ve gotten praise from Rolling Stone, triple j and even some airplay on stations like FBi Radio, how do you feel about the positive reviews the song has gotten so far?

We’re super grateful and really thankful that people enjoy it. It’s been really well-received by such amazing platforms and we were all super nervous about the release because it’s a debut, and I’ve never really released anything before so I’m still learning the ropes… We’re just grateful and we hope that the next single that we release is just as well received and people enjoy that one too. Also, a massive thanks to people that come out to our shows and share ‘Cool’ online and listen to it online. We’re just embracing it so, fingers crossed.

.

As previously mentioned, FBi Radio has been playing ‘Cool’ on rotation. Have you come across your song on the radio yet?

Yes! I was actually in my mum’s car and it was a bit funny because she’s always been a smoothfm person so now that it’s on rotation on FBi, she’s had it on there. We were in the car driving somewhere and it came on and we were both so excited, we couldn’t stop screaming. I didn’t really hear the song, we were just screaming over it the whole time. It was good, it was a really nice moment.

.

You’re currently in the midst of a run of NSW shows, how are the crowds reacting to both ‘Cool’ and other songs that haven’t been released yet?

Yeah, we’ve been super stoked with how people are reacting and the turnout to our shows. Particularly, when we play ‘Cool’, it’s been really “cool” to see people knowing the song and singing along, which is the the most surreal thing ever. We’re trying to build our setlist more and more with each show, trying to add more tracks and we’re always writing so we’re trying to make our live show stronger with each gig. We’re excited to release new stuff that we’re playing at our shows as well, so that’s exciting too.

.

.

AMNPLIFY – DB

.

All music aside, you’re very passionate about societal issues like Gender Equality and the Environment and with recent events, people have criticised musicians for speaking out about these issues. How important is it for you as a musician to be involved in these societal issues?

I think it’s so important that as musicians or as anybody in general, that we speak up about issues, because I think the more people are afraid to talk about them, the more we let them go unnoticed and slide them under the rug and that’s how things bottle up. I also think conversations need to be had about certain issues and with social media, as a musician, I think it’s really important. If I see something’s wrong or I believe something should be said about a certain issue, I will not even think twice. I have to say it because I feel like it’s the right thing to do especially if i feel like it’s wrong and in our current situation, I think that, you know, it’s almost fear of not wanting to cause conflict, which I think is a bit ridiculous. It’s important to voice our opinions and support issues that are currently in the media and that are currently being argued and that’s something we do at our shows and on social media.

.

So, what’s next for Georgia June? Will there be more music coming our way? Any final tour for 2017?

We’ll definitely be bringing out another single before the end of the year, which is exciting. We’re really excited for it! And hopefully, a little bit of a tour on the east coast, which is in the works. That’s our goal for the end of the year, but definitely another single.

.

.

‘COOL’ IS OUT NOW