Project Description

Interview With

GEORGE FITZGERALD

Interviewer: Jemma Bird

.

.

George FitzGerald, for those unfamiliar, is a critically-acclaimed electronic artist from London. With the release of his sophomore album ‘All That Must Be’ FitzGerald hits Australian shores early April, bringing his hypnotic live show to Canberra, Sydney & Melbourne. Jemma caught up with George to chat about the music. Read the interview below.

.

.

Did the writing and recording process differ much from your previous album?

I tried to build on the processes I’d established when recording the last album rather than tearing everything down and starting over. In general I feel like the quality of the production on this album is much higher. That’s partly to do with the improvements in my studio but also the amount of time I’ve spent delving deeper into the equipment that I already have. In terms of writing I spent a lot more time composing the tracks on the piano initially then moving onto the studio. There are also  a lot more acoustic drums on this record.

.

You have previously said that you want your music to represent that kind of post club introspection. Is that something that you still aimed to do for All That Must Be?

Yeh I think my music still sits in that space between club and headphone. It’s not something I’ve consciously aimed for though. It’s more a reflection of where I’m at personally. I still spend a lot of time in clubs but a lot less than I did say 5 years ago.

.

How did your collaborations with Lil Silva, Bonobo, and Tracey Thorn come about?

All in differing ways. Lil Silva I met after doing a remix for him. I loved the sound of his voice and we really clicked in the studio. With Bonobo, he had remixed on of my tracks from the last record and we became good friends after that. We were just messing around in the studio together over a few days, without thinking about making something specific, and ‘Outgrown’ track was the result. With Tracey I have to confess that it’s been a dream of mine for a while to work with her. I emailed her and amazingly she got back to me straight away.

.

.

Do you take into consideration the live aspect of songs when you are writing and recording?

Yes more and more so. I used to make tracks predominantly for club situations and therefore DJs. That usually means having fairly sparse arrangements in the intro and outro of the track so they can be mixed easily. That just doesn’t work on an album or when playing live, so I’ve found myself jettisoning that approach and thinking purely in terms of how the tracks will sound with the band now.

.

Has your approach to music differed since you’ve become a father?

My relationship with music itself hasn’t changed but my approach to writing and creativity in general is very different. I truly believe I’m a lot more focussed now when I’m in the studio. Ultimately, I’ve come to see that creativity is like play – it has to be a suspension of normal life. It can’t consume your whole life otherwise it blends with the mundane things too much. Since fatherhood I’ve learned to give myself specific timeframes to be creative in, and it works much better for me.

.

You’ve lived in Berlin for nearly 10 years. What influenced your decision to move back to the UK?

I had a daughter and her mother was living in London at the time. Initially I tried to commute between the two cities to see them both but it became too stressful. It was a very simple decision in the end to move back.

.

Do you think this geographical change was reflective in your music?

I’ve had all of my formative musical experiences in London and Berlin, so geography has always influenced my music a lot. I think the life changes brought about by the move to London are the things that coloured this record the most, not necessarily the move itself.

.

.

Who has been your biggest musical influences?

It’s hard to say. There are so many. I always cite Billy Corgan and Brian Eno as very big influences. Their approaches to music are very different but both enormously impressive.

.

Do you think they are reflective in your music?

I’d like to think my love for Billy Morgan and the Smashing Pumpkins manifests itself in some of the minor-key melodrama you can hear in my records. Eno’s approach to texture and timbre in music is something I always reference when looking for interesting ways to record things.

.

You write mainly instrumental electronic music. Does each song have a story/ theme or are they more a collection of sounds?

They don’t have stories in the way lyric-driven tracks would.  I see them as reflections of emotions I’ve felt or of specific times in my life. It’s more like throwing paint at a canvas – the music speaks to my moods or thoughts at a given time.

.

.

How does this tie in to creating ideas for music videos?

Sometimes I have quite fixed ideas about what visuals would fit with my music, but that isn’t always the case. It can be a very interesting process to hand over the interpretation of your music to somebody else and then start a discussion that way. I’ve been lucky to work with some great visual artists, like Hugo Jenkins, who did the video for ‘Roll Back’, or Dines, who designed the cover.

.

Most of the lyrics in your songs are inaudible or cut up. Is there a particular reason behind this?

Yes it’s very deliberate. I love the feeling it creates when those vocals are just out of reach to the listener. It makes you focus on the other elements in speech and singing which communicate information – the tone, the urgency, the timbre. It makes it more visceral.

.

Any plans to tour proceeding the release of this album? Particularly Australia?

Yes I’m pretty much on tour for the rest of the year now! I’ll mainly be performing with my band. In terms of coming down under,  I’ll be doing some DJ gigs in Australia in early April. The plan is to bring the band over later in the year as well though.

.

If it was someone’s first time listening to George FitzGerald, what song would you recommend they listen to?

Frieda. That’s my current favourite.

.

.

Connect With GEORGE FITZGERALD:

Website       Facebook       Twitter      Instagram

.