Why We Love: Georgia

Georgia is a producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is lighting a fire under the feet of Electro-Pop fans in the UK. Her self-titled debut album, released in 2015, was recorded and produced single-handedly at her home studio in north-west London. After years of silence perfecting her sound and a nomination for a mercury prize under her belt since then, Georgia hits back with her brand new album ‘Seeking Thrills’ and has quickly gained recognition as one of the UK’s most exciting up and coming new talents.

Georgia’s music is exhilarating and energetic. Her sound combines the best of modern technology with classic synthesisers used on some of the most legendary 80’s records from Depeche Mode to Yazoo. Her rich, catchy melodies twist through Electro-Pop and House groves creating something irresistible to stomp along to. Both her albums are a true homage to the 80’s club scene. In many ways, Georgia’s sound feels almost a blend of the very best parts of older bands such as New Order and modern artists like MIA. This unique amalgamation has quickly earnt Georgia great attention from the UK music industry.

Growing up as the daughter of Leftfield co-founder, Neil Barnes, it’s clear that many of the inspirations of her father have influenced her own music. But make no mistake, Georgia has been pioneering her own fresh ideas independent from her fathers legacy.

Georgia studied music at The BRIT School where she developed herself as a drummer. I remember first hearing about Georgia while I myself was a student at BRIT. So I suppose I was given a very unique insight into the excitement she created at the school when she first hit the scene. After her single ‘Started Out’ was released, word spread through the school, and indeed around the rest of the industry, like wildfire. A proud moment for her peers, and by the time I had left, her picture was hung proudly inside the school.

I had the pleasure of meeting Georgia at BBC Introducing Live last year where she spoke in great detail to a room of young musicians about her process of writing and recording. It was an incredibly enlightening talk that she gave, and she showed these young creators that they no longer need to be able to hire a studio or sound engineers if they want to create music. I could see the confidence she installed in the eyes of the audience and she seemed to genuinely care about hearing the stories of young artists.

My favourite part about her talk at BBC Introducing was hearing her nerd out about her collection of classic synths. I especially love artists who know their stuff, and it’s that knowledge which has allowed her to create her special sound.

I think the biggest thing that Georgia and her music represent is the shift in the music industry over the last 20 years – no longer do you even need to leave the house to have a hit record, but don’t let it be said that it’s any easier. The thing that sets Georgia apart from DJ’s or other producers is her knowledge of classic production techniques and her talents for mixing songs as well as playing and singing, not to mention her incredible ability for lyric writing, which she says finds most difficult but takes inspiration from her idol Kate Bush.

I also need to mention her incredible on-stage performance. This is definitely what intrigued me about her – and whoever said a female drummer couldn’t perform live on Jools Holland AND sing AND look totally cool doing it?

At least through what I’ve seen, Georgia has been so incredibly inspirational to a lot of young musical, especially female talent, and shows that a young woman from London can accomplish so much without the need of assistance – Georgia is an artist who deserves our attention.

Her new album ‘Seeking Thrills’ is available to listen to right now.