10.07.25
Local Mix 040 —
Georgia Knight
Folk
Pop
Lounge Music
R&B/Soul
Electronic/ Dance
Alertnative/Indie
Georgia Knight is a musician from Naarm / Melbourne, Australia. Primarily composing and performing her songs on an autoharp, Georgia’s stage presence is as timeless as her voice is otherworldly. As she meanders through elements of folk, trip-hop, noise, synth soundscapes, dusty loops and samples, Georgia’s songs bloom into a collage of pop music heavily entwined with the avant-garde.
The local relase of her 2023 EP, Hell on Bent Street saw Georgia quickly rise in profile, performing standout shows at tastemaker festivals Dark Mofo, Camp A Low Hum (NZ) and Rising, and played alongside acts like Blonde Redhead (USA), Mogwai (SCT), Angie McMahon, Maple Glider, Darron Hanlon and more.
Georgia recently made the move to Ōtautahi. If you're in the loop, you might've caught her live supporting Martin Sagadin at Space Academy, on the line up at Flying Nun for Record Store Day, or playing a secret Port Noise show. To mark her arrival as a new local, we asked Georgia to put together a mix — and answer a few quick questions while she was at it. Keep your eyes peeled for more from Georgia who is releasing her first single off her new album this Wednesday 16 July <3
Tell us a little about how you approached making this mix — what was your jumping off point?
It's been a long time since I've made a playlist for anybody but myself.
I started with some of the music that informed the making of my new album. And then a few other bits slipped in, and then some which friend's have shown me (Amon Tobin's 'Killer's Vanilla', came from my friend Rosie Noyes) and then some in-between for lubrication.
Talk us through the flow of the mix, what is the ideal listening environment?
Flow wise, I'm a shit DJ. I tried to make this a bit story-like, and stick the harder stuff together so it doesn't hurt your ears. The ideal listening environment is headphones; if I really like something I'd like to get as close as possible and control the volume. If you’re listening to this like I do you would just skip around a lot anyway and find what you need.
Describe the kind of music you usually gravitate towards, do you listen to the same kind of music that you make or are those things separate for you?
When I was growing up music wasn't much a part of my life; I was really into animals and reading. I liked folk music because it was transporting, and big love ballads from listening to the radio like an Ipod, because I felt like I had big dreams to match.
Now when I listen to music everything arrives at equal speed and my judgement isn't based on familiarity - in way it was lonely because I didn't sing along too much with my friends, but it’s also been kind of helpful.
I listen to music that I'm working on obsessively, usually I start hearing things that aren't even there - which connects me to new tastes. Does that make sense?
What are the touchstones that you refer back to that you think that inform your sound? (Could be an artist, an era, a place etc)
For this album I had the movie “Babe” on my mind. Particularly a scene in the farmhouse where Farmer Hogget is rehabilitating the piglet Babe, and trying to get him to bottle feed. Farmer Hogget sings softly to Babe and it blows up into a crescendo with an orchestra and Scottish tattoo playing, 'If I Had Words'. That music was composed in 1886 by a Frenchman, then was reimagined in the 70's by a TV jingle writer who came up with the refrain and added a reggae beat. In 1995 it's sung by a farmer to reassure a piglet! Surreal. Westlife also covered it later on, probably as a reference to the movie. The album isn't about pigs, but it is pretty sentimental.
What are the touchstones that you refer back to that you think inform your aesthetic?
Always TV. I like hyper masculine and hyper feminine and there is a swing either way across the decades which I enjoy. I’m a very tall person so I wear a lot of men’s clothes.
Are there broader ideas of design that are influencing you at the moment? (i.e. books you've read, architecture, a perfect mug, iconic period, fashion hero)
I studied art when I left school, I was probably too young to be there. It gave me some confidence in making aesthetic decisions that I lean on nowadays.
Years ago I was given a book called 'Low Cost Design' by Daniele Pario Perra, which is full of photos of solutions to faulty design by normal people, mostly around Greece and Spain. A lot of it features repurposed rubbish (rubber bands holding doors open or homemade manhole covers or ramps for chickens). There are a few reasons why I find it so touching; it's a tidy comment on urban design, but what really appeals to me is evidence of people following the compulsion to invent without really knowing what they're doing. We're perfect machines for that.
Who would you invite to Friday beers or a Sunday morning cuppa tea... (living or passed, famous or non-famous)?
I've just moved to a new town in a new country, it'd be bold for me to bring anybody along to the pub just yet. I've met someone new every time I've gone out lately, but maybe I'd bring Terry Crews along because he's my favourite comedian. I think he'd get along with everyone really well and probably be good at the quiz. We'd put everything on Terry's tab, then leave without paying and no one would believe he had been there. I’m living in Christchurch but I haven’t explored the west coast properly yet, so Terry and I would go driving out there and see some snow.
What's your go to performance look or formula for a look?
When the band plays together everyone's clothing riffs on what they think the music is about, or where it fits as a genre. I do that too, and for some reason we all dressed like cater waiters for a while. I like to feel like there is an elevation of ordinary life, it helps me get in the mood and I think it's a sign of respect for the audience. Also it's nice to watch, it turns the audience on to be convinced that something deserves to be in front of them.
What is your favourite item of clothing you've ever owned, or an item that you have a strong memory of?
This sounds a bit sad but even though I hated high school, I really loved my uniform. (shirt, tie, kilt, tights, school shoes, jumper, blazer) It fit me tightly, the fabric was heavy and hard-wearing and I liked how dressed up it made me feel; it split the mundanity of being in class. Every adjustment and personalisation of a uniform is an exaggeration and a signature. I was glamorous at the bus stop and I had some sense of the subversiveness of school uniforms in society.
I wear the same pair of Doc Martin's I got from a guy who bought them for his formal five years ago, every day. I have no loyalty to the brand at all - it's just a throwback to how I felt at school.
Have you got anything coming up that we can help boost/ anything else we should know?
Yes! The first single from my upcoming album is coming out Wednesday July 16th. It's called Desire.
Links:
Follow Georgia Knight on Instagram at @georgiaknightclub