NeoL

――You are here for Black country, New road, and your group is going through a lot of changes, and may have very different experiences. How have these experiences been and how were the performances in Japan?


Georgia ：It’s been a quick turnaround with the music. We released the album and we didn’t play it live so the circle got cut off, you know. Usually, we play it for a while. But it was amazing coming to Japan. Most of us haven’t been this far away and May is half Japanese so she was excited to come. It’s just a dream for all of us. It was amazing and the audience was incredible yesterday. Everyone was listening and apparently there was a frog at the front of the stage rabbeting, and you can hear the frog in the silence so that was cool. But everyone was loving the tracks, dancing, moving their hands and laughing. It was really good.


――When you are playing the new material, is it difficult to perform or is it enjoyable?


Georgia ：It’s not difficult. It’s different and we had to adapt quickly. We chose to share the responsibility of the frontwoman or man. So that’s a new thing for all of us. It’s there to support everyone and it’s new. We’ve been thrust straight into many festivals. It’s a journey.

――I think Black Country, New Road and the Jockstrap debut at about the same time. Maybe Black Country, New Road has a long history, considering they had previous projects. Would you consider Jockstrap as something more open and allows you to try new things you want to do?


Georgia ：I have written songs and lyrics for Jockstrap, it is inherently me because the songs are autobiographical. I am also very involved in the visual side of Jock strap, in making the music videos. I have put a considerable amount of time into that project. I feel like I have learnt lots of things from Black Country, New Road though, being with all these different people. Everyone has got a different musical history background. I have grown to love more guitar music than I did before by playing in that band. Sometimes I just want to make guitar music. They both feed into each other for me. My ideal situation would be to continue both forever.


――Guildhall School of Music & Drama, which you went to, has a lot of talented students from different backgrounds. Can you tell us why you decided to work with these people and why you were so drawn to Taylor’s sound production?


Georgia ：Firstly the reason we were drawn to Guildhall was that there were diverse course options. They had an electronic music course and drama department and it was also in Barbican in London, which is like a cool building and area with loads of creative things going on. There are some great concert halls and fantastic cinemas as well. Because of the people that have been there in the past like Mika Levi as well, we were compelled to come.


I was drawn to Taylor’s production because we shared similar interests when we were teenagers, like the music we listened to. I heard in his music, that he also puts his electronic tracks into little clips of movies. So he would present them with visuals. So I liked that and thought that it was right. But I also never met a producer, like one that is grown up. Living six hours away from London, I was away from London. This is why I felt that I need this sort of person who takes what I want to do further, and compliments what I have to say.





――So even before going to Guildhall, did you always want to be a songwriter than a performer? What were the origins of your songwriting?


Georgia ：I don’t think I knew what I wanted to be. I never studied Jazz before and I felt that it would be another good skill. You are encouraged in, England, any way to study but keep your options very open. So that’s kind of what I was doing. I studied classical and tried jazz and it was then I decided I wanted to do this. I tried before when I was a teenager to write songs and they never been good enough for me. I just didn’t know really.


――So what you learned in school was the best asset?


Georgia ：Yes, it was definitely. Also the people back in school, there was an influx of really creative people who were already writing songs for crazy productions already signed to a label. I think working with those people and seeing what they were doing was like, cool. I can do this.





――In Japan, there is a strong image of you as a violinist in Black Country, New Road. A lot of people were surprised when they listened to Jockstrap because your voice was beautiful and you could sing. Can you tell us a little bit about your vocal and singing starting point and whether you had training?


Georgia ：No, no training. I just enjoyed singing always. I had a couple of singing lessons but I never took it any further. I think voices are cool and great because you can be an awful singer, some people say that Mick Jaggers is an awful singer but he’s such a great singer. You don’t have to be able to sing because the uniqueness of your voice carries it completely. I’m not too precious about my singing. I also tried to get singing lessons at Guildhall while I was there. You had to audition and I’d audition every year and I would never get my singing lessons. Maybe that was a sign that it was a different thing. I don’t believe that you need to be able to sing. It’s just another tool.

――What do you find is fun about singing?


Georgia ：It’s so fun. I think some people don’t like singing. I think it’s just joyous. Especially if you are singing with people. I’ve done some workshops, or just like karaoke. When I was younger my sister or my friends and I would learn Destiny’s Child lyrics top to the bottom, like all the albums. It was just like so satisfying with raps and singing them. It’s just such a good form of self-expression to put into music as well. It’s like words to music, an ingenious idea.





――We liked “What’s it all about”, “Glasgow” and “Lanchester Court”. We felt that it focused on the vocals, bringing the vocals to the forefront. Were there any ideas you had behind these or something that you wanted to express through this music?


Georgia ：Maybe it was something about using the guitar because I didn’t learn it. I didn’t have guitar lessons and maybe the vocals, and melody needed it more when I write with the guitar.


――Did you write with the guitarist?


Georgia ：Yes, for these songs yes.


――Can you also tell us about how you write the lyrics? We felt that it is very autobiographical and we want to know how you process certain emotions and experiences.


Georgia ：Yes, I write the lyrics to a song first. I write them on a notes app on my phone like everyone else probably. So, I will either be sitting down writing a poem about how I’m feeling or what I am inspired by it or I would suddenly feel something and want to write it in short forms like a poem. I quite like it as a medium to express feelings you need to work through because I like using imagery. Surrealist imagery is a good way to describe how you feel. But for this album, the lyrics came second, and they were a response to what Taylor has done. They have been more carefree and nice to do because the weight is kind of off your shoulders. It’s more about how it sounds and not so much about what you are saying.





――The song “Angst” has an interesting metaphor about giving birth. Could you tell us about the lyrics?


Georgia ：The poem is quite old and it was written after the Wicked City, which was the EP before. It holds all these quite angry lyrics going through a breakdown and coming back up again. So I used that on this album. I don’t know why we chose to include it but it gave a nice break in the album cause this album was a lot more positive than Wicked City.


It’s about anxiety in general and I think anxiety feels like you have something in you. That’s why I used that metaphor as a baby. It’s very physical, the feeling of anxiety for me, and I’m describing a moment behind closed doors where it overcomes the feeling and it takes over.


――Black Country, New Road has a lot of gigs planned out and Jockstrap would have a lot of live shows coming up. It is a very important time for both projects so, if you happen to have a gig on the same day, which would you choose?


Georgia ：Well, I have someone who plays the violin in Black Country, New Road when I’m not there so I would have to do that. The Jockstrap gig won’t happen if I’m not there but if I get to choose I would be in both gigs.

photography Marisa Suda（https://www.instagram.com/marisatakesokphotos/）
text Junnosuke Amai（https://twitter.com/junnosukeamai）