GEORGIA FIELDS SHARES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘HOLDING MY HANDS OUT’
Ever-engaging and perpetually cutting-edge, indie shapeshifter Georgia Fields once again wows with elegant ease on her bold new track Holding My Hands Out, officially released today.
A magnetic showing of fearless art-pop and searing vulnerability, Holding My Hands Out marks another sublime insight into Georgia’s upcoming third full-length album Hiraeth. The new track is accompanied by a bewitching, kaleidoscopic music video – in which we see Georgia ominously expel moths from her mouth – firmly reflecting thematic notions of rebirth, and the dark depths of the subconscious.
Georgia will be celebrating the single’s release with an all ages matinee show at Wesley Anne on Sunday July 10.
Holding My Hands Out dazzles in textural dexterity, powerful melodics, and the compelling vocal stylings of Georgia herself – as she strides freely from breathy serenity to dauntless power. Brought to life by producer, engineer & drummer Josh Barber (Gretta Ray, Emma Anglesey, Gotye), the recording process saw Georgia and Josh experiment with found objects, crafting the track’s distinctive snare sample by layering half-broken children’s toys and vintage wood percussion. Terracotta pots were played melodically with felted sticks. Finally, with the addition of Georgia’s string quartet Andromeda, it’s little wonder the end result is otherworldly, immersive and lush; a perfect adjunct to the single’s inspiration and narrative content, as Georgia elaborates:
“It’s a song about that primal desire we all have to be held. It’s about reaching your hands out for comfort, but grasping at shadows. From a songwriting perspective, I was inspired by the simple yet anthemic choruses of artists like Sarah Blasko, Weyes Blood and Sharon van Etten. I was also hugely impacted by the novel Islands, by Australian author Peggy Frew. There’s something about Peggy’s writing that cuts straight to my heart – I’ve found all her novels deeply affecting. Holding My Hands Out is partly written from the perspective of her character June, as well as June’s mother, Helen.”
The video for Holding My Hands Out features the eleventh collaboration between Georgia and independent director and cinematographer Rohan Spong. Georgia emphatically stands front-and-centre, embodying the poignant lyrics and oscillating emotives, styled in striking, statement sleeves by iconic Australian label Sass & Bide and a custom piece from Anna Cordell Clothing. As to the video concept and final mesmerising end result, Georgia shares:
“Something very special happens when I hand a song over to Rohan. His visual interpretation of my music always reveals a deeper understanding of my own songs back to me. I rarely present a video concept; I’m always keen to hear what the song sparks in his mind’s eye.”
“For Holding My Hands Out, we wanted to play with light, colour and shadow, referencing the lyrics ‘you move like a shadow’. Rohan had this idea that I could cough up moths, and they would swarm above me like a cloud of unspoken menace. I loved this because moths represent transformation and rebirth, but also disguise, our hidden nature, and the night – the realm of the subconscious. To create that feeling of non-space, or the internal landscape (similar to The Void in Stranger Things), we filmed in both the cyclorama and black room at DCF Studios in Thornbury.”
Since emerging onto the Melbourne music scene in 2010 with her critically-acclaimed self-titled debut album, Georgia has continued to sonically surprise her audience. Her solo show sees the genre-defying trailblazer swap between electric guitar, vintage keyboards, and textural live looping. Georgia is also regularly joined by her 4- piece band of multi-instrumentalists, and frequently collaborates with the Andromeda String Quartet in an ethereal, art music / chamber folk crossover. In 2020, she launched Mother Lode: an online community for self-employed musicians who are mothers.
Now, Georgia sets her sights firmly on the release of her third studio album Hiraeth; a follow-up from 2016’s Astral Debris, which garnered airplay on Douple J, ABC Radio National and community radio nationwide. Inspired by the Welsh word with no direct English translation, Georgia’s new body of work explores “a profound longing for a home you can’t return to…the nostalgia/grief for the lost places of your past”. Holding My Hands Out is a salient snippet of what’s to come on Hiraeth, while ultimately offering Georgia the chance to turn her creative verve outward once more, as she concludes:
“The process of songwriting and recording is quite an internal one for me – so I’m really looking forward to shifting my focus; sharing this song with the world, and seeing how it connects with people. It’s a vulnerable feeling, but also quite joyful.”
Holding My Hands Out is out Friday 17 June. Hiraeth is due in November 2022.
This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, as well as the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
HOLDING MY HANDS OUT SINGLE LAUNCH
SUN 10 JUL | WESLEY ANNE, NORTHCOTE | 3PM MATINEE | AA
CHRISTIAN RUIZ SHARES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘MISS YOU’
Glossy artist and producer Christian Ruiz has shared Miss You; an effervescent slice of soothing electronic pop released today, June 15. A track detailing unexpected connections alongside calm hooks and airy vocals, as well as Christian’s debut single as a solo artist, Miss You is also accompanied by a music video to dynamically transport you into Christian’s magnetic creative world.
Miss You bubbles with warm electronic instrumentation, hypnotic rhythmics and Christian’s buoyant delivery throughout, morphing hints of The Weeknd, Ryan Tedder and Justin Bieber beneath Christian’s fresh charm; a fact made even more cohesive with mastering on the single by Colin Leonard who has previously worked alongside Justin Bieber, as well as Beyonce, Paul McCartney and Migos. Equally melodic, sentimental and irresistibly passionate, Miss You also showcases a resounding narrative, centred around accidental meetings, apprehension and, finally, acceptance, as Christian elaborates, “It’s about finding someone you didn’t expect to come across, knowing you have a strong connection with them, but being too afraid to admit it and then denying it.”
The film clip for Miss You enhances the delicate subject matter and swooning arrangements, with Christian editing, co-producing and co-directing the video alongside cinematographer Joshua Menzel. Perfectly reflecting the shift in mood and lyrics throughout the glistening tune, from gnawing negativity to ultimate acceptance, the clip places Christian firmly on display as he personally moves through the emotive journey towards an optimistic conclusion, as he elaborates, “The basic concept of the clip is me being in a desolate place, struggling to get through life and being transported to a dark place with a build up of thoughts. But it has a positive ending which brings authenticity to the song’s honest meaning.”
Mixed by Liam Quinn (Rita Ora, Ruel, Illy), Miss You may mark the first official chapter in Christian’s solo artistic adventure, but he’s certainly no stranger to the musical realms, starting from a young age when he was drawn to teaching himself how to record and produce, before moving on to work as a producer and, finally, arriving at his dream pathway in 2022: creating and releasing his own music. Prior to unveiling Miss You, Christian produced hip hop music, and had travelled to Los Angeles and Atlanta to work with artists and producers, leading to him being offered a contract with the godfather of trap music Zaytoven (Usher, The Weeknd, Drake, Young Thug, 21 Savage). But with a door unexpectedly closing, having to return back home to Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some soul-searching ultimately revealed to Christian an open and extremely ready creative window; and one he is ready to share with the world, as he explains, “It feels exciting and scary at the same time to release something so close to my heart. I hope that people will relate and resonate with what I have created.”
Miss You is out today, June 15.
KAV TEMPERLEY SHARES NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO ‘MACHINES OF LOVE AND GRACE’
Eskimo Joe frontman Kav Temperley today furthers his sublime solo endeavours, releasing a deeply poetic, ethereal-yet-pounding new single Machines Of Love And Grace. Tackling the themes of connectivity in the digital age, Kav has also today shared an affecting music video for Machines Of Love And Grace, simultaneously capturing the track’s existential narrative and driving instrumentals alongside Kav’s dynamic stylings.
Machines Of Love And Grace was not inspired by the Richard Brautigan poem (although Temperley does admire his work), but by the notion theorists have put forward that humans are outliers on the planet – a virus upon it – because we put so much emphasis on love and empathy, ideals which don’t really exist in the animal kingdom. We are, in effect, machines of love and grace.
Machines Of Love And Grace firmly harnesses a sharp spotlight on Kav’s passion and penchant for songwriting that first endeared him so heavily in the Aussie music scene and beyond, boasting driving alt rock flavours with moments of acoustic calm and lush, stripped-back beauty. With its glistening piano and Kav’s familiar, soothing vocals, Machines Of Love And Grace steadily oscillates between fuzzy riffage and more introspective calm, much like its own brooding and ruminating subject matter, as Kav explains, “The song is about the complex and intimate relationships we have through our phones, seen through the lens of the last two-and-a-half years of the pandemic. Having devices in our hands has allowed us to have dinner with loved ones all over the world, all locked in our houses, and follow every moment of each other’s life; whether we want to or not, it’s often the first thing we see in the morning and the last thing we see before we go to sleep. With the touch of a button, anything and everything is available to us, good and bad.”
Filmed and directed by Eskimo Joe visual collaborator Cooper Gordon, the video for Machines Of Love And Grace perfectly complements the bittersweet themes explored in the song, with Kav intimately playing up the voyeuristic elements of social media and digital connection underpinning proceedings, elaborating, “Voyeurs to each other’s lives, I’m asking the question: do any of us feel like we exist unless we’re posting? And who are we when the camera lights turn off? We now live through these machines in the most intimate way, and we take them anywhere and everywhere we go! For the video, it was an idea of FaceTime without having Facetime,” Kav says.“Themost amazing thing is that the actor and the actress reacting to each other, they never met each other, yet on camera, it’s like they’re having an intimate relationship. It’s absolutely fascinating and plays into the whole theme about the machines of love and grace.”
Founding the ARIA award-winning, four-times platinum band Eskimo Joe at just 19, Kav turned winning a band competition back in the day into a career just shy of 25 years as the frontman, bass player and songwriter for what would go on to become one of Australia’s most beloved bands. The group’s breakout single Black Fingernails, Red Wine spent 62 weeks in the Top 50, with Kav going on to write and record seven studio albums with Eskimo Joe.
Alongside Kav’s extensive career fronting Eskimo Joe, he’s also a seasoned performer both onstage and onscreen, having toured nationally and internationally in Asia, America and Europe, and snagging guest TV appearances on Spicks and Specks, Rockwiz, Good Morning Australia, The Project, Sunrise, The Sound and Rage. With performance highlights including the 2021 AFL grand final in Perth, Sound Relief, Live Earth, the ARIA Awards, Big Day Out, Homebake, Splendour In The Grass and Sundance Film Festival in Utah to name a few, Kav’s also simultaneously embraced and emboldened his role in the industry as an expert and mentor in creativity and songwriting, developing the Create, Explore, Produce songwriting model while also creating various productions for causes and events, and judging numerous songwriting competitions.
Set to hit the road on tour with Eskimo Joe later in the year, the APRA, WAM and OceanFloor Music ambassador is currently in his seventh year of running creative workshops, 2022 finds Kav at his most potent and prolific yet as he gears up to release even more new music under his solo moniker.
Machines Of Love And Grace is out now.
ESKIMO JOE TOUR DATES
WED 28 SEP| THE TIVOLI | BRISBANE
FRI 30 SEP| ODEON THEATRE | HOBART
SAT 1 OCT| FORUM | MELBOURNE
TUES 4 OCT | THEBARTON THEATRE | ADELAIDE
WED 5 OCT | ENMORE THEATRE | SYDNEY
SAT 15 OCT | FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE | PERTH