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
GEORGIA FIELDS – HOLDING MY HANDS OUT – Official single artwork
