Interview: Meet Georgia Lines, The Aotearoa Local Drops New Emotional Ballad

In a stirring new track where every note is imbued with raw emotion and unbridled passion, Aotearoa's musical slice Georgia Lines unveils her latest masterpiece, The Letter. Following the resounding success of her previous chart-toppers, Monopoly and Romeo, Georgia's newest track solidifies her as a versatile and powerful songwriter, with some of her spine-tingling best.

The Letter begins with a soft touch and builds to a full embrace of intensified peace. Returning to her roots of singing and playing the piano, Georgia delivers a captivating track that resonates with sincerity and vulnerability.

Georgia's meteoric rise in the music industry is a testament to her undeniable talent and unyielding determination. From being named the AMA Breakthrough Artist of the Year to electrifying audiences at SXSW, Georgia's journey is marked by milestones of success and acclaim.

From watching Lines in INTROS you can just feel the passion and personality ooze from her soul! We caught up with this absolute slice to chat all things music, Tiramisu and fashion!

Read all the feels below:

When did your music journey begin?

My musical journey began during my last year of primary school, thanks to the phenomenon that was High School Musical. As a kid, I was always drawn to creative pursuits, whether it was putting on magic shows with questionable ‘tricks’ or staging circus performances for my parents’ and their friends amusement (admit it, we've all been there). However, singing in front of others was a completely new experience for me; the closest I got was singing through my nose to Britney Spears on Singstar.

Everything changed for me when a group of friends and I decided to recreate the iconic 'Breaking Free' scene from the movie for our school's talent quest. Dressed in white lab coats borrowed from the science department, I nervously made my way through the crowd to sing the opening lines, shaking in my boots the entire time. That moment, at the age of 10, marked the beginning of my musical journey. From that moment I fell in love with performing, songwriting and with the idea of pursuing music as a career. It’s been 17 years since that first moment and gosh do I love the wild ride that it’s been.

Tell us everything about your new track ‘The Letter’

This song is pretty special to me and one that I hold pretty close to my heart. I wrote The Letter on my very first writing trip to LA back in November 2022 and it has been living in my dropbox since then, waiting for the right time to release it into the world.

I have always felt so deeply the privilege of being an artist. Of writing music that means something so deeply to me in the hope it would connect and resonate deeply with those who listen. From those very first moments I began writing this song with Whakaio Taahi and Ricky Manning, we felt the depth of emotion, the weight of the song and the magic in the vulnerability. The Letter is the most powerful, emotional, gut wrenching ballad and it has been so special hearing how people have been connecting to the track and finding their own stories within the song.

The last few years have been pretty challenging for me personally and I know there will come a time when I can delve deeper into the meaning behind The Letter.. but for now my hope is that people continue to discover their own narratives within the song.

 Super excited to hear your new music after experiencing The Letter, what can we expect with your upcoming debut album?

Thank you so much! I’m incredibly proud of this album, and I must admit, I’m feeling a mix of excitement and nerves about its release. To be honest, It’s not quite what anyone might expect from me - it’s a bit of a departure from my most recent releases - but it feels like the most authentic and honest work I’ve ever created.

After releasing The Letter and seeing how deeply people have connected to that first single, I’m excited to share the rest of the album. It’s a collection of songs that inhabit a pretty magical world full of ballads, strings, big vocals, honest lyrics, with a duet even hiding in there and the odd song that feels like it is out of the 1930’s.

Leading into the album I found myself watching old Disney animations, and found myself inspired by the scene in Alice in Wonderland, where Alice is singing with the flowers. I loved the whimsical and magical world that this scene invoked, even down to the colours and the tone of the music. This was the world I wanted the album to live in and I think we’ve done a pretty good job at capturing some pretty magical moments that would fit into that world. Overall, I think listeners can expect a pretty immersive journey through a world of raw, honest emotion, musical depth, and a bit of nostalgic charm.

I can't wait for everyone to experience it!

It’s clear you live and breathe music, can you tell us a bit about your involvement with intros?

Yes! Gosh I feel like all my childhood dreams of creating shows in my living room are now very much a reality...except way cooler. The only thing missing from INTROS is some terrible magic tricks, which I will keep to myself.

Intros is a web series that we created almost two years ago now, where I interview up and coming Female and Non-binary artists. We sit down and have a relaxed conversation where we talk all about their creative journey, the story behind the music, and the inspiration that led to the creation of their songs - alongside having  important conversations around navigating the industry and tools they have learnt along the way.

At the beginning of my musical journey, gaining recognition was quite difficult. Once I started to gain some momentum, it was a little easier, but until that point, the opportunities for Up & coming artists were often few and far between, especially for female artists. Over the past few years I really noticed the significant gap of opportunities for up-and-coming artists, especially female and non-binary . This realisation fuelled the creation of INTROS, as I really wanted to create a platform where these incredible artists could be introduced to my audience.

Now, we find ourselves in the third season of INTROS, which is now currently in collaboration with Rolling Stone - an absolute mind blowing partnership that showcases these incredible artists on a global scale.

What’s been the highlight so far when it comes to your music journey?

Honestly, there has been so many highlights. I absolutely love that I get to do this for my job. However, I know that doesn’t answer your question at all.

One highlight for sure was performing at SXSW in Austin Texas back in 2023. We played 7 shows in 4 days, including the Opening Party. By nature of these showcases, you can not control any specific outcomes or who comes along to those shows. So I went into the week with reasonably low expectations of outcomes and really focused my attention on preserving energy, and playing each show as best as I could. When I came back to NZ, my manager Mikee woke up to an email from my now booking agent, Larry Webman, whose words were... Hi I’m Larry Webman, I look after Coldplay, Sara Barellies, MGMT... I have been following your journey for the past little while through discovering your music through your drummer Stan Bicknell. I sent some agents along to your showcases at SXSW and I would love to be on the team.

WILD! So, to be honest... that has been a pretty huge highlight for me.

Name the best place you’ve been to for food?

There is this amazing Italian restaurant back home called Alpino, which is one of my most favourite places to go. The Tiramisu is incredible! And... Yes, I am very much a sweet tooth and would happily have dessert for dinner.

How else do you express your creative side? I love your style, you look like you might be a fashion girly?

Thank you! I am such a big fan of fashion and always have been. I actually had this conversation with my mum the other day when she saw an outfit I was wearing and told me it was absolutely “out the gate”. My response was... “Yes, but how good is it though!”.

Ever since I was a kid, I loved fashion and really did have my own vibe and found that it was just an extension of my personality and another way to express my creativity.

I also love to sew. I’m definitely not the greatest and I haven’t done it in a while... but I do love just making things from scratch, even if it turns out terrible and it's held together by a staple at the end of the day.

If you were stuck on an island indefinitely, what three people would you want with you and how would they help?

To be honest, I think I would want my parents and brother with me. I love my family so much and feel like they would make being stuck on an island indefinitely, way more fun and bearable. My dad knows how to pretty much make most things, and loves to hunt... so on a practical level.. I wouldn’t be trying to catch fish with my bare hands or shivering in the cold. My dad & brother are both very much the same person (very different, but also quite similar - if that’s even possible) and find humour in almost anything, which would make things fun.... And My mum is wonderful and also one of my best friends, so we could roll our eyes at the boys and talk about all the outfits we miss wearing when we weren’t stuck on an island.

What could you do without but secretly or not so secretly love?

Buying clothes that I can’t afford.... But I love clothes so much. Especially ones I don’t own.

Would you rather play Glastonbury or sell your local pub every week?

Glastonbury. I love to travel and the idea of playing at Glastonbury is something that excites me so much. Travelling the world and playing a show vs playing at your local pub each week seems like a no brainer... but maybe that is because I spent years playing evenings at restaurants and weekends busking as a kid and Glastonbury is something I’ve never done before.

Maybe ask me when I’ve one day played Glastonbury and I can give you my actual thoughts.

Other than your debut album, what else is on the bingo card for 2024?

I am just about to head off on another US tour, opening for an artist called Priya Ragu. 12 shows across America (including 2 in Canada) over 3 weeks - which I am incredibly excited about! Also, with the release of the album, we are currently working on ideas with how we can create some pretty special experiences around the release of the record, and beyond that what touring the record will look like.. So I’m excited for the rest of 2024 to unfold and for the next few months to roll out.

Check out Georgia Lines new song The Letter below or head to our Chill Music Mix playlist to hear more songs like this one.

Written by Samuel Seedsman.