Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist Georgia Fields hopes that her gigs leave people feeling better than when they arrived, and that philosophy will be at the heart of her upcoming performance with the Andromeda String Quartet at Hawthorn Arts Centre on August 8 as part of the venue’s new Strings and Voices concert series.
Speaking with Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips, the Naarm-based artist explained that her collaboration with the quartet has evolved naturally over more than a decade. After teaching herself to write string arrangements for her own recordings, drawing on five years of childhood cello lessons, Fields soon found herself arranging for other artists before eventually bringing strings back to the forefront of her own music. “I’d known the string players for a long time,” she said. “I’ve been working with some of them for over 10 years.” A tour a few years ago marked the beginning of the current format, combining her songs with the expressive power of a live string quartet.
MORE ABOUT THE INTERVIEW
While large orchestral arrangements have their own grandeur, Fields says there’s something uniquely captivating about a quartet. “You can really hear every single hair of the bow on the string,” she explained, describing the intimacy and texture that a smaller ensemble offers.
Although the quartet’s meticulously written arrangements mean rehearsal time is relatively straightforward, the addition of live looping introduces another level of preparation. Fields uses a Boss RC-500 looper, favouring its simple two-channel format because she believes creative limitations often produce stronger musical results. “It’s a bit like a Sudoku puzzle,” she laughed.
The Hawthorn performance arrives at a fitting time of year. Fields says winter concerts naturally lend themselves to warmth and intimacy. “You need to invite people to come out of their cosy and join your cosy,” she said, adding that the atmosphere of the quartet show perfectly suits Melbourne’s colder months.
That sense of connection also informs her personal goal before every performance.
“I hope that tonight’s performance is useful for somebody,” she said. “I hope somebody leaves the room feeling a little bit better than they came in, not because of me and my skills, but because of the feeling we’re able to create on stage.”
Away from the live stage, Fields continues to build a new body of work one song at a time. Rather than waiting until a complete album is finished, she’s been releasing singles as they’re recorded, including Chameleon and Night Swimming. As an independent artist funding her own recordings, the approach is partly practical but has also allowed her to respond to audiences as the project evolves.
“I’m making a song, recording it and releasing it while I’m still making the rest of the album,” she said. “It’s born out of necessity, but it also yields its own interesting results.”
Song ideas can arrive almost anywhere. Fields now relies heavily on the Notes app and Voice Memos on her phone to capture lyrics and melodies before later transferring them to pen and paper for the hands-on process of shaping a song. One recent composition was written while walking to and from a train station, only for her to discover the verse and bridge had emerged in different time signatures.
The singer also spoke about her recent collaboration with Katie Noonan, for whom she wrote a string arrangement after hearing one particular song performed live on piano. She was touring alongside Noonan as the material was taking shape and immediately heard the orchestral possibilities.
Fields is equally passionate about mentoring emerging musicians. Rather than thinking of self-promotion, she encourages artists to see it as sharing the work itself.
“You’re promoting the art,” she said. “You’ve made the work. It’s worth something and you owe it to the work to share it with the world.”
On stage, Fields performs primarily on a Nord keyboard, alternating between piano and Wurlitzer sounds while allowing the Andromeda String Quartet to provide the orchestral colour. She occasionally incorporates electric guitar into her solo performances, including a treasured vintage family instrument and a Fender Telecaster purchased for her 40th birthday.
As part of Hawthorn Arts Centre’s inaugural Strings and Voices series, Fields’ performance promises to be one of the month’s highlights. Running across four Saturdays in August, the series brings together some of Australia’s most adventurous artists, pairing voices with strings in intimate performances designed to offer audiences warmth, beauty and connection through winter. Alongside Georgia Fields and the Andromeda String Quartet, the series features performances from Lior with a string quartet led by Nigel Westlake, Xani Kolac, Harpedelique Ensemble and Homophonic!, creating a month-long celebration of cinematic, richly textured contemporary music.
Strings and Voices
Hawthorn Arts Centre: 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, VIC
Saturday 1 August – Lior and Xani – Tickets
Saturday 8 August – Georgia Fields with Andromeda String Quartet and Happy Axe – Tickets
Saturday 15 August – Harpedelique Ensemble and Invenio – Tickets
Saturday 29 August – Homophonic! RESPECT and QiQi – Tickets
All tickets on sale now via: boroondara.vic.gov.au/arts
Tickets available by telephone, Box Office or online.
Phone: 03 9278 4770 – Email: arts@boroondara.vic.gov.au