To coincide with the launch of her superb new collection of originals, the EP No One’s Calling, we caught an interview with songwriter and artist Georgia Ray, to talk more about her journey as a musician, the project and songwriting within, and plenty more. Here’s the conversation in full.
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Hi Georgia – thanks so much for your time, and massive congratulations for the wonderful new EP. For those new to your music, who or what first inspired you to write songs?
Thank you so much! I’m excited for it to finally be out in the world! Avril Lavigne was definitely the first person that inspired me to write songs. Everything about her inspired me – the melodies, the lyrics, her style… I think you can tell with some of my songs that there’s some Avril influence there!
Realising the way a song could fill you with so many different kinds of emotions and create/bring back memories was what really inspired me to want to create that feeling for myself and others. I also was lucky enough to have a piano in my house as a kid so I was always playing around on that and coming up with random bits and pieces.
Let’s talk about No One’s Calling – where did this title come from, and what connects the four songs?
This title comes from a lyric in the first track Regret It, but it also sums up the overall theme of the EP, which is essentially heartbreak and loss and the unique ways these can be experienced, and the loneliness that comes with it. Suddenly no one’s calling (or texting), and each song comes from a different perspective of what that feels like – there’s anger, sadness, regret and longing – and while most of the songs are centred around losing a relationship, the third track Tulips of September is about a different kind of loss. It still ties into the idea of No One’s Calling, as sometimes you lose someone you love and no one knows what to say, so they don’t say anything.
Regret It is a beautiful opening ballad, a full-band sound with a slight pop-punk twist and a nice contrast between melancholic lyrics and musical brightness. What was the writing process like for this, and why did you choose to open the project with it?
Thanks so much! I wrote this when I was feeling super angry and heartbroken, which I think helped a lot with bringing out a big chorus that I could use as an outlet for my angry energy, and lyrics that were 100% genuine. It was a pretty quick writing process because of this too, the words and melodies just came flowing out.
I’d say writing this song was the very thing that allowed me to move on, so it felt powerful to me and that’s why I wanted to open the EP with this song. It also has the lyric ‘no one’s calling’ in the first verse, and the way it starts off slow/acoustic and then launches into the full band sound is a cool way to introduce the EP I think.
The production varies distinctly as we move into Hypnotherapy – what does this song mean to you, and who worked with you in bringing to life such a diverse live sound?
This is the first single I released from the EP back in April, so it’s special to me because of that, and like Regret It this is also a song that felt therapeutic when writing it. It was exciting to release this song because it has more of a pop-rock sound than most of my previous music. My brother Kyle is the one behind all my music in terms of producing, so I mostly have him to thank! He also played the drums, bass and electric guitar for this track, which we recorded at Aviary Studios with the help of our friend Alex. I recently put a band together for my live shows, and it’s awesome to be able to play ‘Hypnotherapy’ and my other songs with that full band sound like the way they sound in the recordings.
It’s a pleasure to hear such stripped-back, genuine music re-emerging. Songs like Tulips of September really draw you in for the humanity and purity of the sound. Do you often play just you and the acoustic guitar, and is there much of a scene for this in Melbourne lately?
I still play some solo shows with just my acoustic guitar, there is a pretty decent scene for this in Melbourne, many venues offer good opportunities for solo singer-songwriters. However I did find that once I got a band together we got a lot more gig opportunities and we’re getting to play venues I never would have playing solo.
I also find it SO much more fun playing with my band as opposed to just by myself. I’m way more relaxed having the others up on stage with me and you can tell the audience get into the songs more too. Sometimes during a band gig I’ll still throw in a couple of stripped-back acoustic songs like Tulips of September to mix it up and keep that raw element in there.
What keeps you making music, and what do you think is your biggest ambition for 2024?
What keeps me making music is… I don’t know how to stop! It’s my favourite thing to do – writing a song, recording a song, performing a song. Even if no one ever listened to it, I’d still keep making music for myself. It’s just a huge bonus when people do respond to it!
My biggest ambition for 2024 is to play a festival and some interstate shows, I haven’t done either of these things before so I think it’d be really exciting!
Is there anything else we should know?
I’m playing a launch show with my band at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne on the EP release day (November 30). More gigs and music coming in 2024 – stay tuned!
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Find Georgia Ray on Facebook, Instagram & her Website. Header photo by Connor Walker (Kl3ur).
