I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is so much more to George Maple than meets the eye. Having been invited to the ‘Sensis Marquee’ as part of ‘Stakes Day’ to knock the socks off punters with her heavy beats, Ms Maple rocked it and then some. I was lucky enough to chat to her afterwards and eat cake. Cause why not?! Suffice to say, hanging with this gal is a real treat and I look forward to crossing paths with her again soon.
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How was that performance for you? You did say earlier it was out of your comfort zone?
That’s a very good way of putting it but you know what, that’s a good thing. I can’t stay inside my comfort zone, that’s boring. I don’t think what I played today was a normal set for the races but it was fun.
Do you think you’d ever come back to the races and just enjoy it?
I think if I had a big group of friends we’d have a great time and we’d be really ridiculous.
You’d probably want to be out there too. It’s very entertaining.
I’ve never been to this kind of races before but I went to some cup day in Sydney about six years ago and I remember not remembering very much. I ended up at Piano Room at like 4am or something ridiculous and I was like how did I get here?!
I saw our girl Tkay Maidza last night!
What she was here! I didn’t even know. I should have gone to her show!
You guys worked on ‘Simulation’ together and it went off let me tell you.
Oh did it! Ohhh, I got a shiver you saying that.
What is it that you love about working with Tkay?
I love that she captures youth. When I work with an artist I try and understand them, get in their head, and be them. For me that’s really fun. I remember she’d talk about school and various aspects of childhood and I suddenly thought that was really unique, and I kept telling her to capture that cause it never happens again. Her vision is to be like a bratty little kid but she’s not, her character is. It’s so unique and special. I love that she’s managed to capture that in the album. She’s very talented.
Both of you have started to cross over into the commercial world, which is incredible, and ‘Talk’ – anyone who knows you and your music – knows that it’s old [burst out laughing] but it’s such a classic and it’s found a new life all over again!
When I talked to Matt and Alex they were like so ‘Talk’ is a classic now. I was like what?! What we need now is the Pharrell cover of ‘Talk’ then my life will be complete. Can we just put that out in the universe please!?
‘Lover’ – what a tune!
Aw thank you.
Was that video a fantasy for you with all the cliché dancing in the rain?
It’s very Flashdance. Funnily enough, that scene was not planned. We went in there and all we wanted to do was capture me and Jordan (Kale Barrett) in that initial shot. They then said why don’t we do some movement stuff and I said why don’t I just dance. I’ve also been doing a lot of yoga and I did the back bend in the video and had to hold it for three minutes cause Darren (McDonald) wanted to get the shot. It was fun but it was so cold though, and pouring with rain; I even had rain in my nose but I loved it. This video was a big step in unravelling all the layers. It actually inspired that side of me again; the acting, the performance, the drama. It was really important.
I read that ‘Lover’ was quite a hard story to let go of. Why do you think the human condition always attracts us to complex love?
This is what I’ve been researching cause I don’t understand it. I think that it’s got something to do with our primal instincts. I’ve been reading this book about attachment theory and that we tend to attract what’s not good for us to reinforce the theory. I don’t know the answer to the question but I find it fascinating to explore the avenues.
I was also trying to figure out where all my songs are coming from cause I write them very subconsciously. I figured out that I’m really obsessed with observing intimacy and what it is. Then I became curious about other people’s versions of intimacy. I feel like this curiosity switch has gone off in me. I’ve felt it in the last couple of months; it’s a new perspective almost and I’m really excited about it.
Australia is back in Eurovision for 2017. Who would you want to represent us?
I would totally do that! OMG stop! That would be so sick! I’d wanna go in and do something completely unexpected, like today. Something heavy [bursts out laughing].
Next year…
I’m bringing out an album in February. There’ll be two or three current tracks on it and everything else is new. I’ve been gathering all my interludes; it’s so fun. And I’m doing FOMO.
It sucks FOMO doesn’t come to Melbourne!
I know. I’ve asked the promoters to see if we could organise something there, even if it’s a 170 Russell show.
Yes please! I also went to your show earlier this year at The Corner.
Yeah that was a really good show! My sound engineer was so excited he was like Melbourne on a Tuesday night OMG! It made me very happy.
We’re getting to that time of the year. What’s your new year’s resolution?
I’ve actually been reading more.
Me too. I need to get away from the phone.
Exactly right. Even if I’m on the Internet instead of browsing Facebook I’ve been listening to Ekhart Tohle and Dalai Lama and trying to learn more. I think it’s really important to find that proper sense of centeredness and balance wherever you are. I feel like it’s mind, body and spirit and if they’re working in balance then you’re in a good spot. I want to find a word that captures those three things and get a tattoo of it. I don’t know what the word is yet, but it’ll come to me.
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author: Kara Bertoncini
photos by: SDP Photography