Ainsley Farrell and Georgia Mulligan seem to exist on the same creative wavelength. Ainsley’s newest single Walls explores a heavier side of folk rock, ascending from a mellow ballad to a squalling crescendo. While Georgia’s two 2018 singles, The Dark and So Long, are similarly subdued, revelling in refined guitar lines and sombre melodies.
However, listening to both side-by-side, you are immediately struck by a profound emotional force. They are by no means the same artist, but we feel they are kindred musical minds, so we were thrilled when we were handed the transcript of a chat they had a little back. Have a read below!
Kindred musical minds Ainsley Farrell and Georgia Mulligan take some time to chat creative inspiration and food obsessions.
Ainsley to Georgia
AINSLEY: What is your first music-related memory?
GEORGIA: Definitely not a very cool one. I was quite into The Wiggles as a child, however, I’m pretty sure the Play School soundtrack remains one of my key influences.
AINSLEY: Worst and best gig?
GEORGIA: Ha. Well there have been many mediocre gigs in terms of turn-out, but they are usually not the worst ones – the worst ones are when I feel like I’m not able to be totally present while playing, when I’m distracted or self-conscious. Some of the best ones have been my EP launch in 2016 and our recent single launch at Cobra Club last month – on both occasions the room was filled with people I care about, who were actually listening.
AINSLEY: If you weren’t pursuing music, what else would you be pursuing?
GEORGIA: I’ve actually been asking myself that question a lot lately – what else could I be doing that might be worthwhile, and that I might actually enjoy? I suppose I would go back to uni, I’m a big history junkie so I always thought I would do my Masters in History or Museum Studies.
For now I’ve decided to prioritise music stuff and really give it a red-hot go with the new album and everything before I think about doing something else. However, I have found that most of my favourite songwriters have had many lives – I like to think that it is possible to pursue different interests and opportunities and return to songwriting all the richer for it.
AINSLEY: What artist are you listening to a lot at the moment?
GEORGIA:Sarah Mary Chadwick (Melbourne) just put out a new album, Sugar Still Melts in the Rain. She is an amazing writer and visual artist. I feel like she is a pop genius with no filter on her emotions.
AINSLEY: Raisins or grapes?
GEORGIA: Aaah. Probably grapes.
Georgia to Ainsley
GEORGIA: Was there a particular artist that first inspired you to write songs?
AINSLEY: I think it’s probably come from accumulated bits of inspiration from many different artists over time. But when I first picked up a guitar, I had no idea what I was doing so I just played something until it sounded alright and then sang along with it. It was easier/ more fun to just make up my own songs by ear than to learn actual theory.
GEORGIA: Top 3 albums you have obsessed over?
AINSLEY: Ohh this is hard… I’ll say Dig On by She Keeps Bees, Charades by The Shivers, and Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective
GEORGIA: Are you more ‘slow-and-steady’ or ‘stream of consciousness’ in your creative process?
AINSLEY: Very ‘stream of consciousness’ for the most part, but then slow and steady when I’m trying to finish a song that I only have part of. There’s a lot of ‘stream of consciousness’ half songs on the backburner and I’ll rotate through them to see if I can bring any to fruition.
GEORGIA: How do you come up with music video ideas? Do you always have strong imagery in your head when a song is first coming together?
AINSLEY: I usually have an idea in my head of how I’d like a music video to be for a song, but I don’t ever have the budget or gear to fulfil those dreams so I start off with a pretty simple idea and let it grow from there. A lot of it is just what can I come up with in the environment I’m in at the time and then starting to gradually pull in inspiration from my surroundings.
GEORGIA: Lentils or chickpeas?
AINSLEY: Oh no Georgia, Don’t make me choose! … Alright, chickpeas. Because hummus.
