Breaking into the London music scene is hard, especially as a soul and folk singer. But that’s exactly what Georgia Bea intends to do this year, as well as finishing her first year of university, of course! I caught up with her to talk all things music and about an exciting new EP.
Name: Georgia Bea
Major & Year of Study: BA Journalism, 1st year
City of origin: Soufff – London
Relationship status: Comfortably single, but I’m an awfully good mingler
Wow Georgia, it’s been a busy year for you with the release of your new EP and the start of uni! How are you coping? It’s so exciting it makes me want to do an Irish jig! It does feel a little bit manic juggling uni, my blog and my music, but things slot into place. Also with music, it doesn’t really feel like work – what a cliché – but it’s actually my very cheap therapy. That’s how all of my songs come about, I just sit down, play the guitar and see what words and notes come out.
When can we expect the single to be released? Ah, I know as well as you do, to be honest. Right now I’m working with Downtown Artists in Soho to get me out there; they manage and represent me, the poor things. It’ll be fairly soon, it’s just a matter of getting me known before I spill the beans.
What is it about singing that you love? It’s about feeling. Singing has been a bit of a saviour for me. I had to leave school at 15 for a bit and I started Opera training with Royal Opera House’s Bernadette Lord, and she really helped me. She gave me a bit of a purpose for the short time I was out of school. Rock music or soul or folk, it is all meditative in some way. It appeals to someone out there and it can connect on a deeply emotional level.
Who is your singing inspiration and why? There are obviously many people who inspire me, like David Bowie in all his electrically eccentric loveliness, but I don’t base my music on them. It’s a hard question because if you are thinking about who you want to sound like when you write a song, you’re not being true to yourself. I definitely started singing on the school run to Capital FM. But my love really came when I heard Amy Winehouse for the first time. She had soul, charisma oozed out the car speakers, she was what I aspired to be. When she passed away I cried, because she was why I started properly singing and got singing lessons. It’s Amy’s soul I want to replicate, because without that heart-wrenching tone she wouldn’t have been her.
When you aren’t in the studio, what do you enjoy? I love writing, and my blog is my outlet, but I also love poetry; I like the economy of scale of it all and the rhythm.
What song has been on repeat for you recently? Sam Smith’s “Like I can” and “I’m Not the Only One”. He’s a clever man; he started with collabs and pop songs to get him known and his voice heard, and then he allowed himself to do ballads and slower songs. And those ballads are catchy but heart-felt. I think he’s a great musician, which is what the pop world needs.
What is your motto in life? I’ve stolen it from Boris Becker and then my mama, “I lost a tennis match, nobody died”. If I’ve lost the proverbial tennis match in life a few times, it’s important not to dwell on it. Keep going, push through the pain barrier, it will always, always all be okay.
If you want to hear more from Georgia, visit her SoundCloud.