By: Max Kelly
From her otherworldly track “The Moon,” to the blooming “Sunflowers (Still Grow in
Darkness),” Georgia Johnson showcases her ability to write personal and hard-hitting lyrics
while also providing an incredible vocal performance.
Her most recent track “The Moon,” explores themes of dissociation and leaves listeners feeling
as if they’re on another planet. When asked about the music video for the track, Georgia
describes wanting it “to capture that ‘alter-universe’ feel.”
The video, which was shot at Formby Beach, Merseyside, captures this ‘alter-universe’ vibe
through its striking similarities to the lunar surface and simultaneous visual tie to Earth. While
the inclusion of grass, water, and even the quick appearance of a forest emphasizes this
approach, the ending is what really seals the deal. In the final scene the video, Georgia falls to
her knees in her astronaut costume while starring off into the sky screaming. The shot then
slowly fades into a clip of the moon, revealing that she is not in fact on the moon. This ties back
into her description of the track covering themes of dissociation and represents the Moon as a
sort of unattainable force.
When asked about the filming process, Georgia said “Both me and Charlie Williams, the director
of the video, bounced back and forth at each other until we captured the feel I wanted to share
with the song. The filming process took two (long) days altogether! Although we were working,
and very hot, we had the best time.”
Georgia’s track Sunflowers (Still Grow in Darkness) is a self-empowerment ballad that
showcases the importance of strength even when life gets hard. The lyrics “Even when the light
was lacking, she never lost sight. Because sunflower’s still grow in darkness” best encapsulate
the themes discussed in the track.
The lyrical parallels between “The Moon” and “Sunflowers (Still Grow in Darkness) cannot go
unnoticed. While both tracks reference the Sun, they do so from a different perspective. “The
Moon” views the Sun as another unattainable force just like the moon, while “Sunflowers”
views the Suns’ unattainability as irrelevant; “Because sunflowers still grow in darkness.” This
parallel is especially fascinating considering “Sunflowers” was released a few months prior to
“The Moon.”
When asked about her songwriting process, Georgia shared that it “begins with either words, or
sometimes failed poetry, then a chord sequence I’m obsessing over tends to come next.
Melodies and riffs tend to find themselves in the song, whatever my brain jumps to first, and
sometimes it takes a while to figure out what notes I’m thinking of. If I ever get stuck, this is
where my band jumps in and helps out, we’re all music students so that’s a bonus.”
Getting specific about the songwriting process behind her tracks “The Moon” and “Sunflowers
(Still Grow in Darkness), Georgia said that “My writing style tends to begin simplistic with very
personal words and phrases written down that remind me of the scenario I’m writing about (the
actual moon itself being one) and I’ll pick them apart until they become fitting for the song
itself. For example, I scribbled down how I was feeling when I had chords and a structure, I
picked at my written feelings and turned them into lyrics.”
In short, Georgia says that “my inspiration always firstly comes from my feelings about a certain
scenario.”
Georgia feels her main goals as an artist are simple, “write music for you, and whatever else
follows is a bonus.” She credits her producer for introducing her to this phrase.
Moving forward Georgia says that “my main musical direction now is to play gigs and hopefully
pick up a following who enjoy my music for what it is. I categorize my music as “indie” with a
hint of “shoegaze,” but when I perform live we tend to take more of the punk route!”
Georgia is definitely an artist to keep an eye out for! She was featured on last week’s Mezz
Music Monday and her tracks can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and wherever
else you get your music!
Listen to “The Moon” and “Sunflowers (Still Grow in Darkness)“!