#28: How to Write Synthpop, Synthwave, and Shoegaze Music | Ghost Georgie

Dreampop ectoplasm ghost Georgie has been making music since 2008 and engineering professionally since 2011. A 239-year-old songwriter, audio engineer, and musician specializing in keyboards and vocals, Georgie is happiest in the studio. After haunting Los Angeles since horse-drawn carriages rolled down Santa Monica Blvd, finally the debut ep ghost Georgie, ghost Georgie is out. If you enjoy the likes of Mazzy Star, Beach House, Bon Iver, Roxy Music, the pumpkins album adore, etc you might enjoy this melancholic synth-pop apparition.

Listen to 'Panic' by Ghost Georgie here: https://ghostgeorgie.bandcamp.com/track/panic

To follow Ghost Georgie on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/ghostgeorgie/
To follow Ghost Georige on Spotify, visit: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QRDyJqprf15IqBddaaPqB
Visit the official Ghost Georgie website here: https://www.ghostgeorgie.com

For audio engineering inquiries email: nicolelexidavis@gmail.com

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Transcript

Adam Schaeuble: 0:21

Hey there inside the mix podcast fans. It's your buddy, Adam from podcasting business school. That's the podcast, right? Teach people about podcasts, launch growth and monetization strategies. Be sure to check out episode 220, where I help you discover where you're at in the podcasting success timeline, you are listening to the inside the mix podcast, and it's time to bring out your host. My pod pal, Mark

Marc Matthews: 0:45

Matthews. Hello. Welcome to the inside the mic podcast. I'm Mark Matthews. The musician and producer and mix and mastering engineer you've come to the right place. If you want to know more about your favorite century music, artists, music, engineering, and production songwriting, and the music industry. I've been writing, producing, mixing, and mastering music for over 50 years. And I want to share what I've learned. Hey folks. Welcome back to the inside the mix podcast. In this episode, I'm very excited to welcome our guest today. Nicole Davis, AKA ghost Georgie. So Nicole is a songwriter, audio engineer and musician specializing in keyboards and vocals, and is happiest in the studio. And Nicole is going to share with us, her musical background, the story behind ghost Georgie and her approach to songwriting. So hi Nicole, and thanks for joining me. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Yes, I'm very well, thank you very well. It's a it's spring time in the UK, so we've actually got nice weather. Um, yeah, for our, um, international audience, uh, UK is often known as being quite ready, but it's actually not today, which is great. Um, for our audience listening, where are you joining us from Los Angeles, California. So much more glamorous than where I am. Can't

Ghost Georgie: 1:59

complain whether it's nice here too.

Marc Matthews: 2:02

I bet. I bet. Um, so I've got your bio here. I'm just going to read through it for our audience. So dream pop, um, ectoplasm. I love that ghost. Georgie has been making music since 2008 and engineering professional. 2011. I love the fact you call yourself a 239 year old songwriter, audio engineer, and musician. That's brilliant. After haunting Los Angeles, since horse-drawn carriages wrote down Santa Monica Boulevard, finally, the debut he goes, Georgie is out. And we'll, we'll talk about that a bit later on in the podcast. So if you enjoy the likes of Mazzy star beach house, Bon Iver, Roxy music. Oh yes, the pumpkin's, uh, album adore, et cetera. Enjoy this melancholic synth pop apparition. I such a cool bio. I gotta say that's amazing. Um, brilliant stuff. Um, so what I want to start off with is your sort of musical background. So what got you into music and where it all started?

Ghost Georgie: 2:56

Yeah, so I started learning piano right around the time that I turned 16. Um, I'd actually recently seen the movie walk the line, which inspired me to want to become a musician. Uh, Always loved writing my whole life. And when I was younger, I thought, you know, perhaps I would, uh, you know, do books. I did a lot of poetry and stuff like that. And, and music was just kind of this form of writing, but that stuck. But after that, I started listening to old folk music, like the original, uh, Carter family, deck recordings and stuff like that, and started learning harmonies and. Um, yeah, just kind of went from there. Just started listening to kind of the foundations of folk and stuff like that. That kind of just sort of snowball.

Marc Matthews: 3:45

Amazing. And it's quite cool that you mentioned walk the line. That's the market, hopefully to get this right. That's the Johnny Cash. Is that right? Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. It's a great film by the way. I haven't seen it in years. I probably would go back and watch it. Um, so in your bio, you mentioned keyboards and vocals. So your musical background in terms of musicianship, are you self-taught, did you, have you had lessons or is it like a mixture of. A mixture

Ghost Georgie: 4:08

of the two. I did take lessons in the beginning, and then I also, uh, participated in a music program at, um, my local community college. And then, you know, that kind of helped me get my chops up and I minored in songwriting. Um, and you know that I got a little. Practice in the early years from there. Oh,

Marc Matthews: 4:31

amazing. So is there like an, is there an artist or a, so you mentioned walk the line sort of influenced you to start this musical journey. Is there an artist or an album or a song that like has, or has yeah, has an indelible mark on you as an, as a musician that really inspired.

Ghost Georgie: 4:50

Yeah. Um, you know, uh, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, um, was a massive influence to me early on and whiskey town, kind of that whole era from, um, whiskey town into the Cardinals was super influential to me and the album. Easy tiger. Uh, in 2007, that really, I just, I kind of listened to it over and over. And that inspired me a lot in the beginning, developing my song, writing. Yeah,

Marc Matthews: 5:18

amazing. I'm going to be, I'm going a level, you know, I'm not overly familiar with the, with the album. Um, I've heard of the artist, but I couldn't, I couldn't name any of their songs. Can you just give us like a brief, put you on the spot now, a brief description of what the, sort of the musical or the Sonic soundscape is of that particular artists and the music.

Ghost Georgie: 5:37

Whiskey town, the whiskey town era is more Americana. And then getting into a little bit of a blend between, you know, alt rock and Americana for the Cardinals era. And I would say that, you know, kind of arrangement wise, keyboards, guitar, bass drums, some pedal steel, uh, harmonies lead vocals. It's um, it it's, it's simple, but it's, it's also. I think it does the songs, a lot of justice, like the layers sound nice. And it's the pedal steel to me is something about that era that, that really ties it together for me. I've done it. I've just always loved it.

Marc Matthews: 6:16

Brilliant. Thanks for that. After the episode, I'll go and check that out. Um, because it's, as I say, it's probably a genre or maybe an artist that I probably wouldn't have listened to in the past. As well as with the audience as well, open to learning and listening to, to sort of new musicians and new music. So in your bio, I'm going off on a slight tangent. Now you mentioned about being a professional engineer or engineering professionally. Um, can you give us a bit more information on that, how that sort of came up?

Ghost Georgie: 6:46

Yeah. So, um, I met, uh, a great guy who, who ran a local studio, uh, back in 2010. He found a song of mine online, uh, that I was submitting for a festival and he just happened to hear it and he liked it and he invited me to come by the studio and, and, uh, track a version of it. And, uh, I did. And. And then about a year after that, a little less, I started actually interning there. And so I started doing runner duties and getting to be a fly on the wall at the studio. And, and it was, it was a really amazing experience because I got to learn everything hands-on. So I would get to sit in on amazing sessions and just kind of listen and learn and watch and, you know, learn how to make different instruments. Um, and then I kinda went from that to being able to assist and. Over the years, finally getting to work with my own clients and, uh, do lead stuff as well. So it just sort of evolved from fly on the wall to helping out and finally getting my own clients. And then over time moving into more post-production stuff in the beginning, it was, um, a lot of bands, um, and the studio, which was amazing as well. But, um, over time I kind of went more into post. But that's where it started. Yeah. The studio nine when cell court.

Marc Matthews: 8:08

Brilliant. And so you've gone down like, um, what we, that's sort of like the archetypal sort of intern route in a studio then. So you started out as the runner, um, and worked your way up through. That's amazing because I think now when I talk to engineers and when I've interviewed them for the podcast, um, not many sort of speak of that background of having gone through that sort of hierarchy, that tiered tiered approach to becoming a professional sort of audio and. Throughout that time. What would you say is the biggest lesson you learned,

Ghost Georgie: 8:41

uh, to let artists just do their thing? Um, you know, it, you're there, you're there to capture a moment. Um, you know, so get everything set up ahead, be prepared, then just let them get in the zone and do their thing. And then you're, you'll be, you know, I'll be in the best position to capture that moment, um, so that they can just be in their process and just kind of stay out of the way. I'm just. Yeah. Be the, uh, be the witness to that.

Marc Matthews: 9:37

Fantastic. This is interesting because I had a podcast interview yesterday with another artist, um, I all night and, uh, similar again. So he is a professional audio engineer and I asked a similar question and he sort of came up with the same answer. Um, and I also asked him what was the biggest challenge, um, as working as a professional in a studio? Um, can you think of what the biggest challenge.

Ghost Georgie: 10:01

Yeah, sure. Yeah. I mean, in the era of doing a lot of bands, it would be when maybe something is, uh, you know, needs to be sorted out. Like there's some kind of, uh, something going on with, with the, you know, with pro tools or there's something, you know, that is not quite right. And, you know, that's, that's where the preparing and advanced comes in, but sometimes, you know, things just happen on the fly. And so the challenge can be when there's like 10 people talking around you and at you, um, You know, just stay chill and focus on resolving the issue without, you know, getting too distracted by, uh, people milling about and stuff like that. You know, probably those last minute things.

Marc Matthews: 10:43

Yeah. Brilliant. It's um, it pretty much echoes what was said yesterday. Really. I say yesterday flew and it's listening, um, from the previous episode, um, in that, um, Tim's response was organization. So I guess it's kind of similar to what you're saying that and being prepared. Um, so he sort of said the exact same thing. Yeah. Personal perspective, being on the other side of the glass as a musician, I was always terrible going into a studio. I'd always go in. I wouldn't have everything ready, uh, much to my detriment. Um, so the audience listing just organization and be prepared when you go into a studio, um, a hundred percent. Um, so I'd like to move on to now is ghost Georgie. Um, so what I want to start with the name, um, is there a meaning behind the name? Well,

Ghost Georgie: 11:26

I would tell you mark, but then I'd have to haunt you.

Marc Matthews: 11:31

That's if I believe in ghosts. That's my next question. So do you believe in ghosts, this is a total time?

Ghost Georgie: 11:36

Absolutely. Definitely. In fact, that studio, I mentioned it was haunted. Um, yeah, I didn't, I never saw anything there, but you would definitely feel something. It was built in 1917 and it was very, it was an, an old, fully building. Um, so very early days of sound. Uh, you said there would be times it's like 3:00 AM you're in there and it feels just like, there's a presence. Like there's something there or nights I stayed over there when everything's off and everything's quiet and the electricity is, you know, all, everything shut down. You know, I've had like a feeling almost like someone's kind of like sitting on my feet before, but it's not an ominous presence. Like it sounds, you know, a little scary, but it wasn't, it was actually a really, it had a great vibe.

Marc Matthews: 12:26

I, um, I can't say I've ever seen a ghost I'm of the mindset. I'm open to the idea that ghost exist. Um, and I kind of want to see one that way I could be. Yes or no. And, uh, I, I watched, I've watched previous, we have series in the UK work on paranormal activity and stuff, but I, um, there's a place near me, actually, it's not prison and you can go there and spend the night there and the idea that it's haunted and it's somewhere. I want us to go for a while because I really want, it's going to tell a tangent now I really want to actually like. Some form of apparition or something like that. I just find the whole thing really, really interesting. Um, and that I bought a flat, I say flat, amazing it as we call them in the UK. And it's quite old, it's probably about 150 years old. And I'm sure this place is haunted where I live. Um, But then again, it could just be the building. I don't know, but no, it's interesting. Um, yeah, there are many, many podcasts on, on the supernatural. I'm sure there are, um, tough. I'm not going to tweet on it too long. Um, so what inspired the creation of ghost Georgia then get away from the name, the actual musical side of things? Yeah.

Ghost Georgie: 13:33

So, you know, I, I've been kind of going in a bit of a, more of a direction of synth pop and. You know, the, the theme that I, they had that I had in mind for this record, that I, that I put out a couple of months back. Um, it, it just felt like it was a different chapter in my music. So I just kind of wanted to establish it as something separate. Um, in the past I'd released, um, various things, um, under my name, the same name that I used for, um, you know, my production credits and, uh, yeah, it just, it just felt like it was something different. So I wanted to establish it something.

Marc Matthews: 14:07

Oh, nice. Did you have an initial goal? Um, do you have a golfer? Is it just the case of just releasing music? Um, and then seeing what happens?

Ghost Georgie: 14:15

Yeah, mostly releasing music and seeing what happens. My, you know, I started with the EAP and that was as far as I thought I had at that time last year. Um, but now, you know, there's some other stuff coming up, um, singles and things like that. And I want to actually release a full album as well. Um, and hopefully, you know, probably next. But I'm going to be working on it this year. And then also collapsed that it's really expanded because since I've, uh, started this project, um, I've gotten to already work with some different, um, musicians and it's been really awesome. So more collaborations do, which wasn't my original intention. It just organically happened, which is

Marc Matthews: 14:54

awesome. I have no S w when I listened back through your catalog, and I think you mentioned it there, when you listened to the earliest stuff, would it be fair to say that that they're quite, it's quite different. I see. Earlier stuff, the, the, the music, um, proceeding, the EAP that it's quite different. Would that be fair to say in the Sonic soundscape?

Ghost Georgie: 15:13

Yeah, I would say so. Um, that I did, I released some, some instrumentals, um, before the P came out. You know, it's, that's definitely, it was sort of a part of the evolution process of the sound and the stuff that I released under my own name. It was more Americana and folk and stuff like that. Mixed, but yeah, it was definitely a different

Marc Matthews: 15:37

sound. Do you think you'll ever go back to that sound or maybe incorporate it in the newer material?

Ghost Georgie: 15:43

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um, like, like for instance, this new, uh, single that I'm working on, it's a, you know, I'm trying to blend acoustic instruments and. You know, some, a little bit on my analog synth and some digital since stuff as well. So, you know, it's, it's, it can be a little bit of a, uh, you know, it's, it might not be as digestible for people as something that's super genre eyes, but I sorta like to just blend in different things that feel good.

Marc Matthews: 16:11

Would that be the single panic? Would that be right there? Cause I saw on your social media, you're releasing a song, uh, when, when, when is that song due to be released for our audience? Amazing. And it's just a single or an EAP, a single. Cool. Cool. Cool. Well, there's, I'll put a link to it in the show notes because this episode will go live after that day, I think probably a week after, maybe two weeks after. Um, so that could tie in quite nicely. Um, so can you tell us a bit more about the songwriting and composition of your EAP? How did that whole sort of songwriting process.

Ghost Georgie: 16:45

Yeah. So the first song that I wrote for it was the Wolf. Um, I recorded it. I'm actually entirely in that old studio, which is, um, unfortunately closed now. Uh, but yeah, I got all the tracking done there. Um, and, and much like how I write most of my songs. I think of the. You know, the melody and I start, I usually start at the piano sometimes guitar and I just sort of feel it out. And then from there that inspires me to, once I have a melody to start writing the words and they just going to just kind of comes to me. And that's usually my process is, is the melody and the music first and then the lyrics. Um, and so that's, that's how I did that one. Um, and I, I, I, I did a demo, a rough demo at home, and then I went into the studio and I did that and I. Recorded, um, three versions. Um, the third one was the one that ended up on the record. Um, and then, you know, the other songs, um, similar slippery slope, I recorded, uh, also the vocals at that studio and, um, some of the keyboards, um, and a guitar part. And then after that, the studio was closed. So I tracked a lot of stuff. Here over the, in, at my little mixing spot here at home, over the course of the pandemic. And I also tracked some vocals that, um, my, my good friend and mentor Craig Parker, Adam's new studio. He was the engineer who, uh, showed me the ropes and mentored me in the beginning. Um, and you know, we've done a lot of work together over the years, so, so yeah. Um, you know, three different locations, the old studio. His new studio and, and here, you know, and here it's pretty good for recording stuff, direct, um, vocals, you know, it's, uh, not so much,

Marc Matthews: 18:38

but that's great. How did you find like flicking between three different sort of locations and like taking the project in between those locations? Was it quite challenging to do that? Or did you have like a nice streamlined process? Honestly,

Ghost Georgie: 18:51

it was pretty challenging. Uh, you know, cause when I had started the recording process. It was, uh, you know, right before the pandemic. And I didn't, uh, you know, there were a lot of variables like the studio, uh, closing down and stuff. Um, then, you know, nobody could have seen coming and then. Uh, yeah, I, it, th there are definitely challenges. I wasn't alone in the apartment. So it was, it was challenging to find time to, to, to just squeeze things in here and they're tracking different parts here. It was definitely not an ideal workflow and then the third location. So yeah. You know, it's, it was, it was a little rough, uh, I, for awhile, I was like, am I going to get this done? But I did. So I don't recommend that, but also I learned a lot from it, you know, I would probably do. Definitely have law drives.

Marc Matthews: 19:43

Yeah, I can imagine. I can imagine I've done that where I've gone between sessions and taking it in different studios and stuff. And it is, it can be very, very, very challenging. Let's take a quick break from this episode so that I could tell you about a free resource that I made for you. It's a PDF checklist that describes what you need to do to properly prepare a for mastering. So you've done the hard work and you love this. Yeah, it's suitably preparing a mix for mastering is often overlooked by musicians resulting in delayed sessions, excessive back and forth conversation and frustration on both parts. I want to help fix that. So if you want this free resource, just go to www dot synth music, mastering dot. As this checklist will help and guide you to make the mastering process as smooth, transparent, and exciting as possible. So again, the URL is www dot synth music, mastermind.com for this free preparing a mix for mastering checklist. Let's get back to the episode. So you mentioned that about the pandemic and obviously that he's had a massive knock on effect to the music industry and songwriting and in general. Sort of artists. How did it affect you? You saw briefly mentioned it there in terms of you were then in your own space and there were challenges there. Did you find that you, it was an opportunity for you to write more music or did you find it challenging to create music during that?

Ghost Georgie: 21:03

Uh, it was challenging, uh, to create music during that time, mostly just because I didn't have a lot of space to myself. And the isolation is a big part of it for me. Like I kind of need that. I need the alone time to kind of just get in the zone. And there was a lot of just multitasking and addressing this and this and this and having to juggle different things. So it, it was hard a lot of the time to feel as inspired as I would normally be. However, I did write dead memories. Um, In 2020 during, you know, in summer 2020. And I also wrote, uh, well, small things add up last year that, you know, um, made it on there. So, you know, I wrote some stuff. It was a little harder for sure.

Marc Matthews: 21:47

Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. Um, I totally agree with that. It's interesting as well. Um, there are those challenges, but what I found talking to some other artists on the podcast and just a general, to be honest, you find that there are loads that are just new artists popping up everywhere, purely because of the pandemic, because I guess it's that there was a lack of things to do. So people sort of. Hunker down in the, in the solitary space and create and write music. But as you say, if you're, if you're quite collaborative individual, then it can be quite challenging if you're in that solitary environment, you know? So that leads me on to solver. My next question. So I looked at the, the credits on, on the P and your music and obviously yourself being an audio engineer. How much input do you have on like the mix and mastering? Is there something that you hand off to someone else or are you like involved in that.

Ghost Georgie: 22:34

Um, the mixing, I do myself, uh, the mastering, uh, Craig Parker Adams did, um, uh, uh, but the rest of the mixing I did. Um, so it was, you know, I just kinda did what I wanted. I had full creative control. Oh, that's

Marc Matthews: 22:49

nice. That's a nice one. That's a nice workflow. Um, do you, are you still, already do providing services for, for clients as well at this particular point in time?

Ghost Georgie: 22:59

Yeah, I do remote mixing services. So, you know, um, you know, it's a genre wise. It's pretty open. Um, yeah, there's, there's one right now. I'm working on a Americana, uh, EAP mixing that here, anything that's post, I can do it here. I've pretty.

Marc Matthews: 23:18

Oh, fantastic. If you've got a name, um, that we can share with our audience, what I'll do is I'll put a link to your services in the, in the show notes, because we got a lot of, um, artists listening who would probably be interested in your services. Yeah. A name or a website.

Ghost Georgie: 23:31

My website is I need to get it back up and running right now at the moment. Uh, the best way to get the best way to get ahold of me is, um, is, is, is via email. It's, uh, Nicole Lexi. At gmail.com for the, for audio related inquiries.

Marc Matthews: 23:47

Fantastic. I will make a note of that. And Nicole at Lexi Davis or one word. Cool. I'll make a note of that and I'll put it in the show notes. Fantastic. Excellent stuff. So you offered, is it just mixing or is it mastering as well, or just, um,

Ghost Georgie: 24:03

mixing? I do have, I do a little bit of digital mastering, but I'm only digital. I don't have an analog set up for mastering. So mostly mixing.

Marc Matthews: 24:12

So sort of looking in, I can sort of briefly I say briefly, that's the wrong word. I can sort of see a keyboard in the background there. Can you give us a bit of a lowdown sort of like your. Equipment that you have in your record right now. Yeah.

Ghost Georgie: 24:25

So I've got the, I've got the core eight, a key here. It's a, you know, it's, it's, it's good. I use it as a mini controller at times as well. And it's also got a good sound on its own. And then, uh, in front of me, it's not visible, but I have, uh, a small, uh, Arturia mini lab, MK two. And I, you know, I use that with, um, analog lab and stuff like that to, you know, for soundscapes and stuff. And then. Over here also not feasible, but I have a, a Mo grandmother, which I love. Um, it's, it's a really fun mano synth and. You know, because it's, it's analog. Um, it it's, it's got an amazing rich sound and, and a ton of controls. So I don't know, there's a lot of like Sonic possibilities with that. It can make all kinds of interesting sounds and it has, um, you know, just some other interesting stuff as well. It's got like, you know, you can, um, use it for sequencing and stuff. And then, uh, my interface is an Apollo twin, um, and, uh, you know, universal audio. Is, uh, generally one of my favorite brands and, uh, yeah, you know, it, my DAW, I've got pro tools and, uh, you know, I'm on a Mac. I also have a few guitars that I use as well. Um, I have a Gretsch honey dipper resonator, which I, which I love. And I also have, um, a Squier Strat and a Washburn acoustic. Let's see what else? Um, yeah. Um, I don't have a lot of soundproofing here except for, um, under my monitors and, um, you know, it's pretty simple, but it's, it's, it's, it's a good flow is. Oh, and for cables, I have all Montgomery gold cables is my favorite it's I personally, I think it's the best. And then I've got the Shure SM seven B Mike and I also have the. Well, yeah, that's the primary mic that I'm using at the moment is this Mike, um, and then I've got Sennheiser headphones, so yeah. Pretty simple.

Marc Matthews: 26:20

Yeah. Brilliant. Thanks for that rundown. So are you using the SM seven B for your vocals on your tracks? And

Ghost Georgie: 26:27

some of the tracks. Um, I, uh, I used a Norman, a UAT seven at the studio at, uh, Winslow court studio, th the old studio. Um, so some of them were on that mic. Some of them are on this mic. Um, and, uh, but yeah, pretty much just those two for everything

Marc Matthews: 26:47

vocals. Brilliant. Do you, um, do you deal with the editing for your vocals as well? Do you do it? You mentioned earlier that you do post-production, I'm assuming the post production side of things as well. Yeah.

Ghost Georgie: 26:57

Yeah. All the editing and, um, anything affects related, but yeah, all the

Marc Matthews: 27:02

complex do you find? I dunno, I'm like this with my, when I, whenever I record guitar or bass, because I've recorded it, I spent more time editing it. Do you, do you find that with your vocals or have you got a nice, like quick workflow that yeah. That's

Ghost Georgie: 27:15

a good question. It depends there, like for instance, dead memories, it just came out right. Just pretty much the first time I only, uh, I just did a couple of takes, um, and the, the lead was just one take. Okay. Uh, most of the time. Yeah, I'll, I'll do it. You know, it takes me more time to, to edit it and, you know, just find a good Blendle. I'll just, I'll run through a few times, try to get a good amount of, uh, options to work with and then just start comping. And, but, you know, sometimes it'll be like down to the, like others, this one word. So I, then I'm going to look through my, uh, you know, my alternate, my playlists, and just, you know, till I find the right one. So that usually takes more time. Actually recording it. Yeah.

Marc Matthews: 27:58

I find that I'll lay I'll lay down like a baseline or it gets part. And then I'm, I spend more time as you mentioned that actually editing it and moving in bits and pieces about, I should probably pay better, to be honest. It's probably says something about my technique more than more than anything else

Ghost Georgie: 28:12

you mentioned.

Marc Matthews: 28:14

Yeah. Well, exactly. Yeah. You mentioned earlier about, uh, the song slippery slope, um, which is one of my favorite on the EPO goddess. Can you give us a bit of a story behind that, how that song came about the songwriting process and so composition of it?

Ghost Georgie: 28:29

Sure. Yeah. So that was a really difficult period of my life. I was really struggling with my mental health. Um, I was dealing with depression and I was also dealing with some physical health problems and, um, yeah, I, I felt like that I was kind of being dragged down by my circumstances. So I just wrote what I felt in that. And, uh, it came to me pretty easily. I, it didn't take me long to write it at all. It just sort of flowed. And when I'm really in the zone, writing songs, usually it's that way, usually the words just kind of come pretty quickly. So it was just kind of channeling the pain

Marc Matthews: 29:08

of that time and channeling the pain. Yeah, I think as songwriters, sometimes that's the way you come up with your best material. Um, so I suppose. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Um, and it is a fantastic song. I've got to say. It's um, it's, it's a really, really nice tray. Um, going back to your bio at the beginning, you mentioned shoe gaze. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not overly familiar with the term shoe gaze. Can you give me a bit of a description as to what? Because when I listened to slippery slope and I had to get, um, I don't know if the two are linked, is that shoe gays, aren't going to sound way out of touch.

Ghost Georgie: 29:40

That's okay. Yeah. I mean a little bit it's, it's on that spectrum because it's got, um, you know, some of like the twinkle there's some like twinkly, uh, guitar sounds and stuff. Like usually it's, uh, the vocals are kind of verby, there's some kind of, um, there's like a lot of layers that, that can be kind of fuzzy guitars or twinkly sense things that have a little bit of a bend or like a warp, um, like I've got some kind of warm. Because that sounds, I have some plugins running on that, track that to kind of like glue together, sonically kind of that feel where it's just a little bit warped. It's a little bit dreamy, so it's, it's it's on, but yes, you guys, it's on the it's on the dream pop spectrum. Um, usually it's more guitar heavy. Hmm. You know, I think that it's, it's something that I've kind of struggled with with this record and really what this project is trying to define it exactly. Genre wise. So to me, it's kind of a mix of synth pop, shoegaze, and dream pop. Um, more than just one thing, you know, like elements of, uh, each.

Marc Matthews: 30:38

Yeah. I think that's a better way to do it. I think if you incorporate all those different elements, I think as a listener, it makes it more interesting. That's my personal preference. Obviously everyone's everyone's preference might be different, but I find, yeah. Having those different elements, it just keeps. Interested in the, in the overall aesthetic of, of the recordings themselves. So sort of developing that. Is there a particular favorite song on the EAP of yours?

Ghost Georgie: 31:02

Yeah. Um, you know, probably dead memories. Oh, um, or slippery slope there they're about a tie for me, but yeah, it, it, it, they. Came out how I imagined it in my mind, which is that's always the goal, you know? And, and it wasn't, it wasn't much of a struggle for that to be the case. Whereas some of the other songs, um, you know, it took a little more time to find the right vibe or to match the energy that I had in the original demo. So I would say that's two.

Marc Matthews: 31:31

Fantastic. So for our audience listening, um, when you go to the EAP, maybe start with those songs and then move on from there. Um, obviously give the whole thing or they shouldn't of course. Um, am I going to put, obviously links to it in the episode, episode notes? So while I'd say, just ask the question about now is the songwriting sort of process of yours? Do you have like. The wet where you do your songwriting, do you have like set times and think right. I'm going to start writing then? Or do you just write when the sort of moment, you know what? I have an idea. I'm going to quickly sit down now and knock this idea out. How does that work? How does that yeah. How does that work in your process?

Ghost Georgie: 32:06

Typically I'll just when inspiration strikes all, just try to. Get it done, but that, that was how I've done it most of the time. But during the pandemic, I did have to schedule more time. Like I had to be a little more exact about when I was working on things just due to time constraints and stuff that I was juggling. So, you know, I feel like it's, it's, it's the easiest and most natural for me when I can just do it when I have an idea and I can just, you know, get to it. And it usually goes fastest that way. But you know, also. It has been like a good learning experience for me to actually, you know, have to schedule it because sometimes you can't just do when inspiration strikes. There's only so much time. So just, you know, gotta make the most of the time that I have. But yeah, it's not my, that's not my favorite way. I like to just start writing and wherever the, when I feel inspired where the wind takes me,

Marc Matthews: 32:58

Yeah, and I think that's the ideal way to do it. Isn't it. But as you say, um, I'm very much the same. I have windows of time specifically when I'm busy with other sort of artists and clients work, I'm thinking I've set that as homicide and now I've gone. I've got that time and I need to go and be creative and then I'll put that about you. But sometimes I sit there for two or three hours and at the end of it, I've got. Maybe 16 bars and I'd probably never use it again.

Ghost Georgie: 33:20

Yeah, definitely relate.

Marc Matthews: 33:21

Yeah. Yeah. I've got a whole hard drive and I, every now and again, I'll look through it. I was like, what on earth is. Um, but as part of the process, so I kind of leads me on nicely to another question actually. Um, when it comes to your compiling, your songs to go on an EPR or an album, or just a release, do you just sort of have, right, right, right. Song, song, song, song, and then pick the best. Or do you focus in and really refine a song before moving onto the next one? How does that work? Do you have like a whole catalog of songs that you pest that pick the best from? Yeah.

Ghost Georgie: 33:52

I usually will pick the best. There were a few that I, that I recorded that didn't make it onto the. Um, and then actually my single that's coming out. I, it was originally going to be the sixth song, uh, panic instead of small things out, but I wanted to record like a totally different version. So I, which is what I'm working on now. So yeah. You know, usually on. Just kind of pick, okay. What are the best songs that are the best ideas that I have right now? And then, and then I guess really it's both because then once I know, okay, which ones are the strongest, then I'll, I'll work on refining them. And sometimes that involves, you know, replacing parts of a bunch of times or whatever. So yes. You know, sometimes yes. Sometimes no, but, but yeah, usually I'll just try to pick the, the strongest

Marc Matthews: 34:34

songs. So next is sort like the million dollar question is, um, how do you identify, what are the strongest.

Ghost Georgie: 34:42

You know, it's just a vibe, it's just a feeling. Um, you know, it's totally, it's a, I mean, music is so subjective. Uh, it's a creative thing, but it's just what felt right to me. And that's, I just go with my gut, you know, that's, that's totally just how I personally feel, you know? Uh, what, what did they necessarily be? It would be what somebody else would choose. I don't know, but it, it just, does it feel solid? Does it stick with me then it might stick with other people than, or, you know, is the, is the virus. Strong does it, does it convey like a strong emotion then? I'll bet we'll hang on to it.

Marc Matthews: 35:17

Yeah, I know what you mean. I know what you mean. I kind of have a similar process. I also find that if I wander around the house later on and I find myself humming the melody and that's generally quite a good sign, I find them, but yeah, definitely vibe is. Yeah. I often find as well. Cause I don't say on my stuff, I got outsource that business because I can't sing for love nor money. And then, but when that song comes back with vocals on it, that's when I usually can tell whether or not it's going to be yes or no. I find vocals when they sit on a track for me, I don't know about you. Um, but that can really. Bring that track and elevator, which it should in a way anyway, I guess, would be with vocals. Yeah, it's a tricky one. Isn't it? I find I'm a harshest critic. I don't know about you with, when it comes to me, I probably got songs that I could release, but I'm just so harsh on myself though. They just sit.

Ghost Georgie: 36:07

Totally. Totally. No. Yeah. I mean, with this that's, it's there there's a lot of back and forth and yeah. It's like, it's, I'm a perfectionist. I mean, I definitely am. I'm hard on myself and, you know, it's like, I'll look at things from a very scrutinizing light about my, you know, when it comes to my own work. Um, but you know, at the end of the day I had to just push past that and be like, well, you know, it's. I, I, you know, this feels done. I got trust in my gut. I, you know, I, I can't go back to the drawing board forever, you know, it's, it's, it's cause you know, at a certain point you could have unlimited ideas. There's always a different way you could do it or all was something that you could do in a different version of. But, um, you know, it's just kind of like putting PA pushing past the perfectionism and just being like, okay, this feels good. It's authentic. It's it's it is what it is and the world will take it. How they take it.

Marc Matthews: 36:53

Yeah. Let's go by thinking about it on a tele agree. You have to get to that point whereby that's it now move on to the next one. Oh yes, yes. I know that much. Um, I have one quick question. It's a slight, slight tangent. I do this a lot. So when I was looking through listening rather to your material on band camp, there was a song called I think it's hallowed theme. I think I've got that right. Is that correct? Um, and it's. Obviously different to the EAP, but I really love the light, the dark, and sort of like the metabolic brooding ambience of that. Can you, um, tell the audience a bit about the songwriting and the idea behind that song? Because I thought, I think it's fantastic. So totally.

Ghost Georgie: 37:30

Yeah. So I actually wrote that, um, for a soundtrack, for a short comic series, um, and the, the, the day. Uh, it was, was, was hollowed. So I just titled it holiday theme and the inspiration was the S you know, where the storyboards for that. I got some of them from, um, uh, yeah, the author and, and, and so I got to kind of just see the, the vibe and, yeah, it was a dark, um, dark kind of futurey, you know, um, energy. So I just kinda went, went off of that and, um, how the images made me feel. So that was.

Marc Matthews: 38:09

Cool. So you mentioned that you, you wrote it for a soundtrack. I have you ever, I don't know. You might be already, have you ever moved or are you in the world of sync? Is that something that you would ever consider or are you working in sync at the moment?

Ghost Georgie: 38:23

Not at the moment, but yeah, it is something that I would consider in the future.

Marc Matthews: 38:28

Um, yeah, I was chatting to someone yesterday about it and, um, it's something that I'll be interested in as well. Why I can't profess to know too much about the wet wet starts to be honest, but it's an interesting one because I think the pandemic can just with the music industry, it's I think being able to pivot with your music and move with the times it's quite important to have longevity in the music industry and the career. I don't know what you think.

Ghost Georgie: 38:51

Oh, definitely. Yeah. You got to cast a wide net and, um, you know, it's um, and, and doing audio. I mean, it's, it's, um, it's, it's just a win all around because I have more creative control. It makes it more affordable for me to, you know, create my own music when I'm doing it myself. Um, and it's also just kind of, yeah, made me better at what I do. And then, and then also for work work, I get to work on music, which is what I love. So other people's music too. And. You know, but yeah, you have to cast a wide net, um, and, and it can be hard, um, trying to balance it, all the great of aspect, the trying to put yourself out there, aspect the, um, the sound work aspect, you know, but I think that the more skills that are available to someone the better, you know, to enable yourself to grow as an artist.

Marc Matthews: 39:40

Yeah. I would agree. And it's nice know, I it's been in that position like yourself, where you. Our creative in music and also your occupation is what you'd have to do in as well, which is fantastic. And I'm sure for the audience listening as well, it's somewhere where a lot of them would, would like to be. Um, and it's, uh, it's fantastic to hear, but kind of we're coming towards the end. Now, what I'd like to ask and is, is about the upcoming release panic. Um, what can the listeners expect from that particular Reese? Uh, You

Ghost Georgie: 40:11

know, um, our arrangement wise, it's, it's somewhat similar to slippery slope. Um, you know, if you liked the EAP, you'll like this, it's in this, it's in a similar vein, um, you know, melancholy, um, and kind of dreamy, you know, I I'm incorporating, uh, on this one I got to, to use as a C3, which was awesome. So, so I've got, you know, some nice, uh, vintage instruments on there. In addition to the, um, in addition to the synth sounds. But yeah, kind of, kind of along that line. So slippery slope ask.

Marc Matthews: 40:46

Fantastic. And the release date again was the five, two.

Ghost Georgie: 40:49

Yeah, the 2nd of May

Marc Matthews: 40:51

fantastic excellent stuff. So I will, uh, for the audience, I will make sure that is in the show notes for them to go and listen, and obviously I'll help push it by social media as well. Um, so what, like sort of one final question, really, because you are an artist and you also know that you engineer. This is quite a tricky question. What advice would you give to someone who's just starting out in the audio industry? So they're in a similar position to yourself, way back when there are creative and they want to sort of get their foot in the door in the audio industry and it all audio engineering.

Ghost Georgie: 41:23

Yeah. You know, um, talk to people that, that, that are doing what you want to do. And, and, you know, if you can't. Get to a studio and intern and learn hands-on which to me, I, I, I was, you know, really fortunate with that because I feel like that's, it's like the best way to learn, but if, you know, if that's not accessible, then just trying to talk to other engineers, people that are further along than you, and just kinda, you know, just hear their experience and, and, you know, and, and whatever questions like, do you have any tips? Things like that. I mean, and, and, and also just kind of. You know, expecting that it's going to be a journey that you have to put the time into to learning the skills. And, you know, there's some stuff like, for instance, there's a book called mastering audio by Bob Katz, which I, which I recommend, um, that's a good one to learn, but the best way to learn is to just do so practice or even, you know, even if you're just on your own with your computer, just start listening to recordings. You admire and try to ask yourself, okay, what is it about this that I like? And then see if you can recreate those sounds to just kind of practice and try to figure out, you know, try to figure out, oh, how do I, you know, try making a snare drum, you know, like different snare tuning, try, you know, just, just, just figure out what works and doesn't work. Try to do covers and just get your chops up and practice, practice, practice, practice, um, and you know, and be consistent, you know, and, and, and. To, you know, just knowing that there's always going to be more to learn.

Marc Matthews: 42:56

Yeah. Yeah. I would totally agree with that. Um, and I think, um, I would, once again, having a conversation on a, another episode as well, where it was a case of the. Came to the agreement was that we're always learning as creatives. And it's important to continuously practice. As you mentioned, practice, practice, practice, never think that you've cracked it. Um, and then try new things and the Bobcat's book as well is fantastic. I'm a massive Africa that I've read that. Um, I've got, it is a manual of mine as well. It's a brilliant book, isn't it? I think that's probably one of the first I may have bought whereby. Yeah, I love Bobcat's great stuff. So, um, w where can our audience find you online? Uh,

Ghost Georgie: 43:33

so most everywhere, my handle's just at ghost Georgie, so Instagram, it goes Georgie Twitter. It goes Georgie. Um, there's a website www dot ghost, georgie.com. And that has, uh, you know, all my links in there too. I have a link tree, so that like shows everything there as well. And yeah, I'm on band camp. I'm on SoundCloud on Spotify. Yeah, same name, just ghost Georgie. Uh, and if anyone, you know, honey follows on there are great, but yeah, pretty much all of those places, same handle. So yeah.

Marc Matthews: 44:05

Brilliant alum. I'll put those in the show notes. Thank you for that. So, yeah, Nicole, thank you for so much for spending the time with me today, and it's been great to pick your brains on your releases and also the, the audio engineering side of things as well. So it's always cool to speak to a fellow audio engineer and music and an artist as well. So songwriting releasing artists and how you juggle those. Which I'm sure the listeners would get a lot out of and, and a big, good luck as well for the release of, of panic and the release coming up. And I'll post shorts. I hope you've pushed that as well. As much as I can with the limited reach I have appreciate it. No, no, my pleasure. And once again, a big, big thank you for dropping by today. Yeah. Thank you for having me. No problem. And a lot of I'll speak to you. All right. Talk to you soon. All right. Bye bye. Thank you so much for listening to the inside the mix podcast. Make sure to rate us everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Spotify.