GEORGIA NOTT
Broods, Georgia Gets By.
27 February 2020
PHOTOGRAPHY | Sarah Ryland
STYLING / MAKEUP | Emily-Rae Madsen
Georgia Talks Self Love & Empowerment
On a sunny afternoon here in our hometown of Nelson, New Zealand, I sat down with Georgia Nott and Emily-Rae Madsen (Georgia’s cousin, and bestie of mine), while G was here on a fleeting visit between shows.
With eyes glistening a vibrant pink and blue, floating through the house in a blush floral dress she thrifted abroad, Georgia gave us her bravest interview yet. As she settled into the couch and sipped her black coffee, she kindly welcomed my dog Coach to snuggle up next to her.
The subtle crack in her voice as she spoke with such honesty, was compelling in a way that we all felt deeply.
With collectively misty eyes, we were honored to hear her heart in it’s rawest form, share so much truth in a world that is lacking so heavily.
Humbled by Georgia’s journey, we’re proud to bring her words to light.
How long have you been in the music industry?
I think it’s like, 7 years now. I first released music about 6 years ago, but I’ve been working actively to become a musician my whole life. But yeah, 6 or 7 years ago I released my first song with my brother (Caleb Nott).
What has been you your greatest high?
Definitely.. probably.. getting album of the year (NZ Music Awards). I can't remember which year it was but it was for our first album. Mick Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac presented us with the award and funnily enough, I was quite teary. He bought out his hanky and was patting my eyes and I was like, "What the hell is going on? Mick Fleetwood is drying my tears right now".
He said to me, "Make sure that you never lose your emotion". I was like, "I'm never going to lose this emotion Mick, it's very very hard to lose actually. It invades my personal space everyday!".
What has been your most challenging low?
My most challenging low was definitely when I first started touring and I was having a lot of panic attacks. Basically every night, which was really hard, but at the same time, I think it prepared me for all the other shit that you have to deal with. I think whenever I come up against an obstacle now, I always think, well at least I'm not having panic attacks every night.
"When people are listening to what you have to say, and are really connecting with it, you want it to be you. Not something that someone's told you to say, or look like someone's told you to look. Otherwise you compromise the connection you have with people through your work.”
Do you experience the same criticism today as when you first started?
I think when it comes to getting criticism, I still have people telling me what they think I should do, and what I should look like, but I don't listen to it as much as I did at the beginning. When I first came into the music industry I was just so happy to be a part of it, and felt so lucky and fortunate to be given an opportunity. I was prepared to relinquish some control over my identity.
I soon realised that that’s one of the only things that I can control. How I look and what I say, the rest is completely out of my hands. It’s really important to have control over who you are and how you present yourself. Especially when people are really listening to what you have to say, and connecting with it. You want it to be you. Not something that someone's told you to say, or look like someone's told you to look. Otherwise you compromise the connection you have with people through your work.
How has social media impacted the way you feel about yourself and the work you do?
Social media and I have a very strange relationship. If it was up to me, I don’t think I would really use it, but it’s such a huge way of reaching out to the people that are listening to your music. I think it’s important to have a presence, but to try and make it a positive experience, without getting sucked into the world of people telling you how they feel about you all the time, and giving you their opinions, and just getting a little bit over critical of yourself.
You’re basically being judged all the time. Which is, I mean, I’ve put myself in this situation, I’m well aware of that, but to me, I don’t really like social media. You know, it’s just one of those things that comes with it. The more you can use it to your advantage and use it to create a genuine connection, be really honest about what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. Rather than trying to build this facade of a life that you want people to be interested in. To try and use it to make genuine connections with people that follow you, and be honest about your journey or what you’re going through.
I think that’s what people are craving right now. Honesty, because there’s so much falseness online and you really do have to take it with a grain of salt.
Do you feel that when you look back at all the positive and negative experiences, that they have empowered you in both your personal and professional life?
I think I’m definitely more of an empowered person than I was at the start of my career. I hope that it’ll continue to be empowering to me, but it’s really something that I have to choose, and have a certain attitude towards.
Trying not to fix certain things that make me feel not enough, and to really just relish in the moments where you’re having a genuine connection with somebody, or you’re feeling so strong on stage. I never feel as strong as I do on stage in my normal life for some reason.
It feels like this version of myself that I can be that is so sure of herself. I’ll probably go off stage after the show and cry, (laughs) but I think you really do have to choose to be empowered by the things that you go through. Negative and positive. It’s just how life goes.
Life is always going to be a bit of a mixed bag, and I don’t really have a choice but to come out stronger, because that’s so much better than quitting to me. There have definitely been times where I’ve wanted to.
What advice would you give to anyone who is starting a career in the public eye, or is just feeling the pressure that society puts on us in everyday life?
I think when you have any element of, I don’t want to say fame, cause that’s a gross word, but being in the public eye and having people know who you are, and not knowing them is a strange thing.
When people look at you and recognise you, but you don’t recognise them, it feels a little bit one way. There’s a lot of people that come and go that don’t really care. It’s the people that do care, that you need to make sure you keep around. Building a community of people that know who you are when you’re not doing your job, or on your really bad days, not just the days when you’re really killing it, getting awards or playing to fans that are screaming how much they love you.
Those are great moments and a lot of people love to be around for those and then disappear when you’re struggling. To make it sustainable, you have to make sure that the people around you are there for you, not whoever you are when you’re in the public eye.