George Moir makes life-affirming indie pop bops which document the highs and lows of almost-adulthood, whilst celebrating the romantically mundane corners of British life (see latest single ‘Baked Beans’). We rarely take an interest in the parents of our artists, but something about George’s honey farmer father and collage artist mother seems to entirely contextualise the sugary sweet delivery within his tunes.
The songwriter’s recent Guide to Growing EP sold out on vinyl pre-orders, and – bolstered with the official Hasselhoff stamp of approval – George looks primed and ready to set the post-rona world alight.
We loved the video of David Hasselhoff fanboying you. If Sir.Hasselhoff was unavailable, which icon would you choose to introduce your track?
Oooohhh gosh, Hasselhoff is a hard one to beat. I feel like Schwarzenegger would be a great alternative, they have the same vibe – old enough to be my grandad, but also very intimidating and could pick me up with one hand. So yeah maybe Arnie, or the Queen perhaps, that’d be cool.
Your Guide to Growing EP is such a cocktail of personal experiences, not all of which are necessarily positive. Does the upbeat buoyancy come naturally in all of your tracks? Or does it occasionally have to be found later in the production process?
That’s a really great question! It’s interesting because the contrast between the lyrics and the music is definitely intentional, but it’s not something that I have much of a process for. I guess a lot of the jauntiness is tied up in the wonky chord changes and instrumentation, which tends to be locked in at the same time as the lyric writing. But then again the timing of when those elements are created changes from song to song, I think my songwriting process has become so intertwined with actual recording it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the feel of the track comes about. I suppose the short answer is it kind of does come naturally, but I don’t really know how!
Aside from your own Omeara show in October, which other gigs are you most excited to catch, once life returns to normal?
You know what, I’ve never been a great gig-goer, but I’m really excited about things going back to normal! I’d love to get to a Max Pope show at some point, I feel like there are going to be a lot of tour announcements coming up as well, so I’ll be popping around to see some stuff closer to home before long, I’m sure.
You have had an astonishingly productive lockdown, has all of the free time been a blessing for productivity? Or do you feel that it has stunted your push forward as a new artist?
I definitely don’t feel stunted. It’s obviously hard to launch a music career in any setting, so it’s just been a bit of an extra challenge without the live element going on. I’m really grateful for the time that’s opened up for me though, I feel like I’ve been able to craft my sound and really find where my sweet spot is as a writer and recording artist. It’s also meant I’ve been able to throw myself into making music videos, and I absolutely love that process! So yeah it’s all been a bit tricky, and I don’t have productive days every day, but it’s been net positive for me – I’ve had a great time messing around in my room!
So much of your discography has come out since lockdown began, which of your tracks are you the most excited to perform to a live crowd?
It’s not the biggest track but I am really really excited to play ‘Empty’ live. I feel like it’s got so much energy in it and it’ll be so fun to play, it’s one that’ll translate super well to a band setting as well. My music was never gonna be like mosh level energy, but I’m expecting some very enthusiastic head nodding for this one.
George will be headlining London’s Omeara on 19th October, grab your tickets here.
