Few find a freedom such as this in their craft, with the ability to dissolve the realities around them and revert into a world of creativity in the way Fields does – and it’s with an endearing sense of whimsy she falls back down to Earth. “You go in to it and you look up and suddenly it’s 11pm.”
Melbourne’s pop chameleon, deep in the artistic fissures of her mind, was working on arrangements for her forthcoming performance at Northcote Uniting Church, where Fields will be performing brand new string-only arrangements of some of her best works. “It’s crunch time but it’s exciting – I usually only get one rehearsal so I have to have all the parts written quickly – I have done things before without rehearsal and it certainly keeps you on your toes, but we’re getting together soon and it’ll be fun to hear it all come together.”
It’s new ground for Fields, who never before has given this type of performance but embraces the change. “I’ve seen a few bands play in that church and it’s been an intimate environment. I love a cocktail as much as the next person but it’s fun to take performances out of the pubs and in to more lofty environments” Fields says. “It’ll be great not to worry about micing the strings over a drum kit. The room is resonant – you’ll be playing and it’ll [the sound] be singing out through the rafters.”
Naturally such a venue would present a whole host of new challenges for Fields, both from a production and managerial perspective. There’s the more resonant acoustics to consider, the rearranging of a decade-long career of music, and far more one-on-one collaboration with her sound engineer. Nevertheless, Fields has a feverish enthusiasm for every aspect of preparation and performance, and with input from her support act, folk singer/songwriter Anna Cordell, who has been heavily involved in the logistics of the Northcote concert, the creation of such a uniquely acoustic performance has lifted pressure a little and is already proving to be a fruitful and exciting endeavour. “From a self-management point of view this is really a DIY show– there’s a lot of production I wouldn’t normally have to do at an established venue.
“In terms of musical preparation, it’s a lot more time by the piano composing the arrangements, so it feels a bit more solitary but what I mentioned earlier about getting together with the strings, I can hear if it’s going to work or not.”
Recreating string-only arrangements of her work has certainly been the biggest challenge for Fields, and required her to be quite selective of which songs she performs. “I’m picking highlights and the songs that work best with strings – some of the arrangements from the latest album are already complete, High Horse and a Bowie cover Where Are We Now? They’re good to go but I’ve gone back to my first EP to a song called Little Vices and I’ve totally reimagined that – I think it’s going to come together beautifully.”
Indeed, fans can also expect more than the one David Bowie cover, as Fields prepares to perform a few surprise tracks from her seminal reworking of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album, in which she re-orchestrated the entire glam-rock classic for string quartet and voice. “A couple of years ago me and a bunch of other artists were asked to reimagine and perform a classic album of choice and in typical Georgia Fields style, I picked Ziggy… And then realised what an enormous job it was.
“I’ve performed that album now three times and it’s a lot of fun. The arrangements are sitting there and it’s a great opportunity with the strings [at Northcote] to dust them off.”
By Anna Wilson
