Al Mitchell & the New Born Sinners Decodes “Georgia”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your "Georgia" and the story it tells?
"Georgia" is a song that reflects the experience of observing friends in open or polyamorous relationships, which was a departure from a more traditional upbringing I guess! The song tells the story of someone navigating this new and unconventional relationship, exploring their own insecurities and personal growth in an unfamiliar context. It's an exploration of how people can adapt to different relationship dynamics and learn about themselves in the process. It seems to be inspired by real-life situations and the complexities of human connections upon reflection!
What has been one of your favourite memories along the path to making “Georgia?"
I think the recording process really stood out for me, we recorded the drums and bass at savage sound with my friend and producer extraordinaire Kevin Vanbergen. He worked us really hard and really got the best out of us ( and lots of bad jokes!). We then recorded guitars, extra percussion, synth and vocals at home. It gave us a chance to goof around really. I think you can hear that in the vocal. Lots of woo’s, grunts and barks. It was a really good laugh!
Filming the video was a real hoot too! We’ve been doing this for a long time, we’ve all played in bands down the years and now we’re just having fun with it, taking the seriousness out of it and just making fools of ourselves. I love it.
How does this "Georgia" fit into your overall artistic vision?
I’ve always tried to add as much texture and colour into our songs, I like to challenge myself using new sounds and trying to write songs in different genres or styles as a way to test myself. I really enjoy storytelling and I think “Georgia” strikes this balance. Over the last couple of years, I’ve really enjoyed making our image or brand a bit over the top, like I said earlier we don’t want to come across as too serious especially on platforms on social media. I think we balance that out with our music. We care deeply and work really hard on it and when it comes to playing it live or releasing it, we treat it like a celebration for all the hours!
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing and composing music?
Our songs pretty much start on an acoustic guitar. Usually just chords with a melody or lyric idea. This is definitely how “Georgia” came about. I remember having the song in an acoustic arrangement for ages! With a lot of our tunes, I like to deconstruct the chord and play it as a riff. Once I started playing around with this, the song gained a character and I knew how it should sound. I whipped up a demo, took it to the room and the guys in the band Mike on bass and Harv on drums took to it like a duck to water! Harv wrote such a colourful and lyrical drum part and Mike tightened it up so much we just had to record it straight away. we booked studio time and that was that!
How did your band members initially come together?
I’ve been playing with Harv since I was 13 I think it might have been 2008! We’ve been played in all sorts of bands. Emo bands, pop punk bands, Folk projects, instrumental psychedelic bands, LOTS. He knows how I write, we know what works and what doesn’t! He’s an absolute unit behind a drum kit, sometimes i take him for granted. I look around at him at shows sometimes and remember how lucky I am that he’s playing my music with me.
I got to know Mike around 2012 or 2013?? We studied at uni together. We helped each other out a lot with work, Mike joined my band ‘Baby Goliath’ around that time I think. He’s always known how to serve a song. The most graceful bass player. Out of nowhere, he’ll surprise me with something that shakes my insides (In the best way!) He’s a special dude, a real special musician.
We’ve been working together in this band now for a few years now, We’ve been writing and recording so much music for 2024, I don’t recall a time I was more excited for a project. It’s the most fun I’ve had musically and I’m really excited to be able to express myself more with this band.
Peace, Love and Power!!