To celebrate the final week of NZ Music Month, Rolling Stone AU/NZ asked a selection of musicians to name their favourite Aotearoa artists and explain what makes them so unique.
Georgia Lines may have channelled Prince and Haim on her latest single, “Monopoly”, but it’s another artist who has inspired her the most: Kimbra.
Below, Georgia explains how impactful the Grammy winner has been on her career:
2011 was a significant year for me. It was the year Kimbra released her debut album, Vows, and ironically, it was also the year I had a meltdown with a school project which was all about your 10-year plan moving towards your chosen career. (Keep in mind that I was 16 as you visualise my meltdown.)
It began as I was trying to collate a plan with both achievable and measurable steps towards success in my chosen career, which was music. However, very quickly, I became overwhelmed at the reality of not being able to list and identify a ‘pathway to success.’
So, as I was 16 and feeling overwhelmed at the idea of how to even go about pursuing music as a career, I discovered Kimbra.
Ever since that moment, she has played a significant role in inspiring my craft and the way in which I go about it. I saw this artist who knew what she wanted, who wasn’t afraid to push the boundaries creatively, who wanted to consistently learn and evolve.
She was someone who was absolutely incredible at what she did. She had (and still has) this incredible depth to her music that captivated me from that very first album, and I found that her melodies and lyrics deeply inspired me to create in a way that was completely true to me.
Just to clarify, I still feel this way even though I was talking in the past tense. So, as one of my favourite artists who has played such a significant role in my musical life, giving confidence to a frazzled 16-year-old that she could forge her own 10-year plan and create her own idea of success… I am deeply thankful and forever grateful.
