IT'S THE RHYTHM......

One of my more surprising musical discoveries last year came from the dance-pop arena, not somewhere i tend to find favourite new music. Whilst watching highlights and sets from Glastonbury on iPlayer a music-loving friend told me to watch the set by someone called Georgia, said that she stood out for him as someone to keep an eye on. Upon watching her, the first thing that struck me was that she was stood up, surrounded by a kit of red hexagonal electronic drums, a couple of cymbals, and to each side, what looked like a couple of keyboards and sequencers or drum machines. Not many musicians perform this way, playing drums whilst singing, and certainly not in the field of music in which Georgia Barnes operates. I was soon taken by her enthusiasm and musicianship - she never missed a beat - as much as her music, which appeared to be influenced by Chicago house and Detroit techno, in amongst more modern influences. I later found out that her father is Neil Barnes of electronic music legends Leftfield, so she soaked up those sounds from a young age. Intrigued, i searched online for more information about her, listening to her music on YouTube, seeing what she had released. I found a host of download-only singles - the latest of which, "About Work The Dancefloor", was receiving a lot of attention and airplay - and a debut self-titled album from 2015. The first album is quite sharp edged and moody, more experimental than her recent output, but its worth a listen. Georgia has spent many years as a drummer for Kate Tempest, whose socially conscious poetry is often backed by grime influenced rhythms and sounds, so those influences play a part in her sound too.

Noticing that she was booked to play my local Rough Trade (Nottingham) in the new year as part of a promotional tour for her second album Seeking Thrills, my mate Paul and i decided to get tickets, (which came as a package with the new album, released a fortnight before the gig), and kept a listen out for any new tracks. Two singles were released in advance of the album, both dance-pop stormers, "Never Let You Go" and "24 Hours", odes to the euphoria of the dancefloor. I was not disappointed by the album: a collection of hymns to clubbing culture and all that comes with it - the euphoria of the moment, the community, the connections with people, however brief, as they dance away the stresses and cares of their lives. Musically it pays homage to the techno and house scenes of the eighties and nineties, whilst being savvy enough to tip a nod to grime, bass music, African pop, and dub but still in its own style. Given Georgia's instrument of choice it is a very rhythmic, percussive record, full of vintage drum machines. Seeking Thrills is front loaded with the infectious pure pop of the singles, from the rubbery bass of "Started Out" to the vintage synths of "24 Hours", but there are more reflective, mature moments: the r'n'b tinged "Til I Own It", the melancholic comedown of "Honey Dripping Sky" where she laments the end of the party, the Kate Bush indebted "Ultimate Sailor", where the vocals betray an ache behind the smile. The tropical dub of "Ray Guns" owes some influence to M.I.A., but that's no bad thing. The older track "Feel It", recorded inbetween albums is a transitional song, with metallic vocals and a harsher edge. There are a couple of mis steps - the slow bass bounce of Mellow feels like an attempt at an "urban" sound that is trying too hard, and "I Can't Wait" just lacks the immediacy of other songs - but the (semi) title track The Thrill more than makes up for that, with its retro rhythm breakdowns. An essential and creative dance album for a new decade. And she was excellent live at Rough Trade, where she graciously signed albums afterwards.