(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Music is a kind of family inheritance for Georgia Barnes. The stories she tells about her relatives usually come back to music or dancing. Her dad used to play in an electronic group called Leftfield.
GEORGIA: As a kid, my bedroom was actually Leftfield's studio.
SHAPIRO: Wait. Really?
GEORGIA: Yes.
SHAPIRO: So it wasn't, like, pink and purple with hearts and teddy bears. It was, like, keyboards and drum machines.
GEORGIA: It was keyboards, drum machines, wires, bits of percussion, microphones.
SHAPIRO: So it's no surprise that Georgia Barnes would grow up to have her own career in music. She goes by simply Georgia. Her newest album, "Seeking Thrills," came out last month, and we're revisiting my conversation with her today.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEVER LET YOU GO")
GEORGIA: (Singing) And the skies will never let you go. It's all you've been looking for.
SHAPIRO: This album is meant to be danced to, which may be due in part to drums being her first instrument. When she was about 5, Georgia's dad's bandmate sat down with her at his drum set.
GEORGIA: He showed me a rhythm, and he said, you play it back to me. And apparently, I could just play it back to him. And then he sort of said to my dad, she's good. You should get her a drum kit. And - you know, and that was that, really.
(SOUNDBITE OF GEORGIA SONG, "ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR")
SHAPIRO: The first song that really grabbed me from this album is called "About Work The Dancefloor."
(SOUNDBITE OF GEORGIA SONG, "ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR")
SHAPIRO: What does the dance floor mean to you in your life?
GEORGIA: Well, it means everything, really. It's my childhood. Obviously, with my dad being in a dance band, I was always fascinated with - why are these people, you know, all together dancing and sharing this kind of moment?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR")
GEORGIA: (Singing) To be in a moment with you - I was just thinking about work the dancefloor.
And then it was the first thing I did when I hit 18. I went to the club for the first time, and it just really exceeded all my expectations. I felt like it was me. It was my identity. I understood it, and I felt so free. And I was able to do whatever I wanted and see these amazing DJs. I feel like my whole identity really is caught up in the dance floor world.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR")
GEORGIA: (Singing) With you - moments with you...
SHAPIRO: And this is your inheritance not only from your father but - I understand even, like, your grandmother loved...
GEORGIA: Yes.
SHAPIRO: ...The dance floor.
GEORGIA: Yes. You know, my grandma used to - oh, gosh. I think it was during the war. She would dress up as another identity. You know, she was Lily by day but, like, Lola by night, you know? And she would dress up and go dance. I just love it, you know?
SHAPIRO: Did you ever get to meet her as Lola, or was she just Grammy?
GEORGIA: I never got to meet her as Lola. She was just Nan, unfortunately. I would have loved to have asked her what it meant to her - like, the dance floor.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STARTED OUT")
GEORGIA: (Singing) Be wicked and bold now. Tough up yourself now. Don't be going off the rails now. Kick down the heartache 'cause when we started - we are wicked young fools, so behave now.
SHAPIRO: This song which kicks off the album, "Started Out," has a hook that has really connected to people, that phrase wicked and bold. Can you tell us about a live performance where it really hits you that your fans were connecting to this in a different way?
GEORGIA: We were in Norway, and we were at this huge music fest when I felt a little bit, like, overwhelmed because it was the biggest stage I'd been on. And suddenly, I just sort of noticed the crowd singing back.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STARTED OUT")
GEORGIA: (Singing) We are wicked young fools, so behave now - back in the arms of somebody who saved us. We are wicked young fools, so behave now - back in the arms of somebody who saved us.
I was, like, you know, putting my hand to my ear and going, come on. Come on. And they were all singing, be wicked and bold. Be wicked and bold.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STARTED OUT")
GEORGIA: (Singing) We are wicked and bold. We are wicked and bold.
And then I played the drums over the top. I felt - for a time, I was like U2...
SHAPIRO: Yeah.
GEORGIA: ...In a stadium. And it was like...
SHAPIRO: That rock star energy.
GEORGIA: I think that was - exactly. That was the moment where I felt like I could be part of the audience here and really give them something that was like giving myself to them, you know?
SHAPIRO: Yeah, and giving them something they need that they can really...
GEORGIA: Totally.
SHAPIRO: ...Stick with them.
GEORGIA: Totally.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STARTED OUT")
GEORGIA: (Singing) But I toughed up myself now, kicked down the heartache 'cause when we started - back when we started out, I never believed it, believed it.
SHAPIRO: We've been talking about kind of the power and transcendence of the dance floor, and some of my friends who stay out all night dancing do it with the help of chemical substances.
GEORGIA: (Laughter).
SHAPIRO: And I understand you've given that up since your last album. Was there one turning point for you, one moment that you thought, OK, this needs to change?
GEORGIA: There were a lot of moments. I'm not going to lie. There was a lot of really terrible positions I used to find myself in. And it wasn't that I was drinking every day. I would just go on these binges that would last, you know, three days. And my friends all got together and sat me down, and I had an intervention. And they said to me, you need to knock this on the head. You know, this is going to really get you into trouble. And I think I caught it a good time. I now choose to drink when I - when it's appropriate, you know? And I feel like I have a more, you know, censored and controlled view to drinking, which is really good.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "24 HOURS")
GEORGIA: (Singing) Twenty-four hours ago, I saw a light shining in.
SHAPIRO: What is it like when you are on a dance floor at 2 in the morning and it's unmediated and it is just sort of the music and the dance floor and you and not the layers of alcohol or whatever else?
GEORGIA: Well, I found it very liberating, actually, because I was able to really listen to the music and enjoy the dance floor and not see it as just a tool for, you know, me getting out of it. I saw it as, like, almost like a spiritual place. And I love people-observing. I remember being in this one club, and I just saw these two people. Like, they found each other on the dance floor, and just started kind of hugging and kissing and dancing. And it was, like - I just thought it was amazing. For the first time, I found myself noticing things like that as opposed to, like, you know, drinking and, like, getting out of it and blah, blah, blah.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "24 HOURS")
GEORGIA: (Singing) If two hearts ever beat the same, we could be it. We could be it. We could be it. In a world that's not the same, we could be it.
SHAPIRO: The title of the album is "Seeking Thrills." Does that phrase mean something different to you now?
GEORGIA: No. I think even though I kind of live a bit less of a hedonistic lifestyle, I didn't give that side away. For me, seeking thrills is about checking in on yourself. We work so hard every day for other people whatever job you're in, whatever - if you're a mom, if you're a stay-at-home dad, whatever your situation is. And I think it's healthy from time to time to check in on yourself and think about what you need. And perhaps what it is is you need a good old thrill in your life and - or a good old thrilling weekend, whatever that is.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE THRILL")
GEORGIA: (Singing) Seek a thrill. Don't throw it away. Don't throw it away.
SHAPIRO: Georgia - her new album is "Seeking Thrills." Thank you for talking with us today.
GEORGIA: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE THRILL")
GEORGIA: (Singing) Don't throw it away. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.