The Records That Made Me: Georgia

With The Records That Made Me, VF uncovers the vinyl releases that have influenced and shaped our favourite musicians, DJs and artists.

Georgia Barnes has always been surrounded by vinyl. From childhood, the producer and songwriter known by the world as Georgia was fascinated by the vast collection of her father–Leftfield’s Neil Barnes. “Ever since I can remember, I would hold records and sniff them and just had this attraction to it,” she laughs. “I was intrigued by how the record player and the needle worked, how records got pressed and the entire process.”

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After taking up a role at Rough Trade Records’ West London store, Georgia’s personal connection with vinyl strengthened as she moved into the crate-digging culture. “I discovered so much music–from Jamaican reggae and dub pressing to pop. It expanded my knowledge of music from not only the West but from all over the world and I appreciate that.” This deep-digging approach has informed her eclectic approach to making pop-influenced club music and, to this day, she often samples from vinyl in her work.

Read on to learn more about the records that consolidated Georgia’s love of vinyl.

Amy Winehouse

Frank

(Island Records)

It was one of my first records. I was given it when I was about 17 as a present. I was at BRIT School then and I’d never heard of Amy, but a couple of people in my class had heard of her and seen her play. I remember getting this vinyl and thinking, “oh, wow, she looks like a London girl”. When I listened to it I thought it was London in a fucking album. To me as a 17-year-old, it was a bit of a continuation from, without putting Amy in a box too much, what we had growing up in London in the ’90s. We had Ms Dynamite and these female singers that were very connected to London and the journey that a girl goes through in London–the trials and tribulations.

I couldn’t stop listening to it. It was like a story. I can relate to some of the lyrics and what she was saying about guys. Her voice was so jazzy and yet so husky and unique. I was blown away. A lot of my girlfriends at the time were totally obsessed. It became a soundtrack of that year for all my friendship groups. I was into lots of different music, floating from Amy to Radiohead to hip-hop, but a lot of my friends just listened to Frank. It holds a very sentimental place for me. When she came out with Back To Black, she was propelled to a stardom level. What I like about Frank is that you can hear the early stage of her development as an artist.

I really love the production as well. Salaam Remi is a huge inspiration for me and an incredible producer. He actually produced most of Back to Black even though many people think Mark Ronson just produced it. Salaam’s production had this New York hip-hop scene mixed with a jazz vibe. It was so cool that a Londoner did that. Frank is a timeless record, even more so than maybe Back To Black.

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Missy Elliott

Supa Dupa Fly

(The Goldmind)

When I was younger, none of these records actually came out on vinyl. It wasn’t until I was working in Rough Trade West that a lot of this era in hip-hop records got re-released on vinyl. I remember it was one hot summer’s day. I was working behind the counter. It was really sticky and hot and was flicking through and processing records. Suddenly, Supa Dupa Fly was physically in my hands and there was no way I couldn’t buy it. It’s just such an important record for me. She’s my biggest influence.

Without Missy Elliott, I don’t think I would do what I do. She is such a unique talent that opened the door to so much imagination and creativity. It’s actually framed on my wall. It’s something that has to be part of my living space because it’s so seminal for me.

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OutKast

ATLiens

(Arista)

Another seminal record for me. Again, I got a repress of it while working in the record shop. I love the artwork of this record, particularly on the physical copy. It’s so weird and wonderful and you don’t really think it’s a hip-hop record. It’s a great example of OutKast’s boundaryless, pioneering approach to art and hip-hop.

As a London girl brought up in Central, Atlanta hip-hop should be so alien to me, but I can really relate to it. It feels quite spiritual, actually. They’re so creative and have so much style. They’re just fucking cool.

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M.I.A.

Arular

(XL)

I actually remember buying this record when it came out. It came out on vinyl because she was signed to XL who, as an independent label, still believed in pressing vinyl. She had previously released these 12”s, which are now really rare. I remember it was a big thing seeing who had managed to get one of those records.

This album for me, like Frank, just summed up another side of London, which was ethnically diverse and filled with the different sounds that you can hear in the city. I love that she’s mixing her roots’ music with a very London-style production. I just thought it was just so fucking fresh when it came out. It didn’t sound like anything else. It means a lot to me. Having the physical copy feels like you’re part of something. I’ve got a lot of memories attached to lifting up the needle and putting it back to bits on the record and being like ‘how do they sample that? Where does that come from?’.

At one point, she was one of the world’s biggest artists and lived outside of Hounslow, near my area. It’s just very inspiring. She meant a lot to her community in London and gave girls something to look up to. That’s important.

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Peaches

The Teaches Of Peaches

(XL)

I remember finding this in my dad’s collection and thinking, ‘what the fuck is this?’. It’s pink. It’s legs. It’s explicit. I wanted to hear it. I was probably in my late teens, and that record just sounded like nothing else. It’s a complete explosion in your ears. It was country, electronic, and DIY. So New York–trashy and rebellious. She was a woman singing about fucking the pain away. It sounded kind of like hip-hop style and she was this white New Yorker. It showed how music can cross boundaries and was one of the most refreshing things I’ve ever heard.

The record is so iconic and that cover; I think people that wouldn’t know the music, know the cover. I wonder whether you could get away with that these days. Peaches really pushed the boundaries. She captured the London audience as well because we like spirit and that trashy New York sound. Erol Alkan used to run a very famous night called Trash in Camden, which a lot of bands got signed from, and I spoke to Erol because we’re quite good friends and he still mentions Peaches’ night being one of the best because her performance was so out there and in your face. It was a real moment, and it was brilliant that XL, an English record label, put her music out.

Georgia’s second studio album, Euphoric, comes out on July 28. Hear the lead single “It’s Euphoric” now.