KATIE BROWN - 23 JULY 2021

“Call me by my name / Never something else / This is who I am / Can only change myself”

A sense of being able to inhabit who you really are is behind Tauranga-based artist Georgia Line’s mesmerising new single “Call Me By My Name”, out today. Produced by Djeisan Suskov (LEISURE, Benee, Paige), it’s a smooth pop/R&B number that shines a light on the complexity of human relationships and what it is to be known in our essence.

“It’s about the tension that is felt in every relationship where as individuals we want to be seen, understood and valued for who we are,” says Lines. “...But knowing that compromise, sacrifice and a willingness to learn and grow is necessary to love another human.”

Understated and intentional, a minimal and stripped-back beat holds the pace of “Call Me By My Name” to a steady groove while a wistful, vocoder-backed “oo” eases listeners into the track, and guitar and atmospheric synth flourishes accompany Georgia’s soulful vocals and signature keys as the song progresses. A snappy 3 minutes in length, its ending is unresolved and feels ambiguous, speaking to the tension the song’s theme addresses.

It’s a single from an artist who is steady and sure in herself, and asks to be seen for who she is and not for what’s on the surface. This theme is mirrored to perfection in the accompanying video, with Georgia portrayed in an array of different (and effortlessly cool!) outfits, often cut and superimposed onto a version of her in another outfit, as if to demonstrate that although the external things may change, the woman beneath is always the same. And this almost conversely acts as a promise, that with the shifts and changes, the bending and unbending that relating to someone else involves and calls for, who she essentially is will never change: what’s outside can shift and warp and alter, but what’s inside is for keeps.

The song is an emotive and thought-provoking single from an accomplished and sure-footed artist who really is one to watch. Following on from the recently released “No One Knows”, which achieved top 100 radio airplay and saw performances across a range of Aotearoa media outlets, “Call Me By My Name” is the next step in a year that has already been a flourishing one for Georgia. Touring as a double-headliner with Auckland act LAAIKA earlier in the year, she was also part of the inaugural TUAWAHINE concert in June, performing alongside Anika Moa, Annie Crummer, Paige and Tami Neilson.

Catch Georgia playing at Auckland’s Anthology Lounge tomorrow night (Sat 24th July) in support of the single: she’s joined by rising Hamilton indie-pop artist Tijay and Auckland pop artist Brody Leigh (also half of duo Ben & Brody).

Tickets here.

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