George Cosby In Coversation With FAULT Magazine

Today marks the release of George Crosby’s EP ‘We Stand Alone’, a body of work which with soul and an impeccably smooth vocal throughout. With the release, George has no doubt proved himself to be one of the most exciting artists right now and we caught up with him to discuss the EP, his musical journey and his FAULTs. 

Your recording span the last three years, in that time what was the biggest change you saw in your artistry?

Oh so much! I try to treat each day as an opportunity to learn and grow so over that time new little corners of my world have been discovered, little flavours and colours I hadn’t foreseen. Vocally there is always change and progression over time but I’ve looked at recordings as moments in time and sealed myself away from going back and opening too much of the earlier work up for that reason.

In the fast-moving music industry, were you ever fearful of the commercial risks of taking your time to get this release to a perfect state?

I don’t know if perfect is possible or if we are capable of thinking our own work is flawless, rather in that moment giving everything we’ve got to it. I was a little wary with holding back yeah but there have been unforeseen elements like the pandemic to contend with and I knew I wanted to have a good body of material finished before I started releasing so I am happy I honoured that. Your right though how music is consumed and communicated changes so quickly.

The She’s Got it Bad music video is so creative and cinematic, do you often write with a thought to the visuals in mind?

Every single time. I like to imagine myself in the place or moment I’m writing about and feel those feelings that are put into words. I’ve always since childhood felt a strong connection to the visual side of the arts and it is a wonderful thing about pursuing the musical artist life the collaboration between the different arts. I feel strongly it’s the collection of them that makes the vision rather than the music alone. I love artists who provide an immersive world that I can lose myself in.

What was the inspiration behind the track ‘Only Ever Cry On Planes’?

I wrote this song with some close friends of mine, Jon Green and Justin Parker. I remember it so well as it started with us laughing through our characterful dating stories and within one story the title appeared and we all latched onto it and it resonated deeply and the song appeared very quickly. A beautiful moment and one I’ll hold onto for a long time.

Does having such a unique sound and style make it difficult to take inspiration from other artists?

Definitely yeah but I think we all find inspiration and principles from others’ work that helps in the process of forming our own expression. I know I’ve found artists, whether musical or writing, where I recognised similar leanings and that’s helped me on my journey, though sometimes you need to look back through time or to a different culture. We are all pretty unique as humans aren’t we and I do love it when you listen to a song and know that could only be written by that artist.

What would you say was the hardest track to write on the EP?

Interesting, I’d say She Got It Bad was the hardest or at least longest as I wrote the top-line and then it gathered dust on a hard drive until my team found it and encouraged me to keep working on it. Then it was a while of refining lyrics to fit this melody everyone had fallen in love with.

What are you most looking forward to for the rest of 2021?

Playing a few shows, I’ve missed that so much. It’s the reason I fell in love with music and it’s such a beautiful collective thing. Each one is a kick of energy to take forward.

What is the most challenging aspect of your musical journey so far?

I think within the industry there are definitely unforeseen challenges that don’t necessarily sit with that childlike joy of messing around with sounds but it’s a business and I think it’s important to have an awareness of that and a grounding in how to navigate the currents. I think perhaps all artists can be their own worst enemies also in pursuit of what they feel is right. I’ve definitely learned over time to know when to surrender the flow and when to form walls around my vision.

What is your FAULT?

Wow, where to start haha. I have a serious weakness for cake….