Whether jamming together on their family farm in the Adelaide Hills, playing alongside Arcade Fire at the Isle of Wight festival, or opening shows for Little Mix and Ronan Keating, Germein’s energetic and charismatic live performances have been described as nothing short of mesmerising.
After making a bold statement with their new single ‘Good For A Girl’, a gorgeous blend of powerful lyrics, raw, edgy guitar hooks, quirky piano lines, and haunting sibling harmonies, Germain are all set to perform at the Cornbury Festival on Saturday 9th July, but before that, we thought it was about time we got to know them a little bit better.
Lovely to meet you, Georgia! Let's take it right back to the start, how did you first start making music with your sisters?
"Music was always a big part of our life, growing up jamming together on our family farm in Adelaide, South Australia. Dad played trumpet in a New Orleans rhythm and blues band, which sparked our love for loud, feel good music we could dance to - and Mum used to lead singing around the piano. We started out busking on the main street of our local town with our younger brother, and after a while started playing local venues as a trio. As more and more people seemed to like the music we played, we decided to start touring nationally, and eventually internationally - gradually building our fan base and playing bigger venues."
There's been so many different ways of describing your sound, but how would you put a label on it?
"Indie pop with sibling harmonies."
What most influences most define your music?
"We were raised on our Dad’s records of B.B. King, Van Morrison, & Cat Stevens. Ella’s first CD was Shania Twain, Clara’s was Kate Cebrano, and mine was Celione Dion. We love the harmonies of Fleetwood Mac, the musicianship of Queen, and the energy of the Spice Girls. As a band we often get compared to The Corrs, Haim, and Tegan and Sara."
Can you tell us about your new single ‘Good For A Girl’ and how it came about?
"We wanted to write a song that would help tackle some of the stereotypes we’ve faced being women in the music industry. For example, Clara went into a music shop to buy drumsticks, and the guy behind the desk asked her if she was buying them for her boyfriend. I remember our first soundcheck on a national tour when it was as if we’d surprised the sound guy when we started playing, like he expected us to be bad. At the end of the show he said to us that we were actually pretty good for girls. We wanted this song to give a voice to anyone who might be going through a similar experience in whatever industry they might be in. It’s about giving girls an equal playing field, and not discriminating based on gender. We are proud to have written, recorded, and produced this track entirely ourselves in our home studio - which makes it even more special for us."
What is your songwriting process? How does it all come together?
"I am naturally more drawn to reflect inwardly on my thoughts and feelings, and song-writing has always been a positive way for me to express how I’m feeling by getting those emotions out of me & onto paper and into music. It’s always been a very freeing experience. Usually lyrics come first, and then the music just happens instinctively."
"When we wrote our latest single ‘Good For A Girl’, we all sat down together in the studio and brainstormed the ideas we had for the song, then I went away and wrote a verse & a chorus. After this we came together again and finished the song."
What’s the most important thing for you when you’re writing a song?
"Its kind of hard to explain, but when I sing the song, I want it to almost give me goosebumps. I want the combination of music and lyrics to allow me to feel something deep and meaningful. If I can connect with the song on that level, then chances are someone else will too."
What’s next for Germein, any big plans we can all look forward to?
"We are so excited to be back in the UK to play our brand new songs for you all this summer. After this tour we’ll head back to Oz and finish recording new music which we can’t wait to share with you all soon. We are currently planning our 2023 tours so stay tuned for when we’ll be back!"
What would your dream collaboration be?
"Oh wow, so many. Anyone on the lineup from the Isle of Wight Festival this year would be amazing - MUSE, The Kooks, Rudimental, Lewis Capaldi… the list goes on!"
A last question before you go, what has been your best moment as a band so far?
"We loved opening for Little Mix on their stadium tour of the UK. There were so many ‘pinch me’ moments every day, but one of our favourite things was getting to play for all of the Little Mix fans, who were so warm, sweet and kind to us. It was also special having our Mum join us on the tour as well."
Taking the lead from strong female artists like HAIM, Chvrches, and Tegan & Sara, Germein possess the kind of close musical partnership that can only be shared by siblings. They are inspired by the vocal harmonies of iconic bands such as Queen and Fleetwood Mac, both of whom they have been honoured to previously appear with on the line-up at the Isle of Wight Festival.
With an impressive list of accolades under their belt, including opening for pop icons Little Mix, Ronan Keating, Phil Collins and Jess Glynne and being shortlisted in the Top 6 Unsigned UK Acts in a Battle of the Bands competition to open for Ed Sheeran - to name just a few - 2022 sees no sign of slowing down for the illustrious trio. Their new single 'Good For A Girl' was just announced as a Third Place Winner in the International Songwriting Competition for Best Unsigned Act, as well as Honourable Mention for Best Lyrics out of a staggering 21,000 entries.
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