G Flip feels one of a kind.
First and foremost, she’s a drummer. A really, really good drummer. If you’ve seen her command a drum kit on stage -- or even just in her emotional ‘Bring Me Home’ video -- you’ll know her power on the drums. It’s a talent she’s been cultivating since childhood.
But G Flip -- real name Georgia Flipo -- doesn’t only drum. She sings. She produces. She plays guitar, bass and keys. She writes her own songs, which, in the two years she’s been releasing music as a solo artist, have connected in a big way with audiences around the world. Her music, often written about the turbulence of an on-again-off-again relationship, feels instantly relatable. G Flip just gets it.
This December, G Flip will bring her incredible range of talent to RedBull Music Motel, a very special live music getaway. From the comfort of your home, Red Bull Music Motel will give you a front-row seat to performances from G Flip as well as Tkay Maidza and Baker Boy. It all streams live from 6pm on Saturday December 5, hosted by Linda Marigliano and The Inspired Unemployed.
To be there, you just have to RSVP. But while we wait for RedBull Music Motel to roll around, read on to get to know a little more about Melbourne’s G Flip.
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#1 At nine-years-old, she started playing the drums
G Flip received her first drum kit on her ninth birthday. “It was one of the best days of my life,” she told RedBull. “I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone because I was a tough girl so I went to the bathroom and had a little tear because I was that happy.”
In the years since, Georgia’s become a skilled multi-instrumentalist. But drums are still what she’s most passionate about: “I f*cking love drums. I’m obsessed with drums,” she recently told The Fader.
#2 She was in the band EMPRA before going solo
Georgia Flipo was in “tonnes” of bands before she went solo as G Flip. But the last one was alt-rock act EMPRA, where she drummed and sung back-up vocals. When EMPRA split up in 2016, Georgia decided it was time to start making music of her own. It turned out to be the right move.
Look out for a pre-G Flip Georgia in the back of this video, or singing about her overindulged long weekend below.
#3 The video for ‘About You’ was filmed in her bedroom, by her brother
In early 2018, Georgia released her first single as G Flip, a track called ‘About You’.
The song was the product of a year spent holed-up in her bedroom, teaching herself how to produce, after her band EMPRA went their separate ways. With the assistance of Logic, YouTube tutorials and a MIDI keyboard, Georgia spent seven hours a day learning the ins and outs of electronic production.
Her diligence paid off. ‘About You’ was an immediate hit: after being uploaded to triple j Unearthed, ‘About You’ premiered by the station later that day. It was named a Best New Track by Pitchfork and saw Georgia invited to play at Austin’s SXSW, as well as eventually placing at #38 in triple j’s Hottest 100. On her very first release, G Flip became a star.
The song’s wilfully lo-fi video clip was shot in Georgia’s bedroom with the assistance of her brother Reuben, all on an iPhone 6. “I didn’t have enough storage on my laptop so I made it entirely on my phone,” she recalls. “I don’t recommend doing that. It takes a long time.”
#4 She can play four instruments
G Flip didn’t stop at learning the drums. “I play drums, guitar, bass guitar, keys,” she says. “But I can pick up other instruments pretty quick as well.” Talk about multi-talented.
#5 She used to have a crush on a certain Instagram influencer
“I got a crush on Steph Claire Smith, oh/ But she'd never like no fool like me,” G Flip sings on the opening verse of ‘Drink Too Much’, the track that got her nominated for an ARIA and placed at #6 in triple j’s Hottest 100.
A few years after she wrote those lyrics, G Flip successfully got fitness influencer Steph Claire Smith to appear in the video for ‘Drink Too Much’. But she’d like to point out that a few things have changed since she penned the song: “I don’t have a crush on her anymore because I actually became friends with her and her husband. Congratulations to Steph and Josh on the pregnancy.”
#6 Her live bandmates have very distinctive nicknames
When G Flip plays live, she moves between the mic, guitar and drum kit. Completing her band are the two “best mates” she feels very lucky to tour the world with.
Their names -- not the ones on their birth certificates -- are Toothpick and Ferntree. Toothpick got his name “because he’s small and really handy,” says Georgia. “Ferntree named himself.”
#7 Her debut album is titled About Us
‘About You’ was G Flip’s first single. About Us is her first album. It’s named that, Georgia says, because the entire album was written about a past relationship: “which was all about us”.
Across the album Georgia goes through the process of love and loss, from declaring “I just wanna be your lover” on the opening track to realising she’s okay with being alone on ‘I Am Not Afraid’. About Us is only ten tracks long but it perfectly captures the rollercoaster ride of on-again-off-again romances.
#8 She collaborated with Illy on ‘Loose Ends’
In 2020, G Flip linked up with local hip-hop act Illy. Together, they delivered ‘Loose Ends’, a track about growing up and moving on.
“He sent me the track and I had a listen and put my own spin on it,” Georgia says. “He’s a rad dude, love him.”
#9 On ‘Hyperfine’, she paired up with LoveLeo
‘Loose Ends’ wasn’t the only collaboration G Flip worked on this year. 2020 also saw US act LoveLeo contribute a verse to her single ‘Hyperfine’.
The song came together in a few hours in a studio session in Los Angeles at the start of the year. By the time it was released in May, global circ*mstances meant the video had to be filmed in front of a green screen in Georgia’s Melbourne house, before voxel graphics were used to animate the footage.
“We filmed using lighting and film gear I found in my house,” Georgia told triple j. “My mum even got involved and held a hairdryer to create ‘wind’ during my bike scene. Thanks, Mum."
Which means that two years on from her breakout track ‘About You’, G Flip’s still making her music videos in her bedroom. Only now the end product looks a little fancier.
But ‘Hyperfine’ isn’t G Flip’s latest single -- she also gave us ‘You And I’ in October.
#10 She has more than 20 pairs of Crocs
G Flip diehards will know of her passion for a certain brand of footwear: Crocs.
“I own maybe like 21, 22, 23 [pairs],” she admits. “It’s forever growing. I like crocs a lot.”
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Watch G Flip perform 'Worst Person Alive' with a Mystery Band!
