It’s not unusual for performers to declare love for their audiences, but when George Maple says it at her sold-out Sydney show, I’m inclined to believe her. Tonight’s love-up vibe at the intimate-but-for-499-other-people gig in the Sydney basement of Oxford Art Factory is helped along by dreamy beats, Maple’s hypnotic undulations and plenty of reciprocal warm fuzzies in the room.
Fresh from performances at Coachella and SXSW, the Australian-born, London-based producer and singer is on her first national headline tour. The crowd greets her enthusiastically as she walks on stage, dropping her dark overcoat to reveal a leatherette bra topped with an elaborate gold-detailed harness and tailored pants. Backlit by ambient lighting and a dash of smokiness, she begins to mesmerise the crowd with her slinky electronica.
Slow burn is Maple’s MO. She quietly dropped her debut single Uphill at the end of 2012. After signing to indie label Future Classic in late 2014, she released her debut EP with the single Talk Talk, which was premiered by Radio 1 tastemaker Annie Mac. She has been steadily working with Flume, Flight Facilities and Snakehips, and touring the world throughout.
Tonight, backed by a keyboardist, drummer and some curious feedback effects, she winds her way through favourites such as Fixed and VacantSpace, interspersed with lesser known tunes such as Call of the Wild and Began To Say. Easily the highlight is the very sexy Where You End and I Begin that has the crowd swaying along, eyes tightly closed.
Between tunes, she mentions she’s spent the day in the studio working on new music. Although there are no sneak peeks, she plays her latest collaboration Gemini, the break-up tune from What So Not (aka Flume and Emoh), released earlier this month. Finally, after an all-too-brief 45-minute set, she closes the show with chart favourite Talk Talk, blows a kiss and leaves the crowd to drift off dreamily into the night.
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George Maple plays The Bakery in Perth on 1 May, Rocket Bar in Adelaide on 2 May, and returns to Australia for Splendour in the Grass, 24 to 26 July
