There's only so much you can do when it's just you and your guitar.
So when it came time for Vancouver based singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas to record the follow up to her 2010 debut This is Good, she put down six strings in favour of 88 black and white keys.
Sonically inspired by the likes of John Maus, Foals and Peter, Bjorn and John's Writer's Block, Georgas' self-titled follow up is a set of atmospheric, keyboard driven tunes where the young singer is stepping away from the safety of an electric guitar and into the world of soft and analogue synths.
Recorded over a two-and-a-half month stint in Toronto, production duties were overseen by Holy Fuck tastemaker Graham Walsh, giving Georgas' GarageBand sketches a refined precision.
But writing the album didn't come so easy. Demos began in January 2011, with Georgas setting time out of every day to sit down and write, no matter what "good or bad" came out.
When crunch time rolled around, she booked a cabin on Victoria's neighbouring Salter Spring Island to get away from life's daily distractions and focus on her craft.
"I'd have to drive five miles into town and put my phone in the air to try to call someone," she says, laughing.
She says that the seclusion reinvigourated the writing process and she hopes to continue a similar songwriting method on future releases.
"I think I need to do that more often," she says. "Or just turn my phone off a lot more." --Matthew Ritchie
Hannah Georgas w/Mother Mother
Saturday, November 17 at Halifax Forum
2910 Windsor Street, 8pm, $30/$35
