INTERVIEWS
Pretty Girl breaks down her 'fabric presents'
The Naarm/Melbourne-born turned UK-based producer speaks on her inauguration into the revered fabric family.
Pretty Girl is an artist clearly and comfortably striding further and further into the limelight.
The Naarm/Melbourne originating producer has become a regular name thrown into the ring alongside some of Australia’s most revered. Recent appearances at Coachella, headline shows across the UK, and a string of major summer festivals at home have proven the growing appetite for her own personal brand of soulful dance.
The most recent feather in her cap, however, has proven, in many ways above all others, how much that appetite exists in dance music’s more foundational spaces.
Recently, Pretty Girl was tapped by iconic UK venue and label fabric, to put together her own ‘fabric presents’ release. A double vinyl filled with contributions from artists like Guy Contact, Sleep D, RONA. and many more. The release also features two of her own original tracks, which find a home on the label.
Joining an alumni group with only a few very select Australians, the release truly demonstrates just how increasingly relevant Pretty Girl is becoming on a global stage.
To celebrate the release and get her read on what it means not only for herself but for Australian artists as a whole, Mixmag ANZ got some of PG’s time.
Q: Emilia, thanks so much for your time. Congrats on the mix & release! How does it feel to be released with fabric?
PG: Thank you so much! It feels really exciting. This project came together in an optimistically quick timeframe, so quick that I had initially turned down the offer because I didn’t think it would be possible. But it’s fun to challenge yourself sometimes, and I think I often overwork and overthink my productions.
So, literally not having the choice to 'umm' and 'ahh' made it new and forced me to be more confident.
Q: Working with such a revered name in dance music would feel surreal to so many, but at this point in your career, is it starting to feel normal?
PG: I think about this a lot because I remember asking someone this exact question maybe six years ago. When you take a step back, it’s definitely surreal. But the reality of any creative project is that it’s a lot of work and so involved that you don’t really step back.
You miss the forest for the trees, etc. I think it’s essential to reflect deeply and also appreciate the significance of an opportunity or experience. I just spent two weeks in Italy having a very overdue serious reflection.
Q: I’ve seen you describe the mix as a love letter to the dance floor and your influences spanning two continents. How do you think these different continents complement each other in this mix?
PG: I think moving to London and spending so much time immersed in dance music here has made me a more adventurous DJ.
I say this a lot, but UK crowds are definitely more receptive to different rhythms, given that the UK is the birthplace of 2-step, drum and bass, and jungle. Aussies tend to be more attached to the four-to-the-floor.
Q: You’ve tapped some of Australia’s most iconic names here, including Guy Contact, Sleep D, and RONA. What is it about these artists in particular, that inspires and influences you the way they do?
PG: The best thing that dance music producers can do, in my opinion, is have their own sound. And it’s a hard thing to do with dance music.
But all these artists mentioned, and honestly, all the artists on the mix, all have their own unique sound, and I find it inspiring. And I think also what all these producers have in common is that their music is confident and slick - you never get the feeling that their music is trying to impress you. It’s just existing.
Q: You’ve joined a very exclusive club of Australians who have released via the label, including Cut Copy in 2006 and Confidence Man just last year. Did you feel any pressure to ‘represent Australia’ in putting this together?
PG: Nah… honestly, Australia has some of the best dance music exports in the world, and I feel like that’s a common sentiment from everyone I speak to about home.
I believe we already have excellent representation in the dance music sphere.
Q: You’ve put two originals out here, ‘Innadream’ and ‘Hahaha’. What was it about these tracks that felt like they needed to go here, within this mix in particular?
PG: I feel that the simplicity of both tracks made them right for the fabric compilation.
Since it’s a label with a very dance-focused catalogue, I felt a bit more emboldened to make “dance music” rather than the kind of indie dance/pop/leftfield mishmash that my personal sound skews towards.
Q: You wrote ‘Innadream’ in a week, which is a wild turnaround. What does it feel like when a song comes together so smoothly like that?
PG: It feels awesome, I wish every song was like that. It was so exciting and fun. And I think the best part was I didn’t have time to marinate in it and question everything and strip it back, and then eventually go back to the first demo.
It got mixed and mastered, ingested, and that was it- and I think that’s a good thing.
Q: ‘Hahaha’ is a bit of a sidestep for you. It’s simpler & a bit harder than most of what you’re releasing. What did it feel like putting something more ‘functional’ out into the world?
PG: I don’t know. It’s sometimes confusing to think about your sonic identity as a producer, and also what people expect or want from you.
But it was exciting to release something that's just like, a banger. Just a vibe, a feeling, rather than a story.
Q: I read that you were listening to a lot of early-mid 2000s electro when you wrote it, who do you think inspired the sounds on the track most?
PG: I was listening to Mumbai Science a lot, that was really feeding into it. Digitalism, Crystal Castles, The Presets, that kind of thing.
Q: You played at fabric just a few weeks ago to celebrate the release, alongside Dr Dubplate, Miley Serious, Megra and others. How was that gig?
PG: The gig was really fun! The other artists absolutely killed it, and the crowd had great energy, even until 5am. The crowd was also very receptive - I was worried about playing the closing slot since I know a lot of the time the crowd wants to hear my depresso espresso hits like Arc and Message, which just aren’t 5am songs.
However, I did play the original Arc as one of the closing songs, and it actually went down quite well. That’s before I played Fashion Killa by A$AP ROCKY into Better Off Alone by Alice DJ. That’s the kind of closing set it was.
Q: You’ve had some huge shows as of late, even playing at this year’s Coachella. What most excites you about shows in the future?
PG: I’m really excited to get to come back to Australia and play my favourite festivals and venues over summer. And I’m excited to build a new live show, probably when I do my debut album, whenever that is…
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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.
