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The scale of production for George Maple’s Lover Tour at Sydney’s Metro Theatre was a real spectacle. The singer’s resplendent silhouettes were measured against a stronger vocal, an aesthetic reminiscent of Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour and Maple’s diamante hood – and later oversized fedora – surely from Gagas. “I’ve always dreamed of creating a live spectacle. My mind is very theatrical and I often write songs with a strong visual image in my mind,” Maple explains. “Over the years I’ve been very lucky to work with so many talented individuals; from sonic development, film, to styling to lighting, to live video to movement.”
“The creative aesthetic is a simply extension of the music,” she continued. “When I write or I listen to the music, these are the images I see and the various shades and characters I explore, the people I embody, the shades of intimacy I explore. It evolves and changes however it’s simply my fantasy world, the album was built from my life and fantasy and so the show is simply a three-dimensional version of that.”
Premiering the video for her track Like You Used To, Maple channels Joanna Cassidy’s 1982 Blade Runner character in a transparent raincoat. Filmed in one take in Los Angeles, the singer stuns in Off White, Burberry and Swarovski. “We were pressed for time so I had to ensure it was perfect,” Maple says of the video. “It was almost like survival mode, I had to click into gear, return to the scene of the crime (figuratively speaking) and belt out the song with everything I had. I felt it needed to capture a similar experience to the way it was created, an uncontrollable purge of frustration, confusion and passion. Everything is live, even the red light you see was manually turned on at the right moment, there is no post production at all. I’m really proud of it.”
The raw emotion of the track’s lyric begs the listener to take an inward glance at themselves post a relationship. “One voice is singing to the person you love / loved or who broke you, the other is singing to yourself,” Mapple says.
“It’s a conversation about the person you’ve let yourself become, a sonnet to the person you’ve lost along the way.”
“I realise retrospectively, this song is really about power and control, the loss of control within myself, letting yourself be defined by another, denial about the roll you play in the demise of a relationship. I am no angel, I’ve played the role of both villain and victim in many a relationship.”
Speaking retrospectively, Maple muses over her latest tour in a photo diary. Those stunning moments, commentated by Maple herself, here.
“I like to think of a show as a theatrical experience. Every element is considered and there is a lot of trial and error. This tour was the first time I have worked with customising and designing pieces for the show. I discovered the glory of working with a seamstress. I spent a lot of time with sequins and rhinestones scattered all over my room trying to make decisions and trying to visualise how the outfit would move, work on stage and balance with the other pieces I had planned with my collaborator Jamie (Lee Shipton) @airtomyearth. Five hours before the show, I decided to add additional embellishment and shoulderpads to the costume. I was being fitted 20 minutes before I went on stage.”
“I love this photo, it encapsulates exactly how I was feeling at this time, I felt fierce and proud that we had managed to finish the outfit in time for the show. Before a show, I try and channel my past present and future self, I often use my imagination to track back to the various characters I’ve played or explored over the years. I like to channel the women who inspire me and the stories they’ve told, Cleopatra, Diana Ross, Grace Jones, Catwoman….the list goes on.”
“This image was taken during a moment of the set that I was nervous about when planning the show. I wanted this show to undulate and to feel like a narrative. This moment during the show, I simply sit down on my mirrored stairs and sing the ballad from the album ‘Slow Dancing,’ it is a song that is very personal to me and I feel vulnerable when I perform it. It is the first ballad that I’ve performed in a show and for some reason when this picture was taken, the flare on the camera created a rainbow. To me it’s a perfect photograph. Thank you to @mackenziesweetnam”
“No matter how many shows you play, a positive energy connection with the audience never gets old.”
“This photo was taken from the first song of the set and title track from the album ‘Lover.’ This tour is the first I have worked with dancers. I’ve wanted to explore the dance medium for a while however I wanted to make sure I had a really clear vision and direction before embarking on the journey. A mutual friend introduced me to ‘@Johnybgood.e who showed me this concept amongst others. He expanded my horizons and we worked together to find a balance and harmony within the show. He also introduced me to my beautiful dancers @dragoheart and @jordantierney I have never felt so inspired by other artists. Perhaps it’s because the medium is foreign and exciting to me however the way these two execute and intuitively explore the music with their bodies.”
“A sub-theme from this tour was the dance and balance of masculine and feminine. I’m very interested in exploring this thematically and the notion was woven throughout the show. The costuming, movements and approach were intentionally swaying between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ in a traditional sense. I love exploring my masculinity and this photo is a perfect representation of what I was trying to communicate.”
