G Flip on cold calling Future Classic & following in the path of Sarah Aarons [cover story]

It’s been a year and a half since G Flip emerged as a force to be reckoned with.

Debut single ‘About You’ was uploaded to triple j Unearthed in February of 2018, and she’s since followed up with a slew of well-received singles at radio, toured extensively and found streaming success.

With a debut album out this month, there’s been little time to reflect on where the time has gone.

“I feel like I’ve just been go, go, go ever since ‘About You’ kind of blew up,” she tells TMN from her LA abode.

Despite having plenty of tunes ready to go after doing around a year’s worth of songwriting, G Flip didn’t expect the reception that she received from the industry at large.

“I guess I was quite shocked how everything panned out, but at the same time I produced a lot of music and I had a lot of songs just sitting in my hard drives and on my laptop.”

Getting added on high rotation on triple j turned out to be a launchpad for international recognition.

“I was hopeful when I put ‘About You ‘on triple j Unearthed, and I was hopeful that maybe it’d get a spin on triple j and that’d be really sick.

“Getting on high rotation… and then Pitchfork making it the best track of the week. Everything that followed after that, I was totally like, ‘Whoa. This is mental. This is so crazy.’”

G Flip had painstakingly planned it all out, and even had a backup if her solo act didn’t take off.

“My idea was that, if it doesn’t work out, at least I knew that I tried really hard writing as many songs and producing as many tracks as I could.

“I would be fine happily being a music teacher. But if I didn’t go to that length, then I would’ve hated to be a music teacher and just regretting not trying really, really, really, really fucking hard.”

Unfortunately for Aussie school kids around the country, the chances of them getting Ms Flipo for their music subjects anytime soon appear slim.

G Flip is now fully entrenched in the Future Classic ecosystem, but the process of getting signed to the Aussie-born, LA-based label was a tad unorthodox.

“I actually cold emailed them the demos,” she laughs.

“I had a SoundCloud link and it had a whole bunch of tracks on it. I had finished ‘About You’, and ‘Morning’, the other ones were half-finished, and I sent them in a fucking email and they surprisingly got back to me.”

The team at Future Classic have proved a perfect foil for the likeable Aussie. Admitting she’s very hands-on, G Flip says that finding a label that allowed her to get involved in all parts of the process was important.

“I think I’m a pretty hands-on artist and very much like doing a lot of things and doing everything almost. And they’ve been great just letting me do my thing.

“I like drawing my artwork for my songs, my single artwork. I like writing the storylines of my film clips and I MD my own show, so I put my show together and the arrangements and stuff.

“They’ve been a great support and they have my back and if I need advice on something or need help with an idea.”

In an age when releasing single after single has become more popular, G Flip says she was intent on writing and releasing an album – titled after debut single About Us.

She won’t let numbers dictate what success means either, but is hopeful that a fruitful album release will result in opportunities to write songs for other artists.

“For me, success is just my own happiness. I feel like you get caught up in numbers and followers and that kind of crap.”

Nonetheless, Australian radio continues to welcome G Flip’s music.

‘Killing My Time’ and ‘I Am Not Afraid’ both hit #1 on the TMN Alternative Chart, while ‘Drink Too Much’ is her highest placing single on the TMN Hot 100 Airplay Chart (#85).

When it comes to songwriting, G Flip is looking to follow a blueprint set out by fellow Aussie and good mate Sarah Aarons.

“I was actually just at her house,” she laughs. “I just got an Uber to my place to do some interviews now. I was literally just at her house.”

Aarons’ resume is hugely impressive. She’s worked with international stars including Zedd, Galantis, Demi Lovato, David Guetta, Noah Cyrus, Maren Moris, John Legend and the Jonas Brothers just to name a few.

She’s treading a path that’s making other Australian musicians believe it’s possible to make it big by composing music for others to perform.

“She inspires me so much and also just makes me believe it’s possible,” says G Flip.

“I feel like, without her in my life, I don’t really know any big songwriters.

“I would’ve thought that was such a farfetched thing for me to say, ‘I want to write for other people.’ And it’s not always about my projects. I can write for other people. And just having her, she’s such an inspiration.”