Cleopold

The musician Cleopold (Geordie Hewitt) was born in Cleveland, lived in Switzerland for 10 years, and moved to Australia with his mom and brother when he was 12. He started singing in a boy's choir when he was 6, and at age 15 he enrolled in an afterschool music program, where he met his friend Nick Murphy, aka Chet Faker.

Geordie studied musical theory in high school, but since he didn’t feel that he excelled at it, he began performing shows and writing his own music. After touring as a session guitarist in Australia for some time, he moved to LA (nearly five years ago) to initially pitch tracks for other artists before he started focusing on his own music. One of those gigs was with the group Miami Horror, with whom he collaborated for the track “Love Like Mine.” The name Cleopold originated here, when Geordie had to give them an artist name for the feature. Following “Love Like Mine,” he built an archive of tracks and began to focus solely on his own music. After he showed Nick Murphy his first single, “Down in Flames,” Nick decided to release it through his own new label, Detail Records. Geordie wrote a majority of the EP in LA, but went to Cleveland for two months to get away from the hustle and the social side of things and focus on the music. His debut EP “Altitude & Oxygen” was released last June through Detail Records.

GROWING UP

I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Switzerland where I lived for ten years. My mum signed me up to sing with the KKB boys choir when I was six and I've been singing ever since. The choir travelled a lot and we spent time in Europe, USA and South Africa wearing church robes. I remember singing in a production of Turandot opera and getting to dress up as a monk. It was pretty exciting stuff at the time and I still feel that same excitement when I play shows these days.

FORMAL / NOT FORMAL MUSIC EDUCATION

The high school I went to in Australia had a great music facility with a couple of pretty loose music teachers who gave us free reign of the place. they were the best, very encouraging. We'd spend hours in there making songs and having a crack at all the different instruments.

PATH TO BEING INVOLVED IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

My older brother played in a band and our parents bought us both electric guitars for Christmas one year. That's pretty much it.

THE START OF WRITING MUSIC

Yeah, it was some weird guitar opus. I was never that good at learning other people's songs so I remember always trying to make my own.

DID HIS EXPERIENCE WITH PITCHING TRACKS TO OTHER ARTISTS SHIFT HIS WAY OF WRITING?

Yeah, I learnt a lot from working with other people. Especially how to communicate and when / when not to share an opinion in a tight-knit working environment. When everyone's expressing themselves and putting ideas on the table, it's pretty easy for personalities to clash and I think it's important to learn how to treat every situation differently and keep egos or attitudes at bay.

LYRICS – WHERE, TIME PERIOD & PHYSICALLY, THEY WERE THOUGHT UP 


It varies. I usually make a loop and just put down whatever comes to mind until something clicks as a starting point. Then it's about developing the idea into something I connect with.

LYRICS – INTENTIONALLY SITTING DOWN TO WRITE VS HAVING IDEAS IN YOUR HEAD AND THEN THEY SPILL OUT

I'd say most of the time I'm on standby to write something or jot an idea down. I'm getting better at delivering a song on the fly but I hate the idea of making something shit because I put pressure on myself to rush it for a deadline.

DOES TRAVELING HELP WITH THINKING UP IDEAS

For sure. Moving around helps trigger different feelings and ideas so I find it helpful to work with a variety of people & places. It's also a lot more fun. Having access to a space for a limited amount of time can also add pressure to be productive. I come up with lots of ideas in the car too.

GETTING INSPIRED WHILE OUT AND ABOUT – VOICE MEMOS & NOTES 


I thought of a great dog name last week and didn't write it down and have since forgotten it. I hope to remember it soon but doubt I will. Same thing goes for songs. I've gone through a few computers and have lost hard drives & phones with terrible voice recordings that could have been great starting points for songs. Sometimes it's really disappointing because recreating a forgotten idea might not have the same quality.

FAVORITE PART OF WRITING / MUSIC CREATION PROCESS OF ALTITUDE & OXYGEN

The process was pretty stressful as I put a lot of pressure on myself and made good and bad decisions along the way. My head feels a little more screwed on now so I’m looking forward to the next release. My favorite part was listening back to the finished product

WHEN AND HOW THE TITLE - ALTITUDE & OXYGEN – CAME ABOUT IN THE CREATION PROCESS

At the last minute. I think it sums up the mood nicely as highs and lows are a recurring theme across the five tracks. I also like the idea of the relationship between high altitudes and low oxygen levels making it harder to breath the higher you go.

ARTWORK – AESTHETICALLY COOL PACKAGE VS COVERSATION BETWEEN LYRICS AND ART

To be honest I think videos and art should be an extension of the music and its expression. Also, branching out into other art forms is a lot of fun if you get to work with good people.

REPRESENTATION THROUGH HIS PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS

I've realized it doesn't matter nearly as much as the music and I only have one face so there's no point hiding it or trying to be something I'm not. Picture perfect portraits don't always reflect a realistic image of the subject anyway. I like drawings and illustrations because there's room to move and viewers might see a different set of details in the image. I'm really proud of the watercolor portrait my mate did of me and remember feeling unsure about it at first but then trusting that it's cool because I trust the artist. Drawing opens up another world of color and imagination. it makes viewers look at the subject from a different perspective.