Name: GC Oconnor
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: Australian
Current release: GC Oconnor's Soul Lament EP is out via Low Key Source. Vinyl edition available here.
Pure vocal music recommendations: When we were recording the EP, myself and my producer, Loraio, took huge inspiration from the recording process of  D’Angelo's recording techniques. We recorded a lot of clean and pure vocals and sent it all through valve amps. Very DIY but we wanted that truthfulness of the voice.

If you enjoyed this GC Oconnor interview and would like to know more about her music, visit her on Instagram.



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in your voice and singing? How and when did you start singing?

Music has always filled my house, my parents are huge music lovers and record collectors. And there was no sticking to any genres. Everything from Dolly Parton to Lauryn Hill. I guess I just loved trying to sing like different singers. Janis Joplin or Mahalia Jackson or Billie Holiday.

And when Sister Act 2 came out I just got hooked to the joy of performing and singing, how infectious it was. And then somewhere amongst that my own tone and style kinda came through.

If you're also playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

My first instrument was guitar. I wanted to be like Buddy Guy or Jimi Hendrix. And I probably sit in a blues or soul style of guitar playing and playing those kinds of licks definitely influences how I hear melody. Trying to make the guitar sound like a voice and trying to make my voice sound like the guitar.
I mean and then you’ve got keys.

I’m obsessed with closed harmonies. It gives so much space to find where the voice can flutter over the top.

Like in “Stay”, that is a super closed harmony song which gives the vocals space to not only sit amongst the instruments but also raise above and below.

Singing is an integral part of all cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

On both my parents' sides is a pretty strong Irish heritage. And I guess those ancestral musicalities never die.

I adore folk musics, especially Irish folk music which I listened to a lot growing up. It actually inspired the track “Walk Slow”, which is my soul interpretation of a traditional Irish song called “An raibh tú ar an gCarraig (Where you at the rock)”.



You can even hear in the “Stoner Soul” interlude track one of my favourite singers Liam O Maonlai singing in Gaelic amongst all the sounds. I know that’s a pretty deep cut haha.



What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or experiences were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

Going to music school and studying jazz vocals was one of the biggest kicks up the bum for me as a vocalist. I learnt so much control and creativity. Learning from the likes of Lily Dior (an amazing Australian Jazz singer) and exploring things like yoga for breath control was life changing.

Sitting in jazz improv sessions with only instruments and no singers was huge as well in learning how to expand my vocal range and tone and dynamics. But I’ve definitely done the classic thing of learning all the tricks and throwing them out the window as soon as I was singing professionally ha.

I probably would never pull out of a gig if I had a cold or something. bbut I just have learnt to lean into what my voice can do in that moment and not push it.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

Rhythm is key! I’ve always felt I was more of a rhythmic musician rather than a melodic one. Rhythm is that original, primal thing that connects all humans from the dawn of time.

And I’m obsessed with creating a sense of peaceful polyrhythms in music, where all the parts are pushing and pulling but there is still so much space and tranquillity.

And playing with groove in singing means you can sit on basically 1 note but create so much dynamics. It’s just fun.

What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

Honesty is probably what draws me to a voice. Don’t get me wrong, I love a crisp vocal, I mean I’m a Beyoncé stan here. But what truly kicks my soul in the guts is a voice that you can hear humanity within.

Billie Holiday could sing one line and in that one line you almost knew her life story.

How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

I feel it in my gut. I’m a pretty anxious person and the release of that from my gut when I sing is unlike anything else. Singing is soulful catharsis for me.

What kind of musical settings and situations do you think are ideal for your own voice?

Haha I mean my honest answer would be in a bar after several whiskys.

But also my voice finds its peace in a quiet room with natural reverb and a handful of bodies listening that will dampen the echoes.

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

I would say both singing and speaking voices have such a huge range of tones and dynamics depending on how we are feeling and what emotion has overrun us in that moment. Tone is everything.

Our speaking voices are for the practicalities of life and our singing voices are for the expressions of our souls, and both of those need tone and emotional expression.

So I guess they are just natural extensions but also ends of a spectrum of human needs.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

When I write I always start with the music and then the melody. Lyrics come right at the end. So how the words and phrases sound and feel is dictated but the music.

But that’s just for my voice. When I write for other people a lot of time I don’t pay attention to how it feels when I sing it but how does it fit the vibe and tone of someone else.

In saying that, writing with someone else has pushed me to find me vocal runs that I wouldn’t have found myself or parts of my range that I wouldn’t have explored. But it still does feel like I’m almost playing a character when I sing parts other people have written.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

Yawning and humming! Just getting those vocal chords all juicy and warm again. And singing in a steamy shower.

How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

Never used it haha. I like the sing into a warm, condenser mic with some reverb thrown on. I might be doing myself a disservice having everything so bare and raw but who cares. It’s the way I love to listen to vocals so it’s the way I want to listen to myself,

But I do appreciate it for creative choices, especially in pop and rnb.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression, and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

Singing to me is probably the most natural bodily action. It’s the most primal, fundamental, soul-expressive thing a human can do.

To me, the feelings that consume me can only be released through singing. It’s how I see the world, how I express my thoughts about myself and the society I’m a part of.