Former Weekend Sun journalist Georgia Minkhorst is keeping her passion of writing alive by making music in Scotland.
The Tauranga-born woman, who goes by Georgia Mink as her artist’s name, is debuting her first single, Sweet Sanguine, on Friday.
Wanting an escape from their “scummy” hostel in London with faulty plumbing and a bed bug notice, Mink and Maya Payne, a close friend from university, decided they needed some way to escape, so they put on a comfort movie: Twilight.
“I remember saying to Maya: “Ugh, I just want a vampire to bite me in the neck!” Everyone knows that’s the fastest and most realistic way to get change in your life, right? Anyway, I came up with the melody for ‘sweet sanguine’ that same night.”
Inspired by the film, Mink started to think up lyrics.
“That’s where it all started, in this scummy hostel, just wanting a change and wanting to be in my sparkly fun time of life,” 26-year-old Mink said.
They eventually moved out of the ‘sh**ty’ hostel and caught a train to Glasgow, Scotland.
Catching a train out of London and finding their feet in Glasgow, ideas for the song continued to flow.
Tauranga artist Georgia Minkhorst started her music career while spending time in Scotland, where she was inspired by the gothic architecture and Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Photo / Maya Payne
Surrounded by gothic architecture and locations that inspired Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, Mink became inspired to write a soft rock, indie, ethereal song about vampires and new beginnings.
“There’s so much stunning gothic architecture in Scotland that makes it easy to romanticise everyday life.
“Coming from New Zealand, I just get so awestruck by the old churches, castles and towers.
“It feels like you’ve stepped back in time or on a movie set. I also love the 1992 film ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ and was drawing on that when thinking about the song’s imagery.”
“He [Stoker] was from Ireland, but he was said to be holidaying in Scotland when he wrote some of the novel Dracula. A lot of it was inspired by Scotland. Dracula’s castle was apparently inspired by a castle near Cruden Bay.”
Georgia Mink's single 'Sweet Sanguine' is inspired by Dracula and gothic romance. Photo / Maya Payne
She wanted to draw on the gothic romantic aesthetic of the story and film.
Mink told Payne, from Christchurch, that she enjoyed singing and writing lyrics, and she encouraged her to record and release her own song.
“I’ve always loved singing, coming up with melodies and poetry. Maya was the one who encouraged me to put myself out there creatively in this way.
“She’s got a great musical ear too, so I was super grateful to have her giving me vocal notes and feedback with the song.”
Mink wrote the song’s lyrics and came up with a melody before getting in touch with producers and songwriters Johnny Madden and David Milne, and watched as the song built.
So, what does “sanguine” actually mean? “I’ve been obsessed with this word for a while. It’s about having a bright outlook when you’re in a tough situation, but also means blood or blood-red. So, it was perfect to capture the song’s meanings.
“Although a lot of my song’s lyrics have this vampiric romanticism going on, the song is really about desperately wanting positive change in your life and seizing it when the opportunity arises.
“Johnny and David were adding different instruments and sounds, the whole process is really fun and satisfying.”
Mink has enjoyed the lead-up to the release of her first single and has been posting teasers on her Instagram @itsgeorgiamink.
“It’s had its first little radio spin over here on the BBC in Scotland. There’s a segment called BBC Introducing where they put out new tunes from new artists. That was cool.”
To listen to Mink’s debut in Scotland, go to the BBC Introducing in Scotland episode at the time 41:53 to listen. It played on the BBC Introducing last Friday.
The day after the release, she plans to take a getaway to a Scottish festival to celebrate. Then she plans on getting straight back into making more music and eventually creating an EP (extended play) of five songs.
Mink will debut her first single Sweet Sanguine on Friday, June 6, on Spotify, YouTube and SoundCloud at 10am NZT.