Promoting and Supporting Women in Music
A raucous set of visuals that prove they have zero tolerance towards chip-stealing fraudsters, Brisbane bad asses VOIID have shared a video for their latest single ‘Silly Girl’. Directed by local Gold Coast resident Harley Jones, the video shows the band dismantling a ‘Silly Girl’ whilst rocking out to their riotous new tune.
Watch the video for ‘Silly Girl’ below and follow VOIID on Facebook for more updates.
Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut
Candice Gordon is a Berlin based Irish artist who delivered a big slice of high-tension, trashy, garage rock with her latest single ‘The Kids Are Alt Right’. We talked about the mundanity of mainstream music and pop-culture phenomenons, before she signed off with an excellent list of artists that she recommends. Oh, and a shout out to a lost pair of her most valued black jeans.
Hi Candice, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about how you got started as an artist?
I don’t think there was one definitive lightning bolt of a moment for me. It was a part of my personality to be turned on by exploration and adventure. From when I was a kid I loved the freedom and independence that busking allowed me. I travelled with my guitar and later with a crystal ball. Songwriting as an artform also appealed to me from early on.
You are originally from Ireland but now living in Berlin, what were your reasons for moving to Berlin?
Before Ireland I lived in Botswana. I had been living in Ireland for long enough that I wanted to get the fuck out again. I was depressed and suicidal, and Berlin seemed to be a decent option, and when I first came here it felt really right. I like the grassroots movements that happen in Berlin. At the moment there is a fightback against Google moving into a neighbourhood. I don’t think that sort of thing is common in a lot of other places. In Ireland they welcomed Google, Apple, and Facebook with open arms and tax breaks.
What are the differences between the music scenes in Berlin and Ireland?
Both Germany and Ireland have terrible taste when it comes to mainstream music. But I’m in Italy at the moment and there’s that common thread of god awful music on most all the radio stations, so I don’t know if there’s a place in the world that’s immune. There’s a lot of talent in Ireland for such a small country, but it’s not getting nurtured and celebrated like it should. Berlin is comparatively huge so there’s a huge amount of artists. A lot of great artists live here. I think in Berlin there’s an effort to push boundaries and break standards. I like that.
We’re loving your latest single ‘The Kids Are Alt Right’ (great name) – can you tell us a bit more about what inspired this?
I was looking at modern culture and the alt-right movement. When there’s the idea that young people are progressive, looking forward, and open-minded, it’s a surprise to discover that they are conservative traditionalists, looking backward. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that “alt” means “old” in German. Every time I see another pop-cultural phenomenon my expectations in humanity are lowered yet again. Be it ‘Gangnam Style’, or Nigel Farage. I think they’re all the same. It’s mob mentality and veneration. The chorus is a play on The Who song, but I don’t think they’re alright. I think they’re fucked. We’re fucked. But yeah, the song is roughly about data analytics and propaganda. On a deeper level, I think capitalism causes media to do shitty jobs – they can’t afford to have integrity, so they give Farage a microphone because he’s entertaining.
Am I right in thinking that it was aptly recorded in a basement in Texas soon after Trump’s inauguration? And you have been targeted by members of the alt-right online since it started streaming?
Yeah, I recorded it in Texas. We went over last year and the only food I could afford was tacos and donuts. Yeah, because of YouTube and Facebook algorithms, when I put the song up it got directed to alt-right people and they write comments and emojis, but it’s probably time sensitive because it was only during the first week or so. I feel if they are distracted by my video it’s serving a valuable purpose. The finished video is coming soon though, so fingers crossed I can catch some trolls.
The single was launched at Berghain in Berlin, how was the party?
It was a great gig. I lost a bag with my most valued black jeans and red Hawaiian shirt though, if anyone finds it.
Your music has been described in such a variety of ways from “gothic guitar-noir” to “garage rock raucousness” to “sweetly dark folk-tinged music” … Do you feel that you fall into any of these descriptions?
Yes, I think they’re all really good descriptions of elements of what I do. But I think genres are for marketers.
You are in the midst of your current tour, how’s that all going?
I am currently in Terni, Italy, eating cherries and drinking coffee in the sun. So it’s not bad. Great shows, great audiences, not enough sleep, too much car. Unsurprisingly incredible food.
What can fans expect from your live shows? And, more importantly, are you planning on coming to the UK anytime soon??
Let’s see… There’s drums, bass, synth, electric guitar. Sometimes there’s other instruments. I sing. I wear shoes. People clap. I sing some more. I was planning on a London show but now I’m booked up until I don’t know when!
Finally as we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands or artists you’d suggest we check out?
A.S. Fanning – lyrics and tone to die for.
Alice Dean – acid beat straight from the lab.
Louis Brennan – Sartorial quips in song form.
Nina Hynes – fourth dimensional.
Paddy Hanna – manufactures earworms.
Badhands – sensationally crafted songs.
Gordon Raphael – endlessly entertaining.
Medicine Boy – representing psychedelic desert blues from Cape Town.
Huge thanks to Candice for answering our questions!
Matisse said that creativity creates courage. True. Arguably, to create art, one needs to be courageous. As a woman, in the midst of a movement that has been decades if not hundreds of years coming, you have to be courageous. As a woman creating art inspired and as a result of the trauma put upon us as having to be women, you have to be courageous.
Amanda Palmer ticks all of those boxes: a woman, an artist, and courageous.
This week, she released a song inspired by the #MeToo movement. It’s called ‘Mr Weinstein Will See You Now’ and its inception came out of a jam session between Amanda and Welsh singer-songwriter, Jasmine Power. Before that night at dinner, neither woman knew of or had met the other; to go from strangers to collaborators within hours is a rare occurrence, but a good one.
‘Mr Weinstein Will See You Now’ is a single story about and from a single woman with two voices and two minds. We’ve all felt that pull, now and again. Mr Weinstein may not be in all of our stories and his name might not even be uttered once in the lyrics of this track, but in ways, his foulness is.
I listened to the track over and over yesterday, and I’d put every cent I don’t have on betting I wasn’t the only one. Musically, it’s stunningly beautiful and powerful, but it’s in the lyrics that the truth comes to light. Too many women have blamed themselves for men taking advantage of them, and the shame of its occurrence never leaves.
Too many men with too much money and too much power who never give themselves a moment to think about their own actions, preying on victims who suffer in silence and think too much. It’s while writing this that it’s come out that Morgan Freeman has become another name to add to the list, and that list will continue to grow. But we must continue to listen to the women, the men, and the non-binary who have lived through it.
Since her humble, Dresden Dolls beginnings, Amanda Palmer has always kept the line between her and those who listen to her music slim. She likes to hear what people have to say and gives herself to them, and they her. This is evident reading her Patreon post about ‘Mr Weinstein Will See You Now’ and the comments in response to it. The stories, the truth.
100% of proceeds up of ‘Mr Weinstein Will See You Now’, up to 30th June, will go to the TIME’S UP legal defense fund.
Em Burfitt
@fenderqueer
Skating Polly transcend genres with their eclectic melodies and undeniable punk attitude – aiming to take on the world with the release of their fifth LP, The Make It All Show. Formed in Oklahoma City almost a decade ago by step-siblings Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse, The Make It All Show sees the “Ugly Pop” multi-instrumentalist duo expand as a group. Not just by morphing into a trio, due to the addition of Kelli’s younger brother Kurtis on drums, but by expanding their already impressive sound, and flaunting their DIY punk-rock roots.
Opening with the infectious ‘Classless Act’, Skating Polly set the bar high for the rest of the record with politically charged screams (“I want better than that classless act”) offsetting grunge-inspired guitar riffs, before slowing everything down with ‘Little Girl Blue and The Battle Envy’ – perhaps their most poetic track to date.
‘Free Will At Ease’ picks up the pace with a bassline that defines the track’s power pop melody, before breaking into ‘Queen For A Day’ – co-written, and featuring guest vocals from Exene Cervenka (of the seminal punk rock band X) – a punk-rock song with a traditional punk-rock chorus full of raw emotion and glimpses of vulnerability.
Skating Polly instinctively let loose on ‘They’re Cheap (I’m Free)’, drawing their thrashing sound and ferocious vocal delivery from the riot grrrl movement – Kelli emulating Kathleen Hanna’s signature screech. Indie-pop track ‘Long Ride’ follows with duelling, multi-layered vocals about shitty friends, before tearing apart the misogynistic nature of the American frat-boy culture with future punk anthem ‘Camelot’ – “Are you upset? Did I hurt your little feelings?”
Continuing their soft/loud/soft dynamic – their more subdued, reflective verses leading way to drive and distortion, and vice versa – Skating Polly poke fun at the idea of “selling out” with ‘Hollywood Factory’; hooking you in with their sarcastic wit, before expressing their frustration with yet more shitty friends on the Queens of the Stone Age inspired track ‘This Vacation’. The final two tracks – the rhythmic love song ‘Flatwound Strings’, and the gentle, piano-driven ‘Don’t Leave Me Gravity’ – bring closure to The Make It All Show with their comforting harmonies, and prove that Skating Polly have honed their own, distinctive style.
Over five records Skating Polly have displayed maturity as songwriters, having grown-up producing music under the watchful eye of both their fans and their peers. The band wear their influences on their sleeves, crossing genre boundaries with their unique and varied sound, and as performers they just ooze pure unadulterated chaos. The Make It All Show proves that Kelli and Peyton have not lost any of their punk-rock grit. Skating Polly vs. the world.
The Make It All Show is out now via El Camino Media.
Ken Wynne
@attackplanetb
Photo Credit: Amina Cruz
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