An electronic exploration of the pain and endurance that women face in their struggle for self-autonomy, ‘young girls never die’ is the latest single from Brighton-based artist Helen Ganya. Taken from her upcoming album polish the machine, which is set for release on 18th November via Bella Union, Ganya has taken the unsettling, sexist double standards surrounding ageing and dismantled them over glitchy beats, crystalline vocals and jagged electronics.
“Someone made a graph of a male celebrity which showed that as he continued to age his girlfriends stayed the same age,” Ganya comments about the inspiration behind her new track. “This vision kept sticking with me and I saw it everywhere – of the individual girl not allowed to grow, replaceable when she does. All the while our collective insides rot from a lack of full autonomy. The individual girl is often not allowed to grow. Instead there’s this sort of festering.” This “festering” is epitomised in Ganya’s candid lyrical motif: “young girls never die / they just rot inside.”
On her upcoming album polish the machine, Ganya – who previously performed under the moniker Dog in the Snow – seeks to unravel the toxic societal and patriarchal threads that have bound her, and weave a new narrative, edging more towards hope and truth. “I’ve always slightly feared the ordinary,” Ganya comments, “It never really represented how I feel and how many people feel.” With ‘young girls never die’ and across her new record, Ganya carves out her new version of “ordinary” with tact and grace.
Listen to ‘young girls never die’ below.
Follow Helen Ganya on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook
Helen Ganya UK Tour Dates 2022
Tuesday 25th October – London – Paper Dress Vintage
Wednesday 7th December – Brighton – Folklore Rooms
Photo Credit: Nicole Ngai
Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut
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