PLAYLIST: LGBTQ+ History Month 2022

To acknowledge & celebrate our amazing LGBTQIA friends and allies this LGBTQ+ History Month, we’ve spotlighted the work and efforts of GIHE Co-Founder Tash Walker, who works tirelessly to support and champion queer communities. Co-Chair of the Switchboard LGBT+ charity, Co-Founder of the groundbreaking The Log Books podcast and general all-round superhero and solid gold friend, Tash was invited on to Lauren Laverne’s Desert Island Disco on BBC 6 Music at the end of 2021 to talk about the work that they do.

Below is the playlist Tash put together for the occasion and their words about why music is so important to the LGBTQ+ community. Fellow GIHE Co-Founders Mari Lane & Kate Crudgington have also added a few tracks from some of their favourite LGBTQI+ artists to the playlist too…

Tash Walker

“At the end of 2021, I had the absolute pleasure of being on Lauren Laverne’s Desert Island Disco on BBC 6 Music talking about the work I do sharing Britain’s LGBTQI+ history. I spent several years looking through the log books, which are written records of the calls made to the charity Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline since 1974, from which I produced the  podcast called The Log Books. The Log Books foregrounds the marginalised voices and stories not usually featured in the media, or even in LGBTQI+ histories which often focus on activists. Over three seasons, the podcast has featured around 100 voices from across the UK, covering the years from 1974 to 2003.

Throughout this track listing I’ve tried to mirror the years of LGBTQI+ history that we explore with songs of empowerment and strength, from LGTBQI+ people and allies. Music has always been a core strength in the queer community, often the dance floor was the only safe place for many, moments before the clubs were raided, the sense of community from the people I have spoken to stands strong. Switchboard the charity was there to support people from the police raids and custody battles of the 70s and early 80s, to the horrors of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the homophobic legislation of Section 28. Our most recent season moves into the 90s, as the internet began to change how LGBTQI+ people found each other, how more people created queer families, how a nail bomb ripped through the community in 1999, and how changing attitudes and a government focus on human rights led to significant improvements in the lives of many queer people.

Music is so important to me, and I think to so many people throughout the LGBTQI+ communities today. I found my queer family on the dancefloor – music is community, it’s love, it’s pain, it’s power, it’s pride – it’s the foundation of so many memories, the backdrop to so many stories and so much strength that keeps us pushing forward and surviving!

Here is my Desert Island Disco in full, which I would like to dedicate to all the LGBTQI+ people we have loved and lost, but especially to our trans siblings past and present – you make this world more beautiful, every single day.”

Tash’s Desert Island Disco Playlist

Jackie Shane – Comin’ Down 
Donna Summer – I feel Love 
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now 
Sylvester – You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) 
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive 
Diana Ross – I’m Coming Out
Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
George Michael – Faith
Erasure – A Little Respect 
Madonna – Vogue
Ultra Naté – Free 
Hercules & Love Affair – Blind
Robyn – Dancing On My Own
SOPHIE – BIPP Autechre MX 
Planningtorock – Gay Dreams Do Come True

Mari & Kate’s Playlist Additions

Mari Lane: This LGBTQ+ History Month, I wanted to celebrate some classic queer anthems as well as shine a light on a couple of newer favourite LGBTQIA+ artists. Electro-punk artist Bitch’s cover with Logan Lynn of Gossip’s empowering anthem ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ fits both these categories perfectly, and I couldn’t not include pioneers of queer culture and ultimate faves Le Tigre. If you don’t know Margate queer punk duo pink suits yet, you really need to get their riotous anthems of inclusivity and politically-charged rage into your ears, whilst another duo with a more subtle, but equally powerful, message against homophobia and society’s constraints is Naz & Ella. Ezra Furman, who beautifully came out as a Trans woman last year, is also an essential for this month, and every month of the year.

Kate Crudgington: As many of our regular readers & listeners will know, at GIHE we aim to support and highlight LGBTQIA+ artists all year round via our website, radio show and our live music nights. Being an ally to such a welcoming community makes running this platform a total joy, and it’s wonderful to be able to share just some of that joy with you via our LGBTQIA+ History Month Playlist. So tuck in to my choices below: there’s the delightful electro-pop of Catherine Moan, the exquisite avant garde sounds of BISHI, an alt-pop banger from Halsey, a majestic hip hip fusion from Witch Prophet and a post-punk ode to love from Grandmas House.

Le Tigre – TKO (ML)
Pink Suits – Pink Suits Everyone (ML)
Bitch/Logan Lynn – Standing In The Way Of Control (ML)
Naz & Ella – Internalised (ML)
Ezra Furman – I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend (ML)

Catherine Moan – Fools (Depeche Mode Cover) (KC)
BISHI – Dia Ti Maria (KC)
Halsey – I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God (KC)
Grandmas House – Girl (KC)
Witch Prophet – Makda (KC)

If you need support during LGBT History Month or at anytime, you can always reach out to Switchboard LGBT+ via their website or by calling 0330 330 0630

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

LISTEN: GIHE on Soho Radio with Fraulein (09.02.22)

Tash, Kate & Mari were back on the Soho Radio airwaves playing loads of new music from some of their favourite female, non-binary and LGBTQ+ artists.

London-based grunge duo Joni & Karsten aka Fraulein joined them to talk about headlining the first GIHE gig of 2022 at The Victoria in Dalston, their upcoming tour dates with The Mysterines, what initially inspired them to start playing instruments and Joni’s upcoming rhythm guitar teaching workshop for First Timers Fest.

Listen back below:

 

Tracklist
Ronnie Spector – She Talks To Rainbows
Dropper – Ok Ok Ok
Brimheim – can’t hate myself into a different shape
SASAMI – Say It
LOBSTERBOMB – Sense
SPRINTS – Little Fix
Kim Gordon – Murdered Out
Moon Panda – Falling
LEYA ft. Julie Byrne – Glass Jaw
Novaa – The World’s Thing
SEA CHANGE – Is There Anybody There
Pearly – Silver Of The Mirror
Fraulein – Belly
**Fraulein Interview**
Bachelor – Back Of My Hand
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupil – Ceci n’est pas un cliché
Celine Love – Good Girl
MARIA BC – The Only Thing
Gazelle Twin – Hole In My Heart
Mitsune – Maru
Proper. – Milk & Honey
Double Helix – Rat Rave
Bluebook – Shake Shake
t l k – Frame of Ted
Bas Jan – Sex Cult
Queen Cult – Calm
Tits Up – Macho Bullshit
Sassyhiya – I Had A Thought
Nova Twins – Bullet

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

Introducing Interview: BITCH

With her epic new album, Bitchcraft, released today via legendary label Kill Rock Stars, queer electro-pop artist Bitch prides herself on being “like Joni Mitchell set to a click track… It’s neon pink, in your face, ready to hex you with its brilliance.” Having shared stages with the likes of Ani DiFranco and Indigo Girls, Bitch has now moved from the hustle and bustle of New York City to a log cabin in the woods, where she’s found time to properly delve into her art and write the songs for the new album.

Fusing together a driving, gritty energy and sizzling synths, alongside soulful, emotion-strewn vocals, we’re huge fans of the empowering sounds of Bitch and the poignant messages reflected in her writing. So, we caught up with her to find out more about the album, what inspires her, her thoughts on the music industry today and what’s next for Bitch…

Hi Bitch! Welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi!  Thank you so much!  I’m a violinist, singer, poet and popstress. I love to wear wild clothes and express myself visually as well as sonically.  

Are you able to tell us a bit about how you initially started creating music?
I grew up tap dancing since I was three (my Mom ran a tap dancing school in our basement). I saw the violin on Sesame Street when I was four and begged my parents for one, and have played ever since. I was a very shy kid, but looked up to very wild and performative artists, like Prince and Cyndi Lauper. I started writing poetry at age eleven, and at some point my musical world collided with my lyrical world and I started writing my own songs. 

I love the fizzing electro-punk energy of your tracks, but who would you say are your main musical influences? 
Thank you!  For this album, I would say early Sinead O’Connor, early Cyndi Lauper, Peaches, and Imogen Heap. 

Your wonderfully titled album Bitchcraft is out today! Are you able to tell us a bit about it? Are there any particular themes running throughout the album?
I’m super excited about Bitchcraft and can’t believe it took me nine albums to find an album title that is so PERFECT! Bitchcraft definitely has themes of climate change, being a woman in this male-dominated world, and good old-fashioned heartbreak. 

Do you have a favourite track on the album? And if so, why?
Lately, my favourite track is ‘Pages’. I think it’s because I re-wrote it, after I chose it for the album. I really crafted it – I pushed myself to a new place on a writing level and I still get excited when I hear it. 

How have you found recording and promoting an album during these strange times?
A lot of work, and also very joyous.  I feel like a lot of us realized during the pandemic how much we need art. So I have felt the process of it has been very celebrated by my friends, family and fans in a way that I have not felt before. 

How do you feel the industry is for new artists at the moment? And, as a queer artist, do you feel much has changed over the last few years in its treatment of female and LGBTQIA+ artists?
I can’t imagine being a new artist now, in the days of streaming and social media. I feel so lucky that I had the life experience of being a road dog, gaining fans by coming through their towns and giving them a good show. I do think things have changed for queerness in music lately. I have always been an out musician, but it feels way more accepted and normalized now and, dare I say, even sometimes an advantage? I still feel like women in music are subject to a TONNE of misogyny, within the gay community too, and it feels like there is still so much work to be done in giving women the spotlight, the mic, more women on lineups, etc. If I had a nickel for queer events that have NO women on the line-up I’d be as rich as Oprah. 

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming artists or bands you’re loving right now that you’d recommend we check out?
I love my label mate Logan Lynn’s new album! Also: Be Steadwell, Shaylee, Tubafresh, Ry Lucia, Gustaf.  

In addition to the album release, what does the rest of the year have in store for Bitch?
I will be touring all year, have written a one-woman show of sorts. And will hopefully be planning a trip to the UK – my family is there and I love touring there!!

Bitchcraft, the new album from Bitch, is out now via Kill Rock Stars.

Photo Credit: Dana Lynn Pleasant 

mariangelicalaneLeave a comment

FIVE FAVOURITES: Sea Change

Equally as inspired by the club music of LA and Berlin as she is by her quieter coastal surroundings in Kristiansand in Norway, Ellen Sunde aka SEA CHANGE’s sounds ebb and flow with a tranquil, yet deeply primal desire to move through a feeling that sometimes escapes written articulation. Her electronica ripples with emotion, but without every feeling weighty or over-thought, reflecting the way she feels about music in general. She’s set to release her new album, Mutual Dreaming, on 11th February via Shapes Recordings.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with SEA CHANGE to ask about her “Five Favourites” – five songs that have inspired her song-writing techniques and informed her new album. Check out her choices below and scroll down to watch her video for her latest single ‘I Put My Hand Into A Fist’ at the end of this post.

 

1. Aurora Halal – ‘Death Of Real’
Aurora Halal is an amazing techno producer, I’m just totally mesmerized by her productions. This particular track is more mellow, but it’s one of my favorites. I’ve recently been re-watching some videos of her hardware live sets. Wow! A total inspiration. Her music is super sensual and dreamy and has this dark psychedelic and shadowy vibe, and at the same time it’s also danceable. This combination was also something I tried to achieve on my album. She releases on her own label called Mutual Dreaming and, well, guess where I took my album name from? Just a little homage from me there.

2. Lövgren – ‘Power Surge’
Around the time I was producing Mutual Dreaming in my home studio, my friend Lövgren was finishing up his debut album, and his Burial inspired ambient made me realize I wanted to do more ambient textures in my music. I think his combination of hard hitting beats with manipulated vocal samples and textures is amazing. This was the first time I heard his music and I was totally blown away. It’s always really cool to be inspired by friends, it makes you try to reach even higher yourself. This track and the whole album is an amazing hidden gem that more people should listen to.

3. Julee Cruise – ‘Mysteries Of Love’
I was late to the party to watch the last Twin Peaks season, but when I finally did I got this total new fascination for Julee Cruise and her floaty voice over dreamy ambient. So then I had to re-watch Blue Velvet where this song is featured as well. Julee Cruise gives me a very strange and weird vibe – it’s almost too dreamy – I don’t even know how to explain it, but I guess that’s why it works so well cinematically in these films. This song was a very direct inspiration for the tracks ‘Mirages’ and ‘Mutual Dreaming’. I guess I sometimes can be a little afraid of singing too prettily over a beautiful instrumental track. Always a bit afraid of seeming too cute. But on ‘Mirages’ I tried to channel my inner Julee Cruise, and I kind of loved it.

4. Sassy 009 – ‘Okay’
The first time I heard Sassy 009 I was totally compelled by the ethereal feel, combined with her danceable beats. Sunniva who is the producer of Sassy 009 has a really stunning way of making her productions dreamy and experimental, but at the same time there’s several super catchy phrases in each song. It’s like all of them could be the main hook in a completely new track, but instead she spices up her song-writing with it and makes this beautiful forward thinking alternative pop of out of it. When I was looking for a mixer and co-producer for my last album INSIDE I looked everywhere for a person to work with. I tried different things out but didn’t really feel it worked. At that time Sassy 009 was a trio and released their debut EP, and I absolutely loved their vibe. I reached out to their mixer and co-producer and BAM – I found the right person to work with on INSIDE – BAYA and I also worked together on my new album Mutual Dreaming.

5. Haxan Cloak – ‘Excavation (Part 1)’
One thing that I loved about the process of producing my new album was that I felt I had the time to really go deep into learning new production styles. One thing I tried was reproducing tracks that I’m fascinated by, just to learn some new things in the process. This Haxan Cloak song was one of the tracks I tried to reproduce. Since this record came out I’ve been super fascinated by this album and especially this track. How it shifts and turns in the intensity of the production. The combination of the reverb heavy beats together with the heavy side chain makes you feel on edge the whole time. And it’s so dark and compelling that it makes me want to go into the woods and do some witchy rituals. My little copy of this track developed into its own thing and I split in two and it was actually planned to be the first and the last track on my album, but in the end I felt the first one didn’t belong there. But I kept the last part – which is called ‘Rituals’.

Thanks to Sea Change for sharing her favourites with us.

Watch the video for her latest single ‘I Put My Hand Into A Fist’ below.

Follow Sea Change on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo credit: Simen Løvgren

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment