LISTEN: GIHE on Soho Radio with ARXX (26.06.23)

Tash, Kate and Mari were all in the studio together for June’s edition of the Get In Her Ears Soho Radio show! They played loads of new music from some of their favourite female, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ artists, and Tash made a poignant speech about Trans Rights and the importance of supporting trans artists during Pride month, and all year round. There was an eclectic mix of tracks on the playlist too, including Planningtorock, CLT DRP, Lauren Auder, Problem Patterns, Jackie Shane, Ratboys, Dream Wife, Speakers Corner Quartet, Fraulein and more!

The team caught up with total faves Hanni and Clara aka ARXX. The pair came into the studio to talk about the reaction to their debut album, Ride Or Die, which they released in March this year, their impressive touring schedule – including shows with The Vamps, Yungblud and MUNA – and their undying love for Avril Lavigne (which Kate also harbors too.) The GIHE team also reminisced about the first time ARXX were guests on a GIHE radio show back in June 2019, which you can listen to here.

Listen back to our most recent show below:

 

We’ll be back on Soho Radio on Monday 24th July from 12-2pm!

Tracklist
Jackie Shane – Sticks and Stones
Planningtorock – Transome
Problem Patterns – Letter Of Resignation
ARXX – Ride Or Die
**Interview with ARXX**
CLT DRP – Nothing Clever, Just Feelings
Dream Wife – Leech
Cable Ties – Thoughts Back
Ratboys – It’s Alive
Yvonne Ambrée – Outtamymouth
Speakers Corner Quartet – Fix
Sprints – Adore Adore Adore
House Of Women – Hysterical
Hera Lind – Hungry Lion
heka – april (away)
Girl Ray – Everybody’s Saying That
Fraulein – Big Cool
The Crystal Furs – Gay Bar (Electric Six Cover)
Grrrl Gang – Spunky
Beverley Glenn-Copeland – Africa Calling
Gazelle Twin & NYX – Deep England
Hand Habits – The Bust Of Nefertiti
F*Choir – Dying
Lauren Auder – we2assume2many2roles
Chroma – Woman To Woman
Breakup Haircut – Out Of My Way (I’m Not Getting On The Nightbus)
Anohni and The Johnsons – It Must Change

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ALBUM: Queen Zee – ‘Queen Zee’

Making weirdness in to wonderful, inclusive, explosive new tunes; GIHEs favourites Queen Zee have shared their debut self-titled album and it’s every bit as glorious as we’d hoped. Released via their own label Sasstone Records, the group have created ten tracks that gleefully cut down any of the forces that attempt to stand in the way of equality.

The tongue-in-cheek ‘Loner’ opens the record, and it’s an in-your-face anthem taking the piss out of being a solitary, socially inept loser. Zee’s vocals dominate the track as swirling guitar and non-stop percussion keep the riot going. It’s followed by the equally punchy ‘Lucy Fur’ and ‘Sissy Fists’, which are belting fusions of grunge & punk. The latter smashes apart any associations of weakness and is a proper hardcore two minutes of pure adrenaline.

‘Idle Crown’ is a riotously executed piece of Marilyn Manson-esque pop sleaze. The narrative centers around two LGBTQ+ characters trapped in a toxic heteronormative relationship, who are unable to live as their true selves. It’s hard to resist screaming along to the chorus of ‘Porno’ and ‘Victim Age’, both of which will have you kicking and screeching around a dance floor.

The album’s standout track is undoubtedly ‘Boy’. It’s an anthem for trans-gender rockers and their allies who refuse to be ignored, or oppressed by transphobic or homophobic attitudes. “You can try and bury my head in the sand, but that won’t make the body at the surface a man’s” sings Zee, as manic guitar and heart-pounding drums smash out for just shy of five minutes. ‘Hunger Pains’ follows with Zee’s ravenous screeching and more trademark corkscrew guitar riffs, whereas the brief interlude ‘Anxiety’ is a mellow yet candid admission to not feeling well.

Whether you admit to it or not, we can all relate to closing track ‘I Hate Your New Boyfriend’. It’s a hilariously vicious take-down of a misogynistic partner who drains your friend and by default drains you too. Turn it up extra loud anytime you know said antagonist is in the vicinity. With their punk attitude and ability to write abrasive and infectious tracks, there’s no danger of Queen Zee being melted in to a “masculine mould” – and we’re rejoicing in support of this “whipping girl born into a big man’s world”. What a debut, invest immediately.

Photo Credit: Jon Mo Photography

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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GUEST BLOG: Grapefruit

In a new guest blog feature, Angela from Maidstone-based, alternative band Grapefruit writes about what it means to take claim of being women in the music industry.

Sometimes I have mixed feelings about describing Grapefruit as a “female fronted band”. As someone who thinks of gender as a needless and suffocating concept, it can feel like we’re highlighting something irrelevant.

But, we can’t escape the fact that the music we create is intrinsically tied to and is product of our identities. And when that identity is female or femme or non-binary, I do think it’s important to highlight in an industry that continues to be dominated by cis-male identities.

You might not be fazed that our band is female-fronted but some young girl interested in the music magazines in the men’s section of the newsagents might be. Growing up I certainly clung to female-fronted bands; Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine was an idol; my girlfriend and our lead guitarist first picked up a guitar and spent hours learning and mastering it so she could play music like Kate Nash, PJ Harvey and Siouxsie Sioux did.

The point is that whilst inspiring female talent certainly exists in the industry, we’re still often the only female-featuring band on the setlist. We still have to assure some sound engineers that we know how to set up our own mic-stands, and have had to shrug it off when they make sex jokes whilst we’re focusing on getting the levels right. We still look at each other confused when we are compared to a bunch of (talented) bands we sound nothing alike except for that rare female voice.

Until it’s not so rare to see a woman in a band at your local pub, we’ll continue to proudly announce our female-ness and to get excited when we get to play alongside other female, femme, and non-binary musicians. It is our responsibility to make ourselves a space and to fill it to the point of overflow; your ownership of your identity and musical mastery is an important “fuck-you” to the “music has gotten too girly” types (thanks for the words of wisdom, Bono).

 

A massive thank you to Grapefruit for this piece. Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

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Track Of The Day: Nimmo – ‘Orange Skies’

The fear of being forgotten permeates London-based electronic outfit Nimmo‘s latest track ‘Orange Skies’. Produced by Maya Jane Coles, the single is taken from the band’s upcoming EP Songs From The Credits, which is set to be independently released in November, and is accompanied by a self-directed set of visuals.

Nimmo are comprised of best friends, musicians & vocalists Sarah Nimmo and Reva Gauntlett, and together they create sharply produced, lo-fi electronic sounds. Talking about their latest track ‘Orange Skies’ in a recent interview with The FADER, Sarah explains: “[it’s] a song about the paranoia of dying and not having control over the way you’re remembered.” This theme of uncertainty and a need for some form of control is brought to the forefront on Nimmo’s upcoming EP. The duo are using their independent release to promote their renewed ethos of putting friends, family and their network of London-based queer creative collaborators first.

The accompanying video for ‘Orange Skies’ is set on a concrete football pitch from Sarah and Reva’s childhood, and sees friends and relatives pass through the band’s own funeral. Having spent the year playing European festival shows, Nimmo are now back to releasing music on their own terms. Watch the video for ‘Orange Skies’ below and follow Nimmo on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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