riot grrrl inspired – Get In Her Ears

First Timers Workshops Return For 2024!

We’re big fans of First Timers here at Get In Her Ears, so we’re thrilled to share details of their upcoming workshops for 2024’s edition of the DIY festival! They have also opened up their applications for their Festival, which will be taking place later this year. Further information and links to tickets and application forms can be found below.

Background Info

First Timers Fest are a London-based DIY community of musicians and activists who believe that having access to creating & playing music should not be a privilege. It should be a joyful and social experience that empowers everyone.

They encourage people from all walks of life – particularly those from low income backgrounds, or who identify as non-binary, LGBTQ+, disabled or female – to attend their workshops and gigs in order to experience and create music in a non-judgemental, low pressure environment. They aim to build people’s confidence, as well as forming a community of like-minded individuals who feel empowered to tackle the lack of diversity in larger music industry spheres.

Some of the bands who formed at First Timers and went on to release records and perform bigger shows include Big Joanie, Breakup Haircut, Whitelands, Bitch Hunt and Charmpit!

First Timers Workshops 2024

Below is a list of the workshops that First Timers are running over the next few months. They will all take place at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell, South London.

Grab your workshop tickets here!

Tickets are £5, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Please email dsflfirsttimers@gmail.com if you can’t afford a ticket.

Drums Workshop: Sat 17th Feb, 1pm with Phoebe (ME REX, cheerbleederz)
Vocals Workshop: Sat 17th Feb, 3pm with MIRI
Guitar Workshop: Sat 2nd March, 1pm with Joni Samuels (Fräulein)
Keyboard Workshop: Sat 2nd March, 3pm with Natasha (Screaming Toenail)
Bass Workshop: Sat 23rd March, 1pm with Ripley (Breakup Haircut)
Speed Bandmating: Sat 23rd March, 3pm
Choir Workshop: 13th April, 1pm

How To Sign Up For First Timer’s Fest 2024

First Timers is a two day festival where every band on the bill plays its first ever show! This years festival will take place on Sunday 5th May at The Victoria, Dalston in East London. Sign up as an individual if you don’t yet have a band, or even if you’re just interested! You’ll be contacted closer to the time for further details.

Applications to play this year’s festival are now live!
Sign Up Here!

IMPORTANT: To play in the festival, you need to be able to say yes to BOTH of these two statements:

1. One or more band members have never been in a band before OR one or more members has never performed that role in a band before (e.g if a drummer is having a go at vocals)

2. One or more band members belongs to one or more of these identity groups; a person of colour, a woman, LGBTQIA+, Jewish, people from Gypsy, traveller or Roma background, disabled – including non-visible, chronic health conditions and neurodiversity, working class, refugees and asylum seekers. (these identity groups aren’t exhaustive, let us know if we’ve missed any out)

Follow First Timers Fest on Twitter (X), Facebook and Instagram

Artwork: @saint.ass

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

January 12, 2024February 12, 2024

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

NEW TRACK: Softcult – ‘Haunt You Still’

A bittersweet, shimmering reflection on the mark we leave on others in the extended aftermath of a breakup, Softcult have shared their latest single ‘Haunt You Still’. Full of their trademark shadowy, swirling riffs and soft dual vocals, the Canadian duo explore accountability and atonement on their latest offering.

Formed of twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn Horn, Softcult have had a busy few years touring with the likes of Incubus and MUSE, as well as releasing a trio of excellent EPs: Year Of The Rat (2021), Year Of The Snake (2022), and See You In The Dark (2023). Now, the pair are gearing up to play a series of shows across the UK supporting Movements, with new single ‘Haunt You Still’ offering a glimpse of what to expect from their live setlist.

“Maybe it’s a defence mechanism, but we tend to demonise the people we once held close once they’re out of our lives, and it’s not always warranted. It’s a reactive way of protecting ourselves,” the band explain about the context of their new track. “This song is an acknowledgement that when things don’t work out between two people, it’s not always one sole person in the wrong. Looking back on our past, we have to reflect on the parts we’ve played and the damage we may have unintentionally left behind. When those people think of us, do they look back fondly or has the chapter of their lives where we appeared become a painful memory?”

Born from their desire to push through pain and reflect on their hard earned emotional resilience, Softcult’s sound is rooted in a strong feminist DIY ethos. With Phoenix on production, engineering and artwork duties, Mercedes is free to direct and edit all of Softcult’s visuals. The duo also create and produce their own zine called SCripture, and are active participants in their Softcult Discord server, a safe online community for their fans. It’s this vehement sense of self-autonomy, coupled with a shadowy aesthetic and atmospheric sound that makes Softcult so captivating.

Watch the video for ‘Haunt You Still’ below.

Softcult UK Live Dates 2023 (with Movements)
Nov 22: SOUTHAMPTON The Loft
Nov 23: LEEDS Project House
Nov 24: MANCHESTER Club Academy
Nov 26: GLASGOW Garage
Nov 27: BIRMINGHAM The Mill
Nov 28: BRISTOL Lost Horizon
Nov 30: LONDON Electric Ballroom

Follow Softcult on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter (X)

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

November 15, 2023

Kate Crudgington1 Comment

WATCH: Softcult – ‘Spit It Out’

A lush, swirling guitar tune that gently encourages listeners to face their unconscious bias, Canadian duo Softcult have shared their latest single ‘Spit It Out’. Since the release of their debut EP Year Of The Rat earlier this year, the pair have been busy working on new material, with this new offering building on their existing manifesto to resist and relieve the pressures that come with existing in a patriarchal world.

Formed of Ontario-based twins Phoenix and Mercedes Arn Horn, Softcult cut their teeth playing live shows in their local town of Kitchener, before moving on to bigger audiences on the North American tour circuit. Their experiences of playing and working within a male-dominated industry formed the foundation for their current sound, which is born from the desire to reject toxic standards of femininity and embrace a more equal world.

‘Spit It Out’ embodies this outlook, as the band explain in more detail: “The song is about rejecting harmful ideologies that we’ve come to accept as normal, even though they perpetuate our own oppression. Most people understand that misogyny, sexism, racism, etc are wrong, but don’t often notice when it occurs in our every day lives, in the media, or how we’ve been conditioned to perceive the world. We can even unknowingly become part of the problem because we’ve internalized these ways of thinking. We wrote the song about resisting societal standards which only serve to benefit those that hold power over others. By simply refusing to accept these ideologies, we can weaken the pillars in our society that allow oppression and injustice. It all starts with questioning them in the first place, and then deciding that we aren’t going to continue to contribute to them.”

Watch the video for ‘Spit It Out’ below.