Having been a huge fan of London trio Girl Ray since first falling in love with 2016’s single ‘Trouble’, and going on to relish in the quirky, uplifting indie-pop goodness of albums Earl Grey (2017) and Girl (2019), I am super excited that they’ll be releasing their third album Prestige next month.
A band close to my heart (it was after their set at Indietracks festival 2018 that I proposed to my partner – they’re a big fave of ours!) and one who continue to develop and hone their distinctive sparkling sounds with each new release, this latest offering of theirs draws on the danceable allure of disco, complete with funk-fuelled hooks and the band’s distinctive shimmering blissful energy. Emanating bucketfuls of colourful, queer joy, it’s the perfect soundtrack to the summer: a gently empowering swirling blast of euphoria that is needed now more than ever.
I was lucky enough to catch up with Poppy, Iris and Sophie for a chat about the new album, being women in the industry, their festival essentials (no pots and pans!) and more… Have a read and make sure you pre-order Prestige now!
Meeting via Zoom on a rainy Monday evening, Girl Ray manage to find some time out of their busy schedule to have a quick chat. Having been quite quiet over the last few months, they are currently in the midst of a busy few weeks, leading up to the album release on 4th August. This weekend just gone’s been particularly busy, with the band supporting Ben Howard at Alexandra Palace park on Saturday. “It was good, but extremely wet!”, Poppy recalls when I ask how it went. But, in spite of the rain, it was a quite a special venue for the band to play, being North London locals who’ve attended lots of gigs there themselves – “it’s kind of a bucket-list thing to do”, Poppy shares. So, despite the awful weather and tiredness (“we were running on about 3 hours sleep because we had our club night the night before”), it all went well – good views of the palace while playing, and a nice discovery that Ben Howard is a fan of the band.
The club night that Poppy mentions was the special Prestige club night, hosted by the band at The George Tavern on Friday to celebrate the upcoming album release. “It was hard staying up that late”, Iris admits, “… but it was really fun! Loads of people can down for it, and my parents DJ-ed. They loved it!”. Having DJ-ed throughout the ‘80s and the early ‘90s it seems Iris’ parents are pros at spinning tunes – “much better than us!”, Poppy adds. Although the band have DJ-ed before, this was the first time they had put on an event of this kind, and they have promised to do it again – “It was quite amazing really! Iris mainly did all the organising, and just the simplicity of putting on an event is quite amazing. It’s not as difficult as one might think. Just a really fun thing to do, everyone should be doing it!”
Moving on to discuss the reason for the celebrations, I ask about the inspirations behind the album, and how the queer ballroom scene of the ‘80s played a part: “I was watching Pose while writing it”, Poppy explains, “… and the soundtrack, and the aesthetic, aside from it being a great TV show, just drew my attention more to that scene, and let me delve more into the roots of disco. And I found that super inspirational as a writing tool, so tried my hand writing a few more disco-inspired songs.” After the three of them decided that it would be a good direction for the record, and writing some more tracks in that vein, the name Prestige came about – “it’s always been a kind of joke within our friendship group; like when we were teenagers, instead of saying ‘Oh, that’s cool’, it would be ‘Oh, that’s prestige’… It’s kind of a special word to our friendship!” And then, Poppy’s mum gave it the final push, when told about the name, “she said ‘that sounds like one of the naff clubs I would go to in the ‘80s’, so that sold it! That became the album cover, and then that kind of informed the aesthetic of the album campaign.” The band were able to use this aesthetic not only for the album visuals, but were able to draw on the whole disco and ballroom themes as inspiration for their songwriting, as well as their musicality – “Our playing styles naturally went a bit disco-y”, Iris reflects, “our style definitely lent itself to the genre.”
Once they had written the album, they naturally needed to find someone to help produce it. Poppy had been working alongside Ben H. Allen (M.I.A, Christina Aguilera) for a writing session for one of the songs on the album, and got on really well with him, so – despite not being fully aware of his accolades – decided to ask him to be involved, and he was up for it, and very down to earth and easy to work with. As Poppy explains: “…he’s a really friendly guy, and he made us feel really welcome. And I think that just speaks to his experience and expertise as a producer. He put us all at ease and we felt really comfortable.” As Sophie so eloquently puts it, “he’s the definition of Prestige”.
Being Girl Ray’s third album, Prestige uses what the trio have learnt over the years to create something honed and polished – showcasing a band with experience and innovation. Sophie reflects: “It kind of tied together how we recorded the first and second albums in a lot of ways. Because the first record was very much live, and playing together in a room, and the second one swung completely the other way, recording everything separately. And this one is a mix of the two.” Discussing the recording process, Iris explains, “Poppy wrote the songs and they were pretty fully formed. And we then had to structure our time recording quite well because we didn’t have loads of time.” Despite the time constraints, however, they still felt able to experiment and develop their sound – Poppy adds, “We’ve been a band almost 10 years now, and so we definitely know more and how to achieve it. Looking at all the albums side by side, with this one I think we have found our footing a bit more in terms of our sound and what works for us.”
As well as creating uplifting, musically rich songs, one of the things I love most about Girl Ray is their ability to channel their personalities into their videos. In the run up to this album in particular, they’ve created some fantastic visual accompaniments to the singles; I ask them about the process of doing this, and mention that my current fave would have to be ‘Everybody’s Saying That’ (a Studio 54-inspired visual, showcasing all the roller skatingy queer joy you could ever desire). Reflecting on the process, Iris explains: “We kind of either have a concept or work together with a director. The director for ‘Everybody’s Saying That’ – Alice Harding – is someone we’ve worked with (barista-ed with!) in the past, and she was just getting into directing, and we had this idea that we wanted the club of Prestige to be in the video…” Although the band initially approached Harding because she was a roller skater, on discovering she was also getting into directing, they recruited her immediately, and she then came up with the plot and concept. Discussing their love of video making, the band reflect on how being such good friends with a similar sense of humour always helps, and, Poppy adds, “we don’t want to take ourselves too seriously, and videos are a fun way to express that.” As well as working with Alice Harding, Girl Ray have predominantly working with long-time friend and director Alex Cantouris in making their videos – “He’s really great and gets us. He’s been working with us since we were 17, so he knows exactly what we want. And it’s always a really fun process!”
Now that the album’s ready to be unleashed into the world, the band are focusing on some live dates to promote it, including some in-store shows over the next couple of weeks, ahead of their full European tour in the winter. With this in mind, I ask if there’s been a particular gig that Girl Ray have played over the years that stands out as a particular highlight – “Anytime we play a hometown show – anytime we play London – it’s really important to us”, Poppy says, specifying dates at Scala and Electric Ballroom as stand outs. “Scala was especially vibey”, Iris adds, “because we’d just released Earl Grey and got loads of people up with us for the title track which was really fun. It just felt like a very exciting time for us.” Whereas, with support slots or festival sets, it’s easy for a band to doubt themselves and feel like the audience aren’t really there for them, these headline gigs seem particularly special – “When it’s a headline show in the town you grew up in, with people coming down and knowing all the words to your songs, it’s just really touching.”
But, with highlights come lowlights, the band remind me, singling out their first ever proper gig at The Cavendish Arms in Stockwell as one they’ll always remember… Still in school, and having handed out flyers in their common room the day before, they were still really learning to play their instruments, and hadn’t impressed their singing teacher who had previously criticised their singing style as being “too airy” (I’m sure she’s kicking herself now!).
Festivals can also sometimes bring lowlights, with the mud / expensive food and drink / tent setting up that’s involved, but Girl Ray are looking forward to playing Green Man next month, and it sounds like they’ll be very well prepared: “I normally end up taking my whole house and then some! But I’m trying to minimise now…” Reminded by Iris that there is food at festivals, Poppy agrees not to bring her stove this time, as Sophie remembers, “We normally take one of those IKEA bags full of cans of things, and pots and pans…” So, no stove or pots and pans this year, but then what are Girl Ray’s top tips for festival goers I hear you ask… Iris and Poppy sensibly conclude that wet wipes, a battery pack and ear plugs (for the snorers in the tent next to you) are must haves, whilst Sophie sums up the festival experience in one sentence – “It’s not really a festival until you have the warmest beer of your whole entire life.”
With Poppy and Sophie initially meeting at a ‘rock school’ as teens (“nothing like the Brit School, more like an after school club”), and after nearly 10 years together as a band, I ask how they feel the industry is for new bands and artists now, and how it compares now to when they first started out. “It can be hard”, Poppy reflects, “It’s like a job, being in a band! One that we all really enjoy, but a job for sure.” Iris agrees, “Yeah, when you’re a new artist it’s all really exciting and then you get to a point where you realise the amount of effort it takes to put into a band.” One of the main efforts these days, it seems, is the need for bands to promote themselves on social media – “We’ve started to see some phases come and go”, Poppy reflects, “Like when we started, Facebook was the place where you’d be shouting about gigs and stuff, and then it was Instagram, and now if you’re not on Tik Tok then you’re doomed!” In addition to the pressure to push your unique aesthetic and create a social media presence, new bands now seem to have to make more of an effort to stand out in an increasingly saturated industry, “On the one hand it’s amazing that everybody is able to release music into the internet”, Poppy explains, “but it means some people are getting overlooked… It’s hard, it’s hard to ‘make it’, especially in this cost of living crisis where everything’s so expensive. To be in a band is hard.”
Being women in the industry, I wonder whether Girl Ray have faced any challenges in relation to this, and if it has affected the way that they’ve been treated as a band. “I think there are some obvious times where it would be easier to be a guy, or to be straight guys”, Poppy begins, “But saying that, at the end of the day, we just make music and put music out, so it’s hard to say whether the reception would be different if we’d been guys… But we’re lucky to live in a society that’s pretty liberal. As a queer woman, I get by ok, living in London. But obviously there’s work to be done elsewhere. But we’re lucky it’s not really something we have to think about. I mean, the only time I’m thinking about it really is when writing – like I’m keen to use female pronouns in romantic songs, just because there wasn’t so much of that when I was growing up, so it’s cool to try that.” It’s really great that Girl Ray feel confident and able to do this, and to create such life-affirmingly relatable and enjoyable songs, but there are still times – particularly when playing live – that the ol’ patriarchal society makes itself known. “I guess the main time we’re confronted with it is with sound engineers”, Iris points out. “… They often don’t treat women in the same way as they treat men, and that can be a little bit disheartening! So, they still have some work to do…” Poppy adds, “It’s normally just micro aggressions – just mansplaining basically! It doesn’t happen all the time, but often times when we’re setting up it can be annoying.” Reflecting on a particular instance recently where a sound engineer started tracking Iris’ drums while she was setting up, Poppy scathes, “Imagine if someone just came up and started tuning my guitar! This is my job – fuck off. And some weird comments you get – like asking me to sing into the microphone, like “oh, sorry, I didn’t know what that was for!” They can overstep the mark a lot, sometimes… They can think that they’re helping, but are kind of really not.” As a band who’ve been going for nearly a decade, about to release their third album, and with worldwide success, still being treated this way by men when simply trying to do their job must be extremely frustrating, as can be the general attitude of some people towards ‘women in bands’, as Sophie notes: “It’s not even industry specific, but sometimes when I tell other people I’m in a band there’s a lot of assumptions about what that is – like, ‘let me guess, you’re the bassist!’ And ‘Oh that’s so cute that you’re in a band’… There’s this assumption that all women in bands must play bass, but I’m like ‘I’m actually playing with other women’… All those kinds of things. We’re generally taken a lot less seriously. I mean, it’s not bad because yeah we have fun, and yeah we’re cute! But it is a little bit patronising…”
I can confirm that Girl Ray are indeed incredibly cute, and they certainly seem to have a lot of fun. It’s partly because of this colourful wit and joyous energy that I’ve been a fan for so long. But any mansplainy sound engineers, or anyone who doubts their full potential, or fails to take them seriously, can do one. They are a “serious band” (though they all giggle when Iris says this); one who not only bring joy and fun to all they do, but who have developed and honed their craft for nearly a decade, creating a truly unique sound that is distinctly theirs. Whilst Prestige signals a move forwards for Girl Ray, a collection by a band who’ve truly “found their footing”, it also maintains all there is to love about the London trio – a shimmering charisma, relentless optimism and (now disco-ified) sparkling danceable allure. A much-needed euphoric antidote to all that’s going in the world today.
HUGE thanks to Girl Ray for taking the time to speak me!
Prestige is out on 4th August via Moshi Moshi. Pre-order and find out about all their upcoming live dates here.
Also, check out Kuntessa – an awesome new artist recommended by Girl Ray, who Poppy’s worked with producing some of their tracks, and who will be supporting them on some of these dates!
Photo Credit: Eerie Rose
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