Monday 28 September 2020

Fantasy Festival number 20: The Lineup

Penfriend: The new project of Bristol based Laura Kidd, previously known as She Makes War, Penfriend had the bad luck to launch just prior to Covid-19 really taking hold, as lockdowns began to be imposed around the world. The initial two tracks Laura let loose into the world before all of this happened sounded promising though and, as She Makes War, she was a force to be reckoned with live. You can find out more here.

Gaptooth: Bristol based Hannah Lucy has been making music as Gaptooth since 2005. Since then, she's released two albums of increasingly slick agit prop synth pop, most notably the song 'Ladykillers' and her collaboration with Sisters Uncut, 'They Cut We Bleed'. She is as much an activist as a musician, and has both performed and acted as steward at the annual Loud Women fest in London. You can find out more here.

Ms Mohammed: London based Dana Mohammed has been making ferocious garage punk with queer feminist edges as Ms Mohammed since 2017 but, as this interview will show, her impressive music and activist backstory extends much further back than that. Her music has been praised by Iggy Pop on his BBC 6Music show, and last year she did a talk for TEDX London on the theme of authenticity over assimilation, which you can watch here. She's also on Bandcamp.

Liines: Manchester's tightest "alternative post-punk band", Liines, have been slowly building up their fanbase over the past five years. They released their debut album, Stop-Start, in 2018 and supported Sleaford Mods on their UK tour last year. You can find them on Bandcamp.

Dream Nails: This band of London punk feminists formed in 2015, and have been making catchy but angry punk pop tunes ever since. Their hotly awaited digital album is imminent. You can find them on Bandcamp.

Big Joanie: "We're like The Ronettes filtered through 80s DIY and riot grrrl with a sprinkling of dashikis" says their Bandcamp biog. Musicians, writers, and activists all, the London based Big Joanie supported Sleater-Kinney on a number of their UK dates earlier this year. Their debut album, Sistah's, was released in 2018. Their Bandcamp is here.

The Raincoats: London punk legends The Raincoats have been writing idiosyncratic masterpieces since 1977. Their first three albums were all re-released in the 1990s thanks to interest from Kurt Cobain (who was responsible for the bands reformation in 1993) and Sonic Youth, and they have continued to record and perform, on and off, ever since. You can find out more here.

Bikini Kill: The return of Bikini Kill (along with Gossip) was one of the more unexpected but highly exciting reformations and live reunions of 2019. This iconoclastic punk band originally formed in 1990 in Olympia, Washington, and were key players in the riot grrrl scene in Olympia when it began in 1991. They split up in 1997, but clearly felt they were needed in 2019. You can find out more here.

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