clockwise, from top left - Les Reines Prochaines, Gaggle, Disband, Pulsallama
Today I’m highlighting women’s collectives, specifically the whimsical, cunning sounds of arty female musical troops featuring the likes of Ann Magnuson, Barbara Ess, Dianne Torr, Barbara Krueger, Pipilotti Rist and Valie Export.
In New York City, between 1979 - 1982, artists such as Ilona Granet, Donna Henes, Ingrid Sischy, Dianne Torr, Martha Wilson, Barbara Ess, Daile Kaplan and Barbara Kruger came together as Disband and performed clever confrontational acapella ditties to gallery crowds.
Around the same time, in the same city, Pulsallama was also gathered gusto and performed for two years, from 1981 to 1982, as a twelve piece (later seven-piece) bass/percussion/vocal troop featuring Ann Magnuson, Wendy Wild, Jean Caffeine, Stacey Elkin, Charlotte Slivka, Katy K, Min Thometz, Judy Streng, Andé Whyland, Dany Johnson, Lori Montana, Kim Davis and April Palmieri.
Meanwhile, over in Switzerland, Les Reines Prochaines, has been on a mission since 1987 to bring multi-language, multi-instrumental feminist show spectacles to the continent. Over the past 20+ years, core member Muda Mathis has worked in various formations with Pipilotti Rist, Sus Zwick, Fränzi Madörin, Michèle Fuchs, Barbara Naegelin, Gabi Streiff, Sibylle Hauert, Teresa Alonso and Regina Florida Schmid.
The next level of female frolic is the 22 member strong Gaggle choir, formed in 2008 and based in London. They bring the circle back around - contorting the traditional choir concept at the same time as they honor the inherent fortitude and beauty of women’s voices singing in unison.
Witness below a video of their remix of “The Brilliant and the Dark,” a cantata for women’s voices first performed by 1000 women volunteers at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969. Then enjoy this 40 minute mixtape of collective female nonsense!
Track listing:
Disband- Missiles and Pistols
Gaggle - Hidden Army
Pulsallama- Oui Oui
Pulsallama - The Devil Lives In My Husband’s Body
Gaggle - I Hear Flies
Disband - Sad
Inflatable Boy Clams - I’m Sorry
Les Reines Prochaines - Opfer Dieses Liedes
Disband - Everyday Same Old Way
Valie Export & Monsti Wiener - Bananen
Les Reines Prochaines - Der Urwald
Gaggle - Crows
Pulsallama - Ungawa Pt. II (Way Out Guiana)
Les Reines Prochaines - Evening
Disband - Look at my Dick
top: Autoclave, bottom left: Ruby Falls, bottom right: Corndolly
Recently I was asked to submit a mixtape - an actual cassette - for a an archive project at the Double Double Land Gallery in Toronto, Canada. I immediately pulled out my box of dusty tapes looking for one I might be able to dub over and send across the pond. In the search among techno rave compilations (go speed racer go!) and numerous personalized mixes, I found an unlabeled mystery cassette and popped it on the deck. It turned out to be a disjointed collection of riot grrrl era songs and interviews including a mid-90s BBC interview with Jo from Huggy Bear, some L7 and a bit of Hole.
Using this as a starting point I pieced together a 90 minute, 90s era, mix of feminist words, music and meta-commentary. If you’re curious to hear it, you’ll have to cross on over that 49th parallel, venture to the gallery, don some headphones and dedicate an hour and a half of your time.
However, in the process of preparing the Double Double Land mix I rediscovered several singles and compilation tracks from often quite short-lived, regionally specific bands. So I’m sharing some of these riffy, bouncy pop-rock songs here as small consolation for any of you who won’t be trekking to Toronto.
Download the 30 minute mix below and check out The Rogers Sisters when they were Ruby Falls, Autoclave’s line-up of D.C. indie stars including Christina Billotte and Mary Timony, Kathleen Hanna before Bikini Kill and the most idolizing track ever penned for V.I. Warshawski…
Tracklist:
Helium - American Jean (7″)
Ruby Falls - Let Me Go (Why Do You Think They Call it Pop? 10″)
Autoclave - Dr Seuss (s/t LP)
Rubbermaid - Entrepreneur (7″)
Corndolly - After School Special (7″)
Twig - Airplane (Why Do You Think They Call it Pop? 10″)
Growing up Skipper - V.I. (7″)
Bratmobile - Girl Germs (Kill Rock Stars compilation)
Scrawl - Clock Song (International Pop Underground compilation)
Helter Skillet - The Look Out (Teenbeat 50 compilation)
Heavens to Betsy - The Factory (s/t cassette)
I’m thrilled about Mother Festival - three days of wowmen’s music in London on the 20.21 and 22 May 2010. Following up on my blog post a few weeks ago I’ve now made a mixtape of some of the sounds of some of the bands (and some bands related to the bands) that will be performing live at the event. From no wave to new folk to soundscapes and noise explosions - it’s all there.
Here’s the tracklist and my comments for the 48 minute, 13 song mix. Enjoy and see you in a few weeks!
p.s. get your tickets for days one, two and three now!
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1. Wetdog - Wymmin’s Final
This threesome is my favorite thing about London.
2. Maria and the Mirrors - From Egypt With Love
This threesome is my second favorite thing about London.
3. Molly Nilsson - We’re Never Coming Home
Molly says this song is inspired by a poem from Swedish poet Bruno K. Öijer. I can appreciate that. I can also appreciate that synth beat.
4. Rhythm King and Her Friends - Front of Luxury
Rhythm King are not performing at the festival, they broke up. Pauline’s new band Normal Love will premiere there though. Precarious sex. Precarious work.
5. Iori’s Eyes - I Said You and I Grow Old I just saw the Italian film “I am Love” and this band must have seen that film too because they sound like the movie looks - lovely.
6. Phoebe Jean & Kirikoo Des - Cover Girl Baltimore is nothing like Paris. Phoebe Jean is like nothing else, slow glass candy melts…
7. PENS - B.I.L.K.S.H.A.K.E. Yes! Lo-fi and kicky! Love this stuff. 8. Mary and the Baby Cheeses - Years Like if the Flying Lizards were back again, can’t go wrong there.
9. The Konki Duet - Punk’s Dead I think there are actually three of them, so it’s really a trio but don’t let that contradiction distract you from their beautiful sound.
10. Sonora - Brains Sonora was a short lived band featuring Beatrice Dillion, Melissa Castagnetto and some other folks. Now these two have paired up again for something new. It’s another premiere at the Mother.
11. Kelli Rudick - Darling My weekend mornings often start with long breakfasts to a soundtrack of René Aubry or Ethiopian jazz. Now I will add Kelli Rudick to the mix.
12. Vera November - Our Last Night Together Electrelane’s music gives me goosebumps and Verity’s solo songs are just like a sigh caught in the chest.
13. Music for One - Wind From the Irish Sea Music for One is Sherry and sometimes she gets together with other clever talented folks to make sounds. For Mother Festival she comes together with Melissa Castagnetto as the Tourrists.
I’d like to invite you to join me in my neighborhood for a bit of a good time. The MOTHER Music Festival is happening on 20, 21 and 22 May 2010 in London and will feature the wow sounds of female led punk, pop and rock from across the UK and Europe. Alongside the musical evening programme, we are also working with the East London curatorial project space, FormContent, on a visual/audio collaborative exhibition. website | facebook | myspace
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THURSDAY 20 MAY 2010
The New Empowering Church | 1a Westgate Street, London E8 3RL | (£12) TICKETS |
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Wetdog (London) Molly Nilsson (Berlin) Normal Love (Berlin) Iori’s Eyes (Milan) Maria and the Mirrors (London)
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Cafe OTO | 22 Ashwin St, London E8 3DL | (£10) TICKETS |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kelli Rudick (New York) Vera November (London) Tourrists (Sherelana Ostano Ono Vonobitch & Meltfisto Chavez Chicoma) (London) Sonja Cvitkovic (Berlin)
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MOTHER is an independent traveling project dedicated to wowmen’s contemporary music and art. It has neither a residence nor an institutional form. This d.i.y. project consists of a series of three festivals over three years, each one in a different country, culminating in a navigation of the world in the form of an ephemeral triangle. MOTHER was created by Dafne Boggeri and Noga Inbar, the edition 2010 is curated with the support of Nicole Emmenegger (aka DJ Jenny Woolworth).
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VVV
There are three kids in London making beautiful noise together - Charlie Mahony, Crystabel Riley and Kiera Fox - known collectively as Maria & The Mirrors. Their live set consists of Kiera and Crystabel banging out syncopated tribal rhythms on their dueling drum kits while Charlie tweaks and manipulates a set of electronic devices to emit a fabulous cacophony of sound, folding all together under shrieking vocals. With a new 7″ single (”Omar” b/w “From Egypt With Love”) released in February 2010 on Parlour Records, these three are set to storm the scene with their psykick musical invocations.
I managed to corner Charlie and Kiera and here’s what they had to say to my standard three queries:
JW: What is one of your favorite sounds and what does it mean to you?
KF: I am unsure what my favourite sound is, I like lots of sounds…
CM: I think my favourite must be the sound of a Guinea Pig squeaking…significance = fun is on the way! I love Guinea Pigs, they’re an evolutionary dead-end for us to enjoy! One day I hope to go to Paraguay and make friends with a Capybara.
JW: Tell me about one of your most cherished records and why it is so important to you.
KF: ‘Valerie and Her Week of Wonders’ on vinyl because it was a surprise gift and quite rare and I love the soundtrack to that film.
CM: Ooooh well I used to say my favourite records were John Coltrane ‘Meditations’ & Scott 4 by Scott Walker but since I can’t listen to either of them without crying horrid tears that leaves ‘Perverted by Language’ by The Fall! The best Fall album - two drummers! An amazing stripped down careening dirge to a Glitter band stomp and amazing lyrics of a fantastical Pynchonesque nature…and you can dance to most of it too, it’s so much fun! Oh and my favourite 7″ of all time would be George McCrae ‘Rock Your Baby’, it’s incredible, a cry for love over leaden disco beat that intensifies every couple of bars, the hi-hats sound amazing, no verse/chorus just build build build! And the drum machines are as good as any Cabaret Voltaire! And the organ drone shows La Monte Young where to step off! Ah
JW: Who is a woman that has inspired you in your life, musically or otherwise?
KF: My grandmother
CM: Eliane Radigue is amazing! I’ve never quite heard anything like her music…plus I have a repellently short attention span so I find the idea of her hunched over an ARP 2600 for hours, hours and hours an aspirational beacon of how one can focus!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all you lovers and daggers out there! The Hungry Hearts, a multi-media, pin-up performance band from Oslo, Norway, are here to give as all a bit of lesbian love advice.
The group consists of seven ladies: Tonje Gjevjon, Line Halvorsen, Ingeborg Kolle, Edith Roth Gjevjon, Amina Bech, Henriette Høyskel and Mona K and “they are singing about kisses waiting to be found and about high-heeled shoes walking on the streets where car-doors open.” Intrigued, I wanted to know more about this sexy bunch of Nordic dames, so I trekked through snow and ice to reach them and here’s what I found out from the honey-voiced troop leader Tonje Gjevjon:
JW: What is one of your favorite sounds and what does it mean to you?
TG: Hammond organ is a nice sound, it reminds me of good music and crazy songs.
JW: Tell me about one of your most cherished records and why it is so important to you.
TG: David Bowie, Ashes to Ashes, because the song is about me.
JW: Who is a woman that has inspired you in your life, musically or otherwise?
TG: Frida Kahlo, because of her paintings, beauty, pain and stubborness.
Now, watch the video below for “In Your Face (The International Lesbian Anthem),” learn the Lesbian Hasuki dance, follow the steps and impress your girlfriend to no end! Check out their other songs and videos here.
