GLITORIS
Hi and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. There is a great deal of subject matter that you explore and being so politically driven, what is currently at the forefront of Glitoris socio-political radar and the burning topics that need urgent attention and action?
Climate change, closely followed by the hideous and growing wealth gap. Both are interlinked because the wealthiest countries/people will be able to mitigate the effects of climate change whilst the poorest will be impacted to a much greater degree. Since 70% of those living below the poverty line are women, they will be affected the most as the earth heats. The current wealth gap is abhorrent. Jeff Bezos just spent US$165m on a house in Beverley Hills off the back of slavery. Oxfam just released their 'Time to Care' report, which showed how 2000 billionaires have more wealth than the lowest-earning 4.5 billion people. Capitalism has created the most appalling inequity and, as a result of that, the world is more unstable and violent. We are engaged with Indigenous rights and particularly the shocking - and growing - over-representation of Aboriginal people in prisons and/or youth detention. The numbers as relative to the general population are appalling and a reflection of systemic racism and ongoing genocide. We're supporters of Debbie Kilroy's Sisters Inside project and we urge everyone to check it out.
The brutally frank and honest lyrics that feature throughout your work often paint the portraits of everyday people and situations. In crafting these candid lines are you simply reflecting what has overtime came into your field of vision or do you feel that through the subject matter you address that you creating a musical safe haven for those who may have found these lyrics, moments and events a very real instance in their life?
It's a bit of both. Glitoris has plenty of songs that are coming from personal experience, but they're written in such a way that those experiences are relatable and generalised. There's definitely a drive to create music that others can relate to and that was the intention with Slut Power. We don't know any women who haven't, at some point in their lives, experienced harassment or discrimination or violence, so it's a song that was written to be something most women could relate to. Slut Power is us saying 'We know. We get it. We hear you. Us too. In solidarity.' Lyrically, we are not fans of 'my' and 'I' in songs. There's very little of that in Glitoris (unless Keven is telling stories about pole dancers or wick dippers, but they're the exception). We're all about the 'you' and the 'we' and the 'us' when we write, which we feel is more unifying.
After the release of The Policy back in 2018, in what ways did you want to push the sonic boundaries and for that matter yourselves in writing and recording Slut Power?
Slut Power is the final single to be taken from 'The Policy' and it was recorded at the same time as the rest of the album. We wanted to keep the song at a slower than average tempo and have the whole thing as tense as possible. That's the sound of women's forced silence - the silence that is bought in NDA's, that is forced via blackmail or shame. The song traces the trajectory of violence against women. It starts with 'bossy' and ends in rage with lines like 'she was culpable for her own rape', which is a typical societal and media response: when women are subjected to psychological, sexual and/or physical violence, they are blamed for it.
Was the monochrome, railroad concept for the video clip one that was existed right from the get go or an idea that evolved over time?
It was spontaneous and happened on the day of the shoot. It was a very smoky day in January. We went to the Railway Museum in Kingston, Canberra, and found this old, decaying oil tanker with 'ESSO AUSTRALIA' emblazoned on the side of it. And we were trying to do this shoot in this thick bushfire smoke and it just summed up the moment.
Known for your exuberant and lively shows, what performance elements have you taken into your own shows from what you have seen of other acts (and for that matter what you haven’t seen) that makes its way into your stage craft?
We’re big fans of epicness in live performance. We think Rammstein are the best live band in the world and the lengths they go to with their stage show is off the charts. They are trained pyrotechnicians and their show is spectacular. We’ve seen them lots of times and the way each member of that band has a role to play, interacts with the group and uses the stage is phenomenal. Obviously we are nowhere near that level, but there’s still a lot to be taken from it that can be applied to a club-sized show (maybe not the pyro). We love Marilyn Manson, Lady Gaga, Muse, Peaches, Tool… we’re just big fans of shows where it’s presented as a concept – the performance and costumes and the way the songs are organised and structured in the large scale form of the show. For this tour, we’ve completely overhauled our setlist and that’s been inspired by the way artists like P!nk and Madonna split their material up into segments.
On a personal level what does music give you that nothing else does?
Therapy. A sense of shared purpose, togetherness and mutual musicality.
Having performed with punk royalty, including Frenzal Rhomb, Regurgitator, Shonen Knife and The Meanies. During this time were any words of wisdom spoken to you that really resonated and in turn altered the way you approach your craft?
Touring with Regurgitator was probably the best thing that could have happened to Glitoris. When you watch a band who are as experienced as they are organise their set and perform so professionally, it’s inspiring. Both the band and their manager and crew taught us so much on that tour – everything from how to build a set and involve the audience, when to speak, when not to speak, how to organise merchandise, how to keep track of what’s working and what’s not, how best to travel, how to keep artwork and the whole aesthetic of a band cohesive… we were extremely fortunate to tour with them and they’re now our friends for life. Jay from Frenzal Rhomb recorded our album and reminded us that everything about a band stems from the songwriting. It’s basically all that matters – everything else can come later, the fundamental thing to focus on is the songs and getting them as strong as possible. Watching them play, you realise that punk doesn’t have to mean shabby musicianship – they are exceptional musicians and it’s inspiring to watch. Shonen Knife have a next level stage show that we aspire to. They are so experienced and have been playing a long time, so watching them perform, particularly their musicianship and choreography, was inspiring.
About to embark on a huge national tour, do you find touring to be inspirational whereby it helps you write and create more material or are you so focused on the task at hand that writing and creating new material takes a back seat?
As we tour, we improve as a band. The music gets tighter, the show gets better and we get better in terms of musicianship, so yes it does inspire us to write. We’ve got a ton of new material in the pipeline. We’re so excited for this tour, and once we’ve had a break we’ll revisit all the new stuff we’ve written and focus on making the next album.
Can you share with us a touring tale, (in)famous gig and what made it so memorable for you?
In October we played in Fort Teremba, New Caledonia at Blackwoodstock Festival. Everything about that show was memorable! Playing in the middle of the pacific, meeting bands from Tahiti and Fiji and Japan, watching thousands of people going nuts when we played ‘Pole’ and just being around the most amazing people. We had the best tour manager, Fabien, who made everything happen for us and we’re eternally grateful. We made a tour diary video of the whole thing – it’s on YouTube!
