Music > Interviews

Skinny Girl Diet

Voodoo Daddy's Showroom

28/11/16

Sometimes a band comes along that tears down expectations and clichés and does their own damn thing. Skinny Girl Diet are two sisters and a cousin from London who are blowing minds with their album Heavyflow. Challenging the way that women are often treated in the music industry, and speaking out for women in general, they’re coming up to The Owl Sanctuary this month so we can fully revel in their punk grunge brilliance. I spoke to all three members of the band about day jobs, periods and Viv Albertine.

 

 

Are you all working or at college whilst also doing the band?

Ursula: I'm an unemployed high school drop out still living with my parents because I'm cool like that.

Amelia: I'm currently taking an online programming course, while also trying to get a part time job.

Delilah: No, I’m a slacker loser that sits on my ass and has an existential crisis each day that passes by and I wonder why I exist.

 

Your debut album Heavyflow just came out in September, and it’s so strong and powerful, I love it. How did you find the process of recording a whole album?

Ursula: It was insane to see everything all come together because when you record stuff it's so different to when you play live, it's final. There's that Leonardo Da Vinci quote, “art is never finished only abandoned”, so you can't be too anal about it.

Amelia: It was a long time coming to be honest. Although at times the process was frustrating since we really just wanted to get the album out there, it felt really great to be creating it. The album was essentially six years in the making, we had the songs we wanted to record and make into an album, the only issue was saving enough money to be able to record and manufacture it. We had a lot of fun recording it, making music is what we love doing, and I hope it shows with the recordings.

Delilah: it was a cool process, long but worth it, I am very proud of us.

 

Which of your songs best represents your sound and message would you say?

Ursula: Pretty Song, definitely, as we aren't here to feed the male gaze or perpetuate the stereotypes of what women "think" or write about - love or Prince Charming coming to "save" us when we can save ourselves. We have a lot more to say than debating over what type of white picket fence is suitable when we settle down and play house.

Amelia: That's a tough one. All of our music comes from our personal experiences, and we have that message throughout all our songs. They are all a big part of us. We also don't like staying rigid in what sort of sound or genre our music is, we go with what we feel. Saying that, right now with all that has happened this year with Trump and Brexit, I personally feel very connected to Silver Spoon.

Delilah: Each song is different and represents a different time, moment or memory so all of them represent us as we are an eclectic band. We never want to write a similar sounding song; if each song sounds like it could belong to another genre then I feel like I've done a good job.

 

I know you’re all related so does that make it easy or harder to manage your relationships and make sure everyone’s OK, especially on tour?

Ursula: it's always great to throw drumsticks at Delilah's head. Sometimes she even throws her whole body on my drum kit just to make me tidy it up.

Amelia: I think it makes it easier. We are all really close, and I love Delilah and Ursula with all my heart. They've always been there for me and I know they've got my back. We've known each other for pretty much all our lives and that definitely helps the dynamic.

Delilah: It’s cool cos we can talk about bodily functions in front of each other and I can tell dirty jokes, have diva tantrums and prank people and not feel weird about it.

 

You all started going to gigs when you were very young. Who did you see that has stuck in your memory performance wise?

Amelia: Sadly, I wasn't as lucky as the other two and didn’t go to my first gig til I was 14. The gig that has stuck to me is probably seeing Maximum the Hormone. It was so loud and energetic, and I couldn't hear properly for a couple of days.

Delilah: I saw The Horrors when I was 10; they signed my magazine and I met them all.

 

 

Your music isn’t afraid to to face up to issues all women deal with, from periods to dieting. Do you feel like even in 2016 these are areas of our lives that men still don’t understand or that women feel they have to hide?

Ursula: Yeah, men are still disgusted by periods. A very natural thing that their mothers would have needed to get regularly to create them. I remember ages ago a guy saying "all you women shitting blood out of your ass" which is just standard misogynistic bullshit. So to the women who may feel like hiding, don't hide, force men to understand and celebrate it.

Amelia: We're just speaking out about experiences we face in our lives, and want to inspire others to voice theirs. While periods and dieting aren't issues that are exclusive to women, and not all women get periods, they are issues treated with disgust and as solely as "women’s issues", so it takes the onus off men to try understand or even think about those issues. We're living in a year where a man who has openly bragged about sexually assaulting women, wants to criminalise abortion and has a running mate that supports shock conversion therapy, has become President of the USA. It's not surprising at all that sexism is still rampant, even in 2016. Society still isn’t progressive at all.

Delilah: We just like to tell and live the brutal, honest truth we believe in basic human rights and freedom to all oppressed people and if you don’t believe in that, fuck you.

 

It’s amazing that the music industry is still filled predominately with men in every area. What would you say to a girl or woman who might like to start playing an instrument or making music but might feel intimidated?

Ursula: You're a female so you're already going to face battles in this society that aren't fair. Instead of getting down, how about losing yourself in music, learn an instrument and feel powerful for once? Get on stage, perform your own songs, sing or scream whatever the fuck you want. You may feel intimidated now, but once you feel that strength within you, you'll never turn back. And ignorant sexist men's opinions of you won't even phase you anymore.

Amelia: To be honest, it's not that amazing that the music industry is still filled with white men. It's structured in a way that will always favour them. So my advice to any woman who wants to make music is to just go for it, it'll be tough but we need more people going against the status quo. Don't give a shit about what some dirty old music executive thinks about you, they don't know anything. Find some like minded people, they are people who will support you, and in turn you may be able to help other women too.

Delilah: Fuck the system and never make music for the white supremist machine. Its going to be a lot of hard work but it’s worth it because you will meet a lot of like minded people along the way and even if your art/music reaches out to someone that understands, is going through or will go through the same bullshit as you have experienced it makes all of your struggles worth while, And don’t expect to make money, ha ha!

 

Slits guitarist and all round amazing woman Viv Albertine likes you a lot! What does the legacy of all-women acts like the Slits, and the many wonderful Riot Grrl bands mean to you?

Ursula: Viv Albertine is the real deal and an absolute legend who supported us randomly at a time we didn't even have much of a following which we will forever be thankful for. Female fronted bands are the epitome of strength and inspiration. The legacy of Riot Grrrl has paved the future of females in punk music in general. We can all collectively now work on including women of colour and the trans community into the feminist equation.

Amelia: We are really inspired by the Riot Grrl movement, it helped us take that step and actually start making loud, noisy music. I think it's really important to take aspects of it and apply them to our lives now. We need that modern fuck you to those who don't think women can make loud music.

Delilah: They paved the way for us; their music gives me my strength to carry on and take no bullshit. So for that I am always thankful and grateful.

 

 

Did you form the band more to make music or more to have a platform to talk about political and social issues that matter?

Ursula: To both make music and also to talk to people like us you have to include what's going on in the world around you and express the feelings of those getting oppressed. I thought all decent smart human beings with an actual soul felt the same as us in regards to the injustices of the world, and those people will understand our music and not see us as wannabe politicians.

Amelia: To make music. I think being an all women band, you are automatically treated as a political statement, and it can be a bit of a double edged sword. Most male bands are barely asked any political questions, it's all what's your favourite toothpaste, whereas we're expected to be able to sum up the entirety of oppression, and be the spokespeople for all women everywhere. Nevertheless, being outspoken and political is part of who all of are, so it was pretty unavoidable. We think talking about social and political issues is really important and I'm glad that we do have a platform to speak out, but it wasn't our original intention. I think it's foolish to try separate art and politics, as political issues affect everyone and play a massive role in who you are as a person, and the media you create.

Delilah: No fucking way! We don’t want to be dictators and in no way do we want to impose our political beliefs on others. We started the band because we were three young girls of colour who didn’t fit in anywhere and had a love for punk music. We wanted to have fun and put our own unique stamp on it. Our views are our lives, we don’t just switch it on for interviews or gigs, politics are directly affecting us.. its the life we are living. Every day I wake up being a disenfranchised, working class mixed race woman with a dream of making music I love in a capitalist society run by Tories who don’t care about people like me, so who is going to talk for people like me because no one is? This is reality. We have been lucky enough to be given a small platform on the Internet to tell oppressed people we care about their wellbeing and we will continue to show them we care.

 

You’ve been together for six years. Did you start off with a clear idea of the sort of music you wanted to make?

Ursula: We were raised by punk grungers so it was inevitable, it happened naturally as it's everything we believe in. We didn't think it was easy to box up and label or did it to fit in with the times, because there were actually only a minute amount of all female women of colour politically-charged punk bands around at the time. Hopefully we're making something new whilst combining all our influences and ethos.

Amelia: Not really. We pretty much go with how we feel when making each individual song.

Delilah: We wanted to make punk; everyone has a different idea of what punk is to them, that’s fair enough. But I interpret punk as doing what you want, and having raw power and emotion and expressing yourself with how you dress and how you feel, so essential that’s why we strive to make eclectic music rather than being boring or predictable and sticking to making music to fit a regimented genre.

 

What music were you listening to when you first started out?

Ursula: L7, David Bowie, The Slits, Fang, Sonic Youth, Babes in Toyland, Sex Pistols and The Ramones

Amelia: All sorts really. My favourite musicians at the time, and it hasn't changed much, were Pixies, Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone and Maximum the Hormone.

Delilah: Fang, Mudhoney, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Nirvana, Bikini Kill, the slits, Melvins, Flipper and L7. That shit got me through school!

 

Delilah writes your songs, but do you all share ideas and what is inspiring you at the time?

Ursula: Yeah I sometimes put in lines of poems that I write. I think all of us have lots of different things we do artistically that all help. Delilah could paint a piece of art or write a song but it's the same kind of intimate process.

Amelia: Since we are always ranting about things together, all those ideas and thoughts mesh into each other and lead to the inspiration for the songs. We make the songs by just playing together and seeing where things go, so its a very fluid process and I think we all contribute to how the song ends up.

 

 

What makes a great gig for you?

Ursula: When people dance to the beat of my drum

Amelia: Always the people. The energy from the crowd really affects you on stage, so it's a massive factor to the performance. When there are great people in the crowd it really makes a difference. It also makes me really happy when I see young women in the audience. I want to be able to create a space in music where women can feel free and safe.

Delilah: When the crowd outstage us, people make out to our music, people get naked to our music, people have an orgy to our music or we get a moshpit!

 

Skinny Girl Diet play at The Owl Sanctuary on December 2nd supported by local acts Peach Club and Sink Ya Teeth. Tickets available from idealsurreal.bandcamp.com for just a fiver.