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cumgirl8, a musical group and artwork collective, emerged inside the post-punk scene as an homage to on-line tradition, however since their inception, the four-piece band’s affect has prolonged nicely past the on-line universe. As the group grew in their craft, they rapidly found the energy of using shock issue as a way of speaking broader social commentaries. What started as a seditious title disguised behind an archaic chatroom username has now metamorphosed right into a motion of liberation, spurred by sound.
True to their title, New York-based Lida Fox, Veronika Vilim, Chase Lombardo, and Avishag Rodrigues met in an internet chatroom and immediately clicked — on an interstellar mental degree. Their connection supersedes shallow conventions however as an alternative is rooted in a cavernous want to defy the expectations of society, to current the boldest variations of themselves, and, above all else, to empower one another and their followers. Deconstructing conservative beliefs of sexual expression and radicalizing conventional female expectations are the major targets of the band, and so they deliver that forth not solely by means of music but in addition by means of artwork, movie, and one in every of their favourite fashionable modes of communication — memes.
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Earlier this summer time, the band opened for Le Tigre, fronted by Kathleen Hanna, a key determine in the feminist punk riot grrrl motion — and somebody who shares a lot of cumgirl8’s values. Now, persevering with their provocative quest to shake up the post-punk style in addition to our expectations, cumgirl8 are set to launch their debut 4AD EP, phantasea pharm (out Aug. 18). The undertaking feels akin to an acid journey set inside a folk-tale setting, brimming with attractive guitar riffs and thought-provoking lyrics. The EP’s first single, “cicciolina,” was impressed by Hungarian-Italian porn star Ilona Staller, who later turned a political determine — a powerful message that echoes the sentiment cumgirl8 have been constructed upon: Women may be or signify no matter they need.
The group are all about facilitating subversive conversations about sexual liberation, identification, and extra. Your latest single, “cicciolina,” paid homage to the Hungarian-Italian porn star-turned-politician Ilona Staller. What does empowerment seem like or really feel like for every of you? How do you utilize your initiatives to empower others in impactful methods?
We’ve seen followers coming to our exhibits dressed like us, and a few of them inform us how we’ve empowered them to decorate cute and really feel assured. In normal, folks aren’t questioning why we present our our bodies as a lot. Normalizing feeling sizzling looks as if successful. Others are beginning to understand we are clever and work onerous and prefer to fuck, too. Normalizing all of these taking place in a femme physique with none trickery concerned — that’s the closing degree!
Another core facet of cumgirl8 is that you simply operate as an artwork collective, creating music in addition to different types of self-expression. One of the primary methods you talk with your fanbase is thru memes. What can memes convey that phrases alone can’t?
We don’t assume an excessive amount of about them — they simply really feel good.
An further approach that you simply all talk with your audiences is thru the clothes you put on onstage. From tulle to fishnets, you don’t maintain again on expressing your self by means of trend selections. In what methods do the items you all select to put on sign liberation?
We put on no matter makes us really feel horny, sturdy, good, sizzling, cute, and free. It’s liberating to put on one thing that you simply possibly grew up being advised you couldn’t. It turns into an outfit of defiance and empowerment.
You’ve cited inspiration from the web to individuals who have graced every of your lives, to even animals. But what’s the weirdest supply you might have derived inspiration from?
Finnish interest horse competitions.
Your debut 4AD EP, phantasea pharm, was knowledgeable by Ella Fitzgerald’s “Old McDonald.” What would your fantasy farm seem like? What animals would stay there?
phantasea pharm is an underwater escape the place you possibly can float round in your blissful delusions, feast on infinite greens, play with animals like pink Pomeranians or cowfish, or get tied up by goth farmers.
Tell me about a few of the themes explored on the EP.
Delusion, annoyance, horniness, blissful madness, political subversion, love, and a Pomeranian personified as a slutty, messy woman that’s annoying however everybody loves.
You have been labeled as the new wave of post-punk, however you characterize yourselves and your sound as extraterrestrial. You reside exterior of only one class or style. How do you hope to proceed disrupting the trade with your outlook and psychedelic sound?
By making music that we’d wish to hearken to.
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