Venus Grrrls: ‘Women are not always credited and given the same opportunities as their male counterparts’

Yet since the release of their EP Wicked Things back in March of 2020, things have been quiet. VENUS GRRRLS have been tucked away, working on a metamorphosis that could only bode well for them as we enter 2021. With the release of their new single Goth Girl this month, I spoke with the band all about this transformation and their new single.

The first thing you’ll notice about this new phase in the life of VENUS GRRRLS is their complete rebranding. “With our upcoming release, Goth Girl, we took a different approach to the production in order to create something that was a little more refined and cleaner cut,” said frontwoman GK.

“We knew that our branding had to coincide with this updated sound, and so we went back to the drawing board and discussed our ideas regarding a fresh visual language. We’ve always been quite lo-fi with our sound and branding, so in some aspects we decided to do the very opposite of this and use more colour and be a little bit more experimental.”

The face of VENUS GRRRLS is no longer dark and cryptic, instead we’re met with bold pink blocks of colour, fuzzy warmth and definition. But what remains still is their strong feminist message; the five-piece weave comradery into their music seamlessly, tackling sexism head on through clear messaging and witty lyricism.

“Goth Girl I think more specifically celebrates female friendship and has a much more distinct theme behind it as opposed to [our previous releases]. Goth Girl is more of an outward discussion, particularly on the stereotypes of Goth culture and modern witchcraft. It’s a topic close to our hearts and something we wanted to share our own experiences on, as that outward discussion that takes place in Goth Girl happened between us when we started getting closer as friends.”

Creating Goth Girl wasn’t an easy ride for the band; when discussing the release of their new single, VENUS GRRRLS opened up about the leader singer GK’s struggle with laryngitis in the midst of a string of gigs. “We’d had to cancel shows because she was so sick, and [GK] was pretty disappointed and angry with herself despite there being nothing anyone could do! But while stuck in her room she cobbled together a (very) croaky and poorly sung demo after playing around with some chords.”

It wasn’t until all members of the band could finally get together again and rehearse that Goth Girl finally started to take shape. “Once we all got back together, we of course finished the structure, changed some things around, and refined it to make it much stronger. We reflected on the song with our producers (Sugar House Music) and made some rhythmic tweaks as well as changing around some sections. It most definitely differs to the rest of our catalogue, but not to the point where we don’t feel like they don’t fit together. For us, it just feels like a natural progression where we’re moving from one stage to the next of our musical signature.”

This certainly is a new chapter for VENUS GRRRLS, yet despite them starting to evolve from what we’ve come to know them as, the band are determined to maintain their deep connection with their audience; a connection that is built on creating a safe space for women and people of marginalised genders to express themselves and connect with an artist they love.

“Women are not always credited and given the same opportunities as their male counterparts,” GK says. “This is why our skin burns when people say, ‘there just aren’t enough women in the industry to headline festivals’. Perhaps, the lack of representation of women in the rock industry is now why more young women and non-binary fans are beginning to engage with us as well as many other female musicians.

“Opportunities are crucial from grassroots level all the way up to international level! We think the most important thing is that there is representation of all backgrounds, gender, and races within the music industry.”

Goth Girl is out now on all streaming platforms. Physical copies of the single can be purchased from venusgrrrls.bandcamp.com