Next Thursday, Make More Noise writers D.J. Lippy and Sobering Maid will be speaking at a panel discussion on the history of radicalism and feminism in Manchester, as part of the 0161 Anti fascist festival. We decided to take a week off politics and devote our output to the best in female musicians.
As today is Lesbian Day of Visibility, Make More Noise decided to compile a playlist of the best in lesbian artists and lesbian fronted bands. We are grassroots, as are all the bands featured at 0161, so we decided to focus on artists you might not have heard of. Trust us they’re worth a listen.
Big Dyke Energy
Bringing protest back into punk, Seattle based rock trio Big Dyke Energy released their debut track ‘Get The L Out this week. It was written in response to the increasingly hostile atmosphere that lesbians face within the LGBTQI+ alphabet soup. Protest is pride! You can buy a copy here.
Madame Gandhi
Madame Ghandi toured with MIA as her drummer before going solo and producing her debut album Voices in 2016. That same year she disgusted the Daily Mail by running the London Marathon free bleeding for the ‘sisters who don’t have tampons.’
Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey
Billed as the ‘Mother of Blues,’ Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey, was one of the earliest American blues singers. She toured the country with her husband and their band and The Rabbit Foot Minstrels, making over 100 recordings, such as this 1928 song which hints at the truth behind the public image.
“I went out last night with a crowd of my friends,
It must've been women, 'cause I don't like no men.”
Bloxx
This song from female fronted band Bloxx drips with melancholy riffs, laced with nostalgia for unrequited crushes on hazy summer evenings.
The Blow
The Blow started out as YACHT front woman Khaela Maricich’s side project before her girlfriend Melissa Dyne joined her to write lyrics, perform and produce. The Blow could be annoying - sounding so much as they do like art installation in a Portland squat party; yet the earnest lyrics and light synth pop touch balance out any art school pretensions.
Kng Princess
Signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, King Princess, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from Brooklyn, New York. When your girlfriend go so tired of worshiping your pussy that she wrote it a prayer - that’s what this song sounds like.
Savages
Brooding, moody, fast and furious - if Joy Division were a lesbian punk band they might sound something like this.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Who is Sister Rosetta Tharpe and why have you probably never heard of her before? Described as the Godmother of Rock and Roll, her unique guitar plucking style, along with rousing gospel vocals would have a major influence on artists such as Elvis, Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones.
Her energy and influence was infectious, as shown in the clip above, - shot in 1964, in a gig in a Railway station in Manchester. - which was broadcast nationally winning her an army of fans. Bob Dylan said of that performance, on his radio show that “I’m sure there are a lot of young English guys who picked up an electric guitar after getting a look at her.”
Rosie Lopez
A former actress who made it to Hollywood after starring in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” she later went on to become vice president of rap label Tommy Boy Records where she signed several gay acts. She also worked as the producer of the L Word & Queer as Folk soundtracks.
Erase Errata
With a sound that owes as much to 1980’s female post punk bands like the Bush Tetra’s; as to the San Francisco Riottgirl scene which spawned them - Erase Erratta sound like Captain Beefhearts cool gay nieces.
Felloni
Hailing from the tough streets of Detroit, Michigan, Felloni made history as the first ‘out’ rapper to release an entire album "A Woman's Revenge" told exclusively from a Lesbian's perspective. This single features images from women who have suffered domestic violence at the hands of their male partners.
Ferron
Ferron became one of the most influential lyrical songwriters of the women's music circuit, and an important influence on later musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Mary Gauthier and the Indigo Girls. She has been compared to singer songwriters such as Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.
Tasha Sultana
If you do one thing today WATCH THIS VIDEO. Busker Tasha Sultana came to fame after she released home made videos like this one which went on to receive 47,000,00 views. She can play 20 instruments including guitar, bass, trumpet, flute, percussion and saxophone She is currently on a sell out World Tour and you can buy tickets here.
If you liked this list why not check out our extended playlist? It’s on our new Youtube channel.
It’s collaborative so you can add your own tracks - who have we missed? We haven’t uploaded any videos yet but with our planned events we will be adding content soon. If you could give us a follow while you’re there that would be awesome. In the meantime we will be making lots more playlists, collating more great content - music, speeches, documentaries - whatever takes our fancy! If you would like us to make a playlist on a certain subject - please give us a shout. You can leave a comment on our Youtube page.
*One difficulty we had on writing this article was getting accurate information about the lesbian identity of all the women mentioned. We endeavored our best to be accurate but uncovering confirmation was, at times, incredibly difficult - almost as if the internet was erasing the word lesbian. Some of those mentioned may be identified as queer, bisexual or pansexual.
DJ Lippy
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