A look into Alien Chicks’ new Release and their thoughts on the music industry
Alien chicks by tony palmer
I recently met with old friends Alien Chicks and interviewed them about their new single ‘Illuminati’ (released September 30th): in which the topic of the music industry; navigating record labels with their precarious deals; piss taking promoters and unrequited effort spent is in question… This is what they had to say.
The band began around 3 and a half years ago during lockdown, much like many around now. Stefan, the bassist, said he considered the circumstances lucky in a way because it gave them so much free time to play. He told me they used to go into the woods near where their families were from, near slough, and just jam and write with their guitars. When lockdown ended they had a full set and secured their first gig at Brixton Windmill, a staple for any post punk band, and in close proximity to where they had moved in London together once the world began to defrost. This is actually where we met; I frequented the venue as I worked there on the bar at the time, so had access to cheap drinks and free entry. I remember seeing their name on a lineup and thinking ‘these guys sound like fun’ and I was not wrong; they in fact lived up to their name giving a wacky, silly and energetic performance just like it suggests.
The video depicts the 3 band members Joe, (lead singer and guitarist) Stefan (bassist) and Martha (drummer) in bandages, a metaphor for the damage they have taken wading and maneuvering through the minefield that is the music industry of today, while suited promoters sporting lanyards that say ‘parasite industries’ berate and scream at them, pushing them around in a poorly lit dingy room. The head promoter screams at them to sign a contract with a drawing of the digestive system on it, a metaphor for the parasite infecting the body and taking over its host, much like how labels infect and take over bands to control them and what they do.
The video results in them being chased through a field in the dark by these promoters while screaming, the whole thing start to finish is very dark and dramatic, and very fitting to the over all idea they are talking about; navigating such a messed up industry in such a sorry state of disrepair.
Stef said:
“It’s sad cause I think, in the way society is, things are expensive obviously, and because of the way the industry is, we don't get money, and because of that you're working, and I see why a lot of people give up on it, because it can drain you and i think we definitely have a few bad weeks where we are like ‘i cant be arsed with this any more’ you know you get the odd bad gig or have a little bad spell and then it sort of fixes itself before we quit, not that we ever would… but do you know what I mean?”
Alien Chicks by tony palmer
Whether you know or not, the 3 members of Alien Chicks are all full time high school teachers of science and maths, not light topics, and to balance that on top of being a successful touring band is extremely difficult. When they organise their own gigs and tours they try to make it within half or full term breaks, but that isn’t always an option if it’s a support tour and these are the ones that help bands gain more listeners and clout the most, Stef also said about this: “The graft is needed; because when we tour during term time there’s days where we’re working and then it’s up to Birmingham for a gig and then back the same night, we will get back at 3 in the morning, back up for work and it repeats all week, that burns you, that kills you.”
I asked them how it has changed with regards to how they write, having so little time between work and touring to come up with new material, Joe told me:
“Coming back from this summer we’ve done loads of festivals and its been fuckin’ sick, ive loved it, and ive not burned out or anything but when you do come back i dont wanna touch music anymore i just wanna go watch music,I dont wanna play my own stuff, I like going to gigs, i wanna watch other bands, as soon as I’ve just come back from 3 dates in a row and i get back and I have one day before i go away again I’m not thinking ‘Ooh I wanna sit down and play guitar’ cause I’ve been doing it non stop.”
He said for that reason his process for writing has vastly changed. Now he finds himself coming up with chord progressions and melodies/hooks often on the drive home from work and pulling over to make a quick voice note, which he will then later dictate on guitar, and literally only play for as little time as possible as a ‘means to an end’ instead of for enjoyment like they used to. They unanimously agreed, however, that if their financial situation were to change and they didn’t have to work so much that they would go back to jamming and enjoying the craft of writing again, and that they still loved the craft, they just didn’t have time right now to give it the love it deserves.
Despite all of this they all agree they haven’t lost their love or hope for the music and the scene that surrounds it. Joe said ‘we are still definitely bright eyed’ when I asked if they saw it all through a new lens compared to when they started, through talking to them I realized that while they are more cautious around promoters and labels than they once were, they have definitely not become cynical or jaded.
Something Stef said that I loved was:
“We're just always honest about it, we do love doing it, I don't even think we'd talk about it so intensely. I think the fact that we get so angry about so many things with it, and also so happy, shows how into it we all are. I think it's important to be honest.”
The song ‘Illuminati’ is definitely worth listening to, freaky, harsh guitar lines meet complex bass and hard drums, all topped with strong, punky vocals and lyrics that bring another classically recogniseable ‘Alien Chicks’ banger. The creativity in the C section: so unexpected and weird but it works; it isn't forced; just jammed in there to be interesting like these things often can be; it adds flavour and depth. Their sound is so distinguishable from even other bands of the South London Post Punk scene; it has a certain edge you won’t find anywhere else.