Vulvaverse, Liturgy, Animistic Beliefs
October 6, 2023
I was invited by the good folk at Vulvaverse to speak on a panel, so I headed off to Rotterdam for a couple of days this past weekend. This was the second edition of the festival, and it was lovely to be included in something where the attention to detail, care, and love of the organisers was very palpable. Central to their ethos is inclusivity, accessibility, diversity and activism.
I was grateful to be gifted an opportunity to reflect upon my work - as both a booker and a publicist - within the panel’s topic of ‘Reclaiming Heavy Music’, specifically through the lens of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ representation, as well as to be afforded access to the knowledge and experiences of the others on the panel. It’s a tricky thing to listen thoughtfully to your fellow panelists, whilst also mapping out your own response in your head. I confess to being somewhat plagued by thoughts that surely must have bungled my intended words, but no-one laughed out loud so it can’t have been too terrible.
There are a lot of things that this panel brought up for me to ponder - beforehand as I met the other panelists, during as my brain raced to absorb other peoples’ experiences, and afterwards as I spoke to others about what was discussed. It can be hard to see change happening a lot of the time because those incremental shifts towards equity can be so painfully small and slow when we’re longing for big leaps. We are all capable of contributing to positive change, as artists, musicians, facilitators, curators, bookers, audience members, fans, managers - regardless of background, gender or sexual preference. I would love to dive into some of these thoughts and topics further - maybe those are things for future newsletters (let me know if that’s something you’d like to read about!). Lots of people are out there, working towards parity, equality, freedom and respect - the Vulvaverse was, to my mind, a great example of that forward motion.
Did you know that only one top 5 Billboard hit in 2022 had an all female writing team? The writing team was Kate Bush (the song was originally from 1985). In 2021, that lone female representative was Taylor Swift. Since 1958 there have only been 16 Top 5 Billboard hits with at least one non-binary writer on the team (and of those 16, 15 of the songs were performed by the same non-binary person that wrote it). You can learn more about these depressing stats and play around with the parameters of a search on this topic thanks to the illuminating research on The Pudding. I think it’s useful to look at the mainstream because what happens there is reflected elsewhere. However, one advantage that the underground has is that it can be more nimble, it can be more flexible and open to change. There are - in theory - less monolithic old dragons standing in the way; it’s easier to slay them and move on to brighter, more equitable, nourishing pastures together.
Anyway! After all that, I went to see Liturgy. I have inadvertently become something of a Liturgy super-fan over the last 18 months, seeing them perform seven times in five different cities. I promise I’m not just following them around, our paths are clearly just destined to cross frequently. Each of the performances I’ve seen of theirs has differed and taken on a different shape and form, perfectly suited to its surroundings. From the triumphant sound of orchestral accompaniment in a huge venue, to the grit of a dive bar, to the transcendent majesty of performing in a church in front of an imposing organ. Every time, they rise to the occasion, a tight unit of experimental black metal, revelling in ecstasy and esoteric joy.
Part of the pleasure I get from Liturgy comes from the sensation of being completely overwhelmed. Their music is typically complex, beautifully intricate, and features a swell of competing textures, timings and moods. It’s almost too much for my simple brain to compute, so there is a feeling of resignation, of giving myself over to wherever the music takes me. This stands whether I am home listening to the music on record or in the live arena where the experience is more raw, but no less intense. I feel like Liturgy have been labelled as being a difficult band to get into, that the complexities of their sound is a barrier to enjoyment. For me, it has the opposite effect - abandoning any attempt to keep up with what’s happening opens up new avenues of pleasure.
After that, I watched Animistic Beliefs - a Rotterdam based duo that have led me deep into a the genre of Intelligent Dance Music. My gut instinct - of course - is to question where the line between intelligent and unintelligent dance music lies, but as someone who regularly works within the many dubiously named death metal sub-genres, I am really not in any position to make jokes. Anyway, Animistic Beliefs introduced me to their world of techno-electro-punk which is truly a neon-lit world of pulsating rhythm and an entirely different kind of ecstatic expression. On my way out, I complimented them on their set and took a moment to enquire about the pipe played on stage. They graciously took the time to show me the traditional Vietnamese instrument Sáo Bầu (also known as hulusi in China). Their commitment to honouring their (Moluccan and Vietnamese-Chinese) heritage through their music sees them incorporate elements such as this traditional pipe made from a gourd which makes their music really distinctive.
So, those are my two musical recommendations for this week… the overwhelmingly huge 93696 by Liturgy, and the out of body experience afforded by simply hitting play on MERDEKA by Animistic Beliefs.
See you next week!
~Becky
Photo below shows the Rotterdam skyline, taken from inside the Depot museum in the city.
