Antillectual

With a new album come new streams! On August 23 we will release our new album “Perspectives & Objectives”. Until that date we will stream new songs from the album every Monday.

“New”. You might have heard the acoustic version of this song on our Future History EP, but this is the real (electric) deal! The topic is still the same though: the role of women in society in general and in the punk scene in particular. Our friend Arina has first hand experience being a girl in this punk scene, watching and playing in bands, and is a music journalist. Read what she has to say:

I don’t like pink but I love punk. Being the bass player of an all female band, I have experienced that even in the punk scene, people don’t expect girls to play in bands. Backstage, I have been asked several times whose girlfriend I am. A question based on the assumption that my reason of hanging out there could only be that I had a boyfriend who was playing in a band, and not me playing in a band. There are many similar examples. Too many to list here.

Therefore, I was positively surprised when I heard the Future History version of Pink Print for the first time (by the way, the Perspectives & Objectives version is better).

Yes, surprised. I didn’t realize female participation in punk could be an important topic for an all male band (pleonasm..?) like Antillectual. Willem and I talked about it several times. I felt free to bring up all the issues, examples and doubts I have on this theme. The problem he’s having with the sentence “This song goes out to all the girls” seems to be the same as my dilemma of festivals with exclusively all female bands. Do I want to play there too?

On the one hand yes, the music scene might need such ‘reversed’ initiatives (and hey, who doesn’t love festivals?). On the other hand no, instead of creating ‘our’ own (girl) scene like the riot grrrl movement did in the nineties, I prefer an equally mixed audience at concerts. Or at least a mixed place in which women feel welcome and safe (not just a live-size version of a donut). Separate girl and boy scenes may not contribute to this goal.

Is it really that bad? I’m not sure. If it was, I wouldn’t have enjoyed all these great concerts over the years and I wouldn’t have had such good times on its after-parties.

To add another positive observation: my impression is that there is a growing awareness among bands. Many attacked the Groezrock video by an energy drink brand. Pink Print fits right into this tendency, meaningfully criticizing its own scene. I hope many people will listen to this song, regardless of their favorite color.

– Arina Banga

Pre-order “Perspectives & Objectives”, or a package including it and receive a stream right after.

Coincidentally, Dying Scene – who hosted this song last Friday – also posted an editorial on the subject of ‘women in punk’. Quite an interesting read: I am a woman, and I have a right to be here.

Pink print

I would hate this to sound sexist: “This goes out to all the girls”
So few here, girlfriends, wives and cooks. From the back of the room, only here for the looks?

I hoped we could provide a safer alternative in this gated community
But it seems we’ve failed
Contrary to popular beliefs girls are not just donuts.
How we warn our daughters shows how civilized we are

What do you expect, examples given and standards set?
How we treat our maids shows how civilized we are

Stop burning the witches, burn our blueprints on their stakes
And use the second sex’ craft to bake a pink print for a change

Liner notes:

Girls in our scene are underrepresented, in both audiences and bands. When playing with (partly) female bands or in front of an equally mixed audience I often feel like addressing them. What always holds me back are other bands dedicating songs to girls, “This goes out to all the girls”, for all the wrong, sexist reasons. It would be cool if girls at shows were not only welcome for their looks, boyfriends or cooking skills, but also just for being there or for their music. I think a lot more girls would eventually join in. “From the back of the room” is a documentary about actively involved women in the punk/hardcore scene.
Girls and women in our society aren’t treated much better. There still is a lot of sexism, hidden or not. A very recent example is the scandal of Dominique Strauss Kahn raping a black maid and getting away with it. Not because he was innocent, but because the girl wasn’t “credible” enough.