01Profile
A Modern Woman Photo
Modern Woman
Musicians — London
03Interview
Photo by Alex Stephen Thurson
Name, where are you from?
Modern Woman (Sophie, Juan, Adam, David), South London.
Describe your style in three words?
J: Boujie European husband.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
S: Bob Dylan. I have admired Dylan since I was very young, so it was a transformative experience to see him in Hyde Park after receiving a last-minute ticket.
If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
S: David Bowie. Bowie was my first and forever love and The Birthday Party. Berlin, 1980s. Wild.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
S: Country and folk. My grandad, who played and taught me guitar, loves country and folk. This has stayed with me and endlessly informed my music taste and writing. Punk/post-punk. I used to work in a record shop and play 'Odyshape' by The Raincoats on repeat. It really opened me up to vocal experimentation and introducing interesting samples and percussion into the set.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
S: Lead Belly. To hear his haunting voice out of song.
Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?
A: Hard not to mention the Windmill. They've done so much for music in London and, having seen so many amazing artists there, it's always very fulfilling to play it yourself.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
D: Mica Levi of Micachu and The Shapes. Perhaps not so much 'unsung' these days with their film scoring work, but their band Micachu & The Shapes had some really great songs, for instance, 'Curly Teeth' and 'Low Dogg'.
Modern Woman recently released their new single 'Juniper'. It's the second track to be taken from their debut EP 'Dogs Fighting In My Dreams' which is set to be released on 17th September 2021 via End of the Road Records. Pre-order it via ffm.to/mwjuniper.
02Playlist
04Playlist Notes
The first track you played on repeat?
S: 'Harvest' by Neil Young.
A song that defines the teenage you?
D: 'The Sinking Belle' by Sunn O))), Boris.
One record you would keep forever?
J: 'Small Change' by Tom Waits. It has everything you want in a Tom Waits album from slurred crooning to lopsided percussion. Also, the sax work is so good.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
S: "He offered her an orgy in a many mirrored room
He promised her protection for the issue of her womb
She moved her body hard against a sharpened metal spoon
She stopped the bloody rituals of passage to the moon"
Anything by Leonard Cohen, particularly this from 'Death of a Ladies' Man'. Cohen's writing always reminds me of Medieval courtly love poetry. He takes the traditions and flips them upside down, making it absurd and comic. I feel like this song is a stellar example of this, and is an example of classic Cohen. The lyrics are so incredibly clever.
The song that would get you straight on the dance floor?
A: 'Johnny Guitar Calling Gosta Berlin' by Snapped Ankles. Love the rolling bass and locked drums. It's quite a long track too so plenty of time to make a tit of myself.
A song you wished you had written?
S: 'Melodia del Adiós' by Atahualpa Yupanqui. Beautiful guitar arrangement that took my breath away. And it's just two minutes long.
Best song to turn up loud?
S: 'Wild Wild Life' by Talking Heads.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
D: 'Birthday Cake' by Cibo Matto.
Best song to end an all-nighter on?
A: 'Memphis Soul Stew' by King Curtis. I love the way he brings in every instrument in the track before the crescendo. The linkup between each instrument is so satisfying.
Any new music you are listening to right now?
J: Been playing the Squid album on repeat since it came out. The dynamic shifts in 'G.S.K.' always hit hard. They've been going for a few years but I feel the need to shout out the new SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE album for sheer mayhem and use of noise. 'THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN'T DO' is probably my favourite.
03Interview
Photo by Alex Stephen Thurson
Name, where are you from?
Modern Woman (Sophie, Juan, Adam, David), South London.
Describe your style in three words?
J: Boujie European husband.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
S: Bob Dylan. I have admired Dylan since I was very young, so it was a transformative experience to see him in Hyde Park after receiving a last-minute ticket.
If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
S: David Bowie. Bowie was my first and forever love and The Birthday Party. Berlin, 1980s. Wild.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
S: Country and folk. My grandad, who played and taught me guitar, loves country and folk. This has stayed with me and endlessly informed my music taste and writing. Punk/post-punk. I used to work in a record shop and play 'Odyshape' by The Raincoats on repeat. It really opened me up to vocal experimentation and introducing interesting samples and percussion into the set.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
S: Lead Belly. To hear his haunting voice out of song.
Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?
A: Hard not to mention the Windmill. They've done so much for music in London and, having seen so many amazing artists there, it's always very fulfilling to play it yourself.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
D: Mica Levi of Micachu and The Shapes. Perhaps not so much 'unsung' these days with their film scoring work, but their band Micachu & The Shapes had some really great songs, for instance, 'Curly Teeth' and 'Low Dogg'.
Modern Woman recently released their new single 'Juniper'. It's the second track to be taken from their debut EP 'Dogs Fighting In My Dreams' which is set to be released on 17th September 2021 via End of the Road Records. Pre-order it via ffm.to/mwjuniper.
04Playlist Notes
The first track you played on repeat?
S: 'Harvest' by Neil Young.
A song that defines the teenage you?
D: 'The Sinking Belle' by Sunn O))), Boris.
One record you would keep forever?
J: 'Small Change' by Tom Waits. It has everything you want in a Tom Waits album from slurred crooning to lopsided percussion. Also, the sax work is so good.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
S: "He offered her an orgy in a many mirrored room
He promised her protection for the issue of her womb
She moved her body hard against a sharpened metal spoon
She stopped the bloody rituals of passage to the moon"
Anything by Leonard Cohen, particularly this from 'Death of a Ladies' Man'. Cohen's writing always reminds me of Medieval courtly love poetry. He takes the traditions and flips them upside down, making it absurd and comic. I feel like this song is a stellar example of this, and is an example of classic Cohen. The lyrics are so incredibly clever.
The song that would get you straight on the dance floor?
A: 'Johnny Guitar Calling Gosta Berlin' by Snapped Ankles. Love the rolling bass and locked drums. It's quite a long track too so plenty of time to make a tit of myself.
A song you wished you had written?
S: 'Melodia del Adiós' by Atahualpa Yupanqui. Beautiful guitar arrangement that took my breath away. And it's just two minutes long.
Best song to turn up loud?
S: 'Wild Wild Life' by Talking Heads.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
D: 'Birthday Cake' by Cibo Matto.
Best song to end an all-nighter on?
A: 'Memphis Soul Stew' by King Curtis. I love the way he brings in every instrument in the track before the crescendo. The linkup between each instrument is so satisfying.
Any new music you are listening to right now?
J: Been playing the Squid album on repeat since it came out. The dynamic shifts in 'G.S.K.' always hit hard. They've been going for a few years but I feel the need to shout out the new SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE album for sheer mayhem and use of noise. 'THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN'T DO' is probably my favourite.