Georgia Nott, one-half of brother-sister duo BROODS, is breaking up the boys club.
Allow this guy to mansplain. (Also: consider this less of an Introduucing, and more of a Reintroduucing.)
After years of touring and recording as BROODS, Georgia noticed that she was often stuck in an exclusively male environment while crafting her music – a timely observation in the age of #TimesUp.
“It really struck me at some point, that more often than not when I go into the studio, the producer is a guy, and the engineer is a guy, and I guess most of the time I’m the only girl in the room. Often it’s the same on tour or when we’re playing live,” she explains.
The glaring lack of female representation in production, engineering, DJing and practically every other behind-the-booth role, of course, is not a new subject. It seems like every three months, there’s another thinkpiece begging the question: where are the female producers?
But rather than simply dwelling on a problem, Georgia’s opted to provide a solution by uplifting and inspiring instead: she’s assembled a team of women to create an all-female collaboration: The Venus Project.
“It’s a privilege to be able to act upon these ideas and do something constructive to encourage change. I don’t really like dwelling on the negative parts too much, I think that’s just my personality, so instead I wanted to celebrate the awesome talented women around me, and inspire other girls or women to see there are loads of possibilities for them in this industry,” says Georgia.
It’s a top-to-bottom all-female endeavor: from the accompanying musicians, to the artwork, to project management, mixing (Adrianne ‘AG’ Gonzalez), mastering (Emily Lazar) and production (Ceci Gomez). The whole collection, The Venus Project: Vol 1, will be released on March 8th – which is International Women’s Day. See what they did there?
Back in mid-January, Georgia released the chillingly lonesome, tender lead track from the project: “Won’t Hurt.”
“For all the places I’ve been / I’ve only been skin and bone / So I wrap myself in you and pray that I’m not a ghost,” Georgia confesses above the atmospheric track, which gradually expands into a space-y synth territory, bringing acts like The xx and London Grammar to mind.
As of Friday (February 23), Georgia’s dropped an equally hypnotic follow-up: “Need A Man,” her take on the (ironic) concept of needing to find a man to protect her from….other men.
“This song is inspired by all the times I have been told ‘it’s not safe for you as a woman.’ Whether it has been traveling, going to a party, or simply walking alone. Rules that didn’t seem apply to men. Rules that taught me to watch my back when I walked past a group of men, clenching my fists and planning how I would defend myself if I was attacked. I am frustrated because I don’t feel that I should have to take preventative measures to feel safe around men and to expect the worst in men. Nothing will change until these acts of intimidation, exploitation, harassment and assault are called out and no longer tolerated. Nothing will change until the attackers are held accountable, instead of their victims,” she says.
“You say I need a man to protect me from other men / I don’t see how the problem is me,” she croons the reverb-heavy refusal to accept the status quo, weighted down with a worldweary feel not unlike Lykke Li at her most gutting.
Aside from sending a strong message, both lyrically speaking and as a concept in general, The Venus Project also happens to make for some really beautiful listening music, too.
The sound of the gradual chipping away at the patriarchy is quite soothing, actually.
“Need A Man” was released on February 23. (iTunes)
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Photo credit: Catie Laffoon