Venus Grrrls' Journey of Personal Strength and Resilience

In this exclusive interview, Venus Grrrls dive into the inspiration behind their empowering anthem "Hex," overcoming challenges, and their unique blend of eighties Goth and nineties Grunge. With a visually stunning music video and a commitment to diverse storytelling, the band discusses their journey in contributing to a more inclusive and representative music industry.

Hex is an ode to womenkind and addresses harassment. Would you mind telling us more about the inspiration behind the song and what message you hope to convey?

It’s no secret amongst women that we all have a story to tell about harassment, we’re often exposed to it for the first time as minors which is even more concerning. Some of us remember our first experiences of objectification as young as 13, by adult men! This topic in general is something that women carry around every single day, and Hex was born from an experience we shared together on a night out. Sadly we can’t go into much detail but simply, someone overstepped some boundaries and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Various elements of rock and alternative music go into Venus Grrrls' sound. Is there anything that sets your band apart from others in the music scene?

We are predominantly inspired by a lot of eighties Goth and nineties Grunge, and we’re trying to achieve a healthy combination of the two. It’s really fun to take two genres in completely different eras and funnel them together in a contemporary context.

In 2023, lead singer GK made a ferocious comeback despite illness. Would you be able to share some insights into the challenges you faced and how they impacted your music?

Whilst GK was on chemotherapy, this made her clinically vulnerable to infection meaning she had to isolate more or less the whole time she was ill. This really made things such as writing very difficult, amongst the emotional turmoil of her being seriously ill and then for the rest of the band to watch their mate go through something like that. It was most definitely a unique experience to try and navigate this in an industry that is so fast-paced that we had to stop. We had fears of falling behind, but we always knew we were born to do this and this was a difficult part of our journey, not our whole story. 

Since signing to LAB Records and getting great reviews from Jack Saunders and Steve Lamacq, how do you envision your future in music? What are your goals and aspirations?

There’s something really special about being on stage with your mates playing the songs you created together. Doing this for a living has always been the ultimate goal, no matter where it takes us. We have a lot to say and some niche experiences that we pour into our writing, and the thought of soundtracking someone else’s core experiences is incredibly rewarding and special. 

Hex's music video is visually stunning. Is there a story behind the video and how it complements the song's message?

We had so much fun shooting that video! Our videographer Misha Warren absolutely nailed it. We wanted to go down a fun, goofy, hammer horror route to try and have some fun amongst a really serious topic. The masked figure plays ‘Dirty Den’, our antagonist in the Hex universe, and at the end of the video, we put him back where he belonged and took the power back for ourselves. 

Your music often has a dark, yet empowering message. What themes can we expect from your future releases as you balance these contrasting elements?

Usually, we draw on a lot of our own trauma for our music hence the intensity of some of the topics. However, a new song we’ve just recorded is actually much more light-hearted and was written about having a crush. It’s something a large portion of society experiences, and having a crush is usually a very fleeting yet exciting time. It’s always really easy to talk about the bad things, but we wanted to focus on something a little more light-hearted because good things happen too.

You've performed with some notable acts and gotten radio play. Would you mind sharing some of your favorite live performances and fan interactions?

The feeling of your fans shouting your songs back at you is unlike any other, we’ve had it a few times with our song Goth Girl. It’s a really great one for fan participation and is much more fun to sing with everyone than alone. We’ve had audiences do exceptionally kind and thoughtful things, last time we played a show on Hannah’s birthday someone brought her a birthday gift!

How do you think your music contributes to the broader conversation around feminism, empowerment, and gender equality, especially in the music industry?

When we started we really wanted there to be more representation of alternative female musicians, we’d have given anything to have had more access to female/non-binary musicians in our formative years. They’ve always existed, it’s just about them having their space in the industry, which, thankfully seems to be becoming a little more common. We’re grateful to be a small fraction of this movement. 

Connect with Venus Grrrls Instagram @venusgrrrls