I haven’t made end of year lists for years, largely because I’m not on top of what new music is coming out at all. My finger is so far from the pulse, I probably won’t discover my favourite albums of 2012 until at least 2014.
So instead of trying to write a definitive, all-encompassing ‘albums of 2012’ or ‘songs of 2012’ list, I will simply share some of my current favourite tracks which have been released in 2012, in no particular order. Enjoy!
The Ladykillers single is out today! Eight years after the song was written, and after years of playing it live and months of hard work to get it ready for release, my debut single is finally available for download.
You can buy it from iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, HMV Digital and a whole load of other places.
Read what the reviews have been saying about it here.
Huge thanks to everyone who has supported the release, including A Scholar and a Physician, Dreamtrak, The F Word, Steve Dawson, Thread Creative, Vision Music Promotions and the rest – you know who you are!
And of course, you can still watch the video on YouTube:
I was recently interviewed by The F Word‘s Holly Combe about the Ladykillers single, the video, the meaning of the song and sexism in the music industry. The F Word is one of my favourite feminist websites, and Holly wrote a lovely review of my set at Ladyfest Bristol 2007, so I was really excited when she said she wanted to interview me about the single release!
The interview was posted today as a two-part blog post:
Part 1: Tired of settling for less: Gaptooth on ‘Ladykillers’
Enjoy!
My song, ‘Ladykillers’, will be released on 10 December, which is International Human Rights Day, and also marks the end of the annual Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.
The song is about ladykillers in the usual sense of the word – womanisers, men who objectify, take advantage of and exploit women. But it is also about ladykillers in a much more literal sense.
“If you’re not above cheating, if you’re not above beating…”
Home Office statistics show that two women are killed every week in the UK by a current or former partner. In 2012, 89 UK women have been killed in suspected gender-related murders – that’s one every 3.4 days.
UK police receive a call about domestic abuse once every 60 seconds, and 1 in 4 women in the UK experience domestic violence at some point in their lives. Worldwide, the figure could be up to 40%.
Of course, men also experience gender-based violence, but women are far more likely to experience it than men, and far more likely to be injured or killed. Women from marginalised groups such as young women, women with disabilities and LGBTQ women are especially at risk.
“When he’s got you pinned to the bed becoming a part of the one in three…”
The British Crime Survey shows that more than 300,000 women are sexually assaulted and 60,000 raped in the UK each year, yet fewer than 1 in 10 women who experience serious sexual assault report it to the police. Of all rape cases reported to the police, only 6% result in a conviction. While women who report rape and sexual assault are frequently branded liars, there is no evidence that false accusations are higher than for any other crime.
When most people think of rape, they probably think of women being attacked on a dark night by a stranger in an alleyway (or “classic rape”, as our very own Justice Secretary Ken Clarke once described it). In reality, women are far more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted by their husband or partner than by a stranger.
Globally, depending on which figures you look at, 1 in 3 women will be raped or sexually abused in their lifetime, which is where the “one in three” line in Ladykillers comes from. It is notoriously difficult to find accurate data on this, as reporting of these crimes is very low and many countries do not even collect these numbers.
What can you do to help end sexual and gender-based violence?
There are many things you can do to help stop domestic abuse, rape and sexual assault.
You can donate to or volunteer for charities such as End Violence Against Women, Rape Crisis, Refuge and Women’s Aid which provide vital services for survivors and campaign to increase prosecutions and end rape culture.
You can support international campaigns such as the UN’s UNiTE to End Violence Against Women campaign.
Perhaps most importantly, we all need to challenge the trivialisation of violence against women in our everyday lives. Domestic abuse and sexual violence should never be a punchline. We must all be willing to call out people who treat violence against women as a joke, who blame the victims for their abuse or who spread rape myths.
A culture that tolerates and trivialises violent crimes and asks the victims to stay silent about them, accept the blame for them or even laugh about them is not a culture that I want to live in. If you don’t either, then please stand up against it in any way you can.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse or have experienced sexual assault or rape and are looking for help, the following organisations may be able to assist:
Rape Crisis: 0808 802 9999 / http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/gettinghelp2.php
National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247 / http://refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/
I’m excited to announce that the Ladykillers single will be released on 10 December 2012. It will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and all the usual places – I will post links when they are available.
I’m also excited to finally be able to share with you the video for the single. Enjoy!
As I mentioned previously, the B-side to the Ladykillers single will be an awesome remix by the very talented Dreamtrak, which is now available here for your listening delight!
If you like this, check out all of Dreamtrak’s other remixes on his website.
Next up: the video!
The final painstaking details of the Ladykillers single release are currently being hammered out and I will be able to announce a release date very soon. In the meantime, because I’m getting impatient, you can listen to the all new single mix!
It’s taken a little longer than expected, but my first proper single release is nearly here!
Over the past few months I’ve been organising the video, the artwork, the B-side and, most of all, filling in lots and lots of forms. I had no idea releasing a single involved filling in so many forms.
The single is a new mix of Ladykillers for 2012, co-produced by me and A Scholar and a Physician, with a remix on the B side by the awesome Dreamtrak. The artwork (above) is by Thread Creative.
The video was produced by Steve Dawson of Dawson Bros (who also made this video for Groove Armada). All will be revealed soon, but in the meantime here are some stills:
Confused?
I’m just in the process of working out the promotion for the single, and will announce a release date very shortly. It will be available to download from iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and all the usual places.
Exciting times!
Five years since I played at the launch party for Ladyfest Bristol 2007, I’m really excited to be returning to Bristol to play at Ladyfest Bristol 2012! I was involved in organising the 2007 festival, which was a lot of hard work but a lot of fun, so I’m really glad that the Ladyfest tradition lives on in Bristol.
The opening party takes places on 6th July at Bristol County Sports Club on Colston Street. Check out the Facebook event here for full details of the line up. It’s £5 on the door or £3 if you have a ticket for the rest of the festival, and all proceeds go to local charities One25, Bristol Rape Crisis, Womankind and The Well. Do check out the rest of the weekend’s events as well – there are workshops, more gigs, live comedy, artwork, zines and more.
Can’t wait to catch up with all the lovely Bristol folk!
The full line up for It’s All Happening festival has been announced! You can get advance tickets from We Got Tickets.
I’ll be on the second stage at 2:30pm – hope to see you there!
