What inspired you to write 'slut era’?
I wrote this song on a long-haul flight. I was flying into Texas and it was International Women's Day. I always get super emotional on planes so I tend to write a lot / make music in the air.
I was thinking about all these pressures and expectations that fall on women (from the tiniest most nuanced microaggressions to the more obvious larger issues,) I was thinking about the *patriarchy*, about how we've come so far yet still have so much work to do, and I was thinking about the fact that I was flying into a state where abortion is illegal and women's bodily autonomy is being stripped away faster than you can say the word 'Trump'.
The word 'slut' is so weighted - I grew up in a time where as a teenage girl you were either labeled 'frigid' or 'slutty' (both were bad) and once you had your label there was no going back. I love how the word has seen this widespread reclamation by women over the last few years and it has been turned into a playful but empowering word. It's a cool reminder of how fluid language is and how meaning can change so much with a change of context.
So, long story short, I was on this plane, writing writing writing, words spilling out like lava, and out came this song. I demoed the whole song on the flight and recorded voice memos of the vocal melodies in the plane toilet. I didn't show anyone for months because I thought it was weird and embarrassing - I've now learnt that those are generally the best songs.
When do you feel most yourself?
When I'm on the dancefloor in a weird costume with my weird friends at 3am dancing to obscure 70s disco music like some kinda of dorky octopus, limbs gliding through the haze of the smoke machine.
Alternatively/equally, when I am submerged in the ocean.
How do you want your music to make people feel?
I want my music to make people feel like themselves.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
I was just listening to Twelve Thirty by The Mamas And The Papas on my walk - that's a song I can listen to on repeat for days. The Mamas And The Papas taught me harmony. Sufjan Stevens taught me that songs can express things that words can't. Mitski taught me to trust my own voice. The Cocteau Twins taught me that the sonic landscape can say more than the lyrics. Bjork taught me how to dive into the world that you feel like you're on the edge of.
Can you describe a memorable experience that significantly impacted your music career?
I recently supported The National for their Australian tour which was wild. They're one of my favourite bands of all time, and they're all the most wonderful, generous, kind and supportive people (band and crew included!) The shows were all amazing and they invited me up on stage to sing with them for a bunch of the shows which was like some kind of bizarre dream.
What does "living in the moment" mean to you?
Slowing down, breathing, reminding myself that life is short and fleeting and beautiful and magic and I can feel the sun on my skin and I can giggle with my friends and I can lie on the grass and smell it and it smells so good and everything falls into place eventually and worrying too much about the past or the future is boring and futile.
How do you cope with love and heartbreak through your art?
If love and heartbreak were pieces of meat that went into a mincer and came out as a sausage, my art is the sausage (sorry I don't know why but that analogy was the first thing that popped into my head...) My art has always been a channel for me to process/navigate/express my emotional world. I've also realized that sometimes the most joyous art can come out of the most devastating situations (and vice versa). Basically, I write a lot, I play a lot, I think a lot, I feel a lot, and it all goes into this big melting pot. 99.9% of it ends up on the cutting room floor, 0.1% gets released into the world, but 100% of it is useful, no time ever spent making art is wasted.
What is the most rewarding part of making music for you?
Playing shows! I looove performing. It's also another contender when I feel the most myself -- when I'm singing and playing. But also, the feeling of making something and loving it, loving it so deep in your core that you stop caring what anyone else thinks - that is one of the most rewarding feelings I can think of.
What does empowerment through music look like to you?
To me, empowerment through music means doing your thing, your way, without catering to anyone else's (or the music industry's) expectations / rules / standards.
What advice would you give to someone who is hesitant to start their creative journey?
You're literally never too old, and it's never too late, to start doing the thing you wanna do and making the art you wanna make. If I had listened to my insecurities every time I told myself it was too late, or I was too old, I wouldn't have written slut era, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing, I would still be wishing I had given it a go.
_______
*
Follow Annie Hamilton HERE, her new single 'Slut Era' is out now.
