As new waves of powerful social movements wash over the UK and the world, the voices of women in creative industries are shouting louder than ever. It is no secret that the music industry is male-dominated, where women are often expected to shut-up, look pretty and tick the right boxes. But one person that is saying a big f-that is Lauren Tate (of Hands of Gretel), through her new project Delilah Bon. A self-produced celebration of female power and energy, the debut album is releasing at midnight tonight.
Before digesting this album, it is key to know that Lauren Tate has poured blood, sweat and tears into every aspect of this project. Not only has she personally crafted everything you hear, but everything that accompanies the album too. Knowing this only makes the feat more impressive. About self-producing the album, she comments, “I wanted to prove that I could, creating all the beats, recording all the instruments myself to truly bring my vision to life.”
“Female producers are sadly rare and under-represented”,
Delilah Bon sets the bar extremely high for what we expect from DIY artists, providing content on all levels and adopting new ways to get your voice out to audiences in a post-COVID era, showing up musicians with an entire team behind them.
“…The album is a celebration of female empowerment and independence. Made by a woman as a voice for women and non-binary people, I wrote about rape culture, girls uplifting girls and self-love”.
Accompanying the important messages behind the tracks, Lauren has focused the best aspects of metal and punk with hip-hop and rap. Self-described as ‘’Brat Punk’, there are clear influences on each track, oozing with the best of the late 90’s to 00’s. It would be easy to pick apart each track to find the influences of this iconic sound – because there is a lot – but at the forefront there are clear influences of iconic female artists such as P!nk (big U and Ur Hand vibes) and Gwen Stephani smashed with Jack Off Jill and Bikini Kill. Fearless and experimental pop and hip-hop sounds complimented by rock instrumentation, there is something brave and different happening here. Riot Grrrl is back in a new form, and it’s not trying to match your expectations of what Riot Grrrl is and has been in the past.
Sincere, unfiltered, sarcastic, and angry, Delilah Bon is accessible to girls and women alike. A musical equivalent to Florence Welsh’s writing in ‘Women Don’t Owe You Pretty’, it is a product of social media age feminism, a gateway drug to radical change. In 2020 – 21 we are seeing a rise in female-lead rock/alt projects, and Delilah Bon is the solo project to be leading a revolution in the UK scene, musically and in messaging. It turns a mirror to the music industry and asks for raised expectations of what a women is capable of.
Words: Jenni Harrison
