Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

We caught up with Girli in between her Australian and UK/EU dates to talk about the release of her Matriarchy album.

In this interview, girli shares some of the lessons she learned while writing this album, the significance of having Australia duo, JUNO, open for her Australian shows, and how this album helped her find her identity.

FMM: Thanks for joining me. We were recently so lucky because we just had you in Australia for your tour. How was it?

Girli: Oh, it was so amazing. I had such a good time. Australia's always been a big bucket list place for me to play shows because my Dad is Australian, so I have a lot of family there, and I feel like I have quite a connection to the country in that way. I've spent a lot of time there as a kid and always wanted to do my own shows there, so that felt really special. But then also, the Australian crowds, I just knew they would be well up for it, and they were. It was so fun. It was such good vibes. Feral vibes.

FMM: It looked like a great turnout. It always looked like you were having so much fun. Whether it's in Australia or no matter where you perform, it just looks like you're having the best time as well.

Girli: Yeah. Oh, my God. I was. I love playing shows and being able to travel all around the world doing it is like a dream come true.

FMM: Your new album's coming out in a couple of days. Congratulations. How are you feeling?

Girli: Thank you. Yeah, I don't know. People keep asking me this, and I'm like, I don't know. I don't think I've fully processed that it's coming out so soon. It's been such an amazing experience releasing all of the songs so far that have come out from it. And, you know, I've done three tours in the space of the time where I've been releasing music, so it's been like releasing music for this album. I think now it's coming out, it doesn't feel real. It's like, oh, shit, but I'm so excited. I feel like if anyone wants to know who I am and who I am as a person and a musician, listen to these 14 songs, and you've got it. So that, for me, feels really special that that's coming out.

FMM: Yeah, because listening to the album, it sounds like we get a bit of a personal taste into your journey because it sounds like a bit of a personal memoir into your own journey of self-love and acceptance. So, what are some things you learned about yourself through writing and recording this album?

Girli: A big lesson I learned was setting boundaries. That was something that I kind of learned along the way and learned about myself, that I could do that. I was experiencing heartbreak and I was going through some issues with friends. A lot my interpersonal relationships were in a bit of an upheaval and because of that, I was really struggling with self esteem. I think I realised actually, I can set boundaries and I can cultivate the people around me to be good vibes, good energy, and I learned to love myself a little bit more writing this album. It was definitely a really important healing process to write it.

FMM: And it's such a good message for other people, too, because, as you mentioned, setting boundaries, it's important for everyone, especially because you do have a younger fan base as well. You know, they're making their own mistakes and navigating life. It’s something they can listen to and get advice from.

Girli: Oh, my God, definitely. I think for me, you know, when I was a teenager and, you know, a lot of my fans are older than that. A lot of them are my age. A lot of them are older, you know, sort of in their twenties, thirties. But I definitely have some teenagers in my fan base. I remember when I was a teenager and music and bands were kind of where I took my inspiration from. Those were the people I looked up to. A lot of songs and lyrics from songs got me through some really difficult questions that I was facing as a teenager about my identity and, you know, life in general. I really hope that my songs can be that for young people now. That would be amazing.

FMM: Yeah, I think you've achieved that because on top of your music, you always publicly advocate for feminism, sexuality and mental health, so it's great to see that you're doing all those things on top of your releases as well.

Girli: Thank you. I just write about my own experiences, and through that, I think people find things they relate to in those lyrics and those stories and, I think ultimately, like, representation and just being able to see yourself and your own experiences represented in art is just such a powerful thing. So, you know, for women, for queer people, to see themselves and their stories and their anger and their joy, represented in songs definitely helps people to feel stronger in themselves and that's really important.

FMM: I guess that also ties into the album title, which you've talked a bit about Matriarchy meaning so much to you in terms of a queer woman loving another and just being your own queen. Tell me more about that and how that title plays into this message,

Girli: The title started as the title for the song Matriarchy, which was the first song to come out from the album in September last year. That song was about queer joy and queer sex being almost like a subconscious act of resistance and rebellion because we grow up in a patriarchal society, and just being ourselves, when you're outside of that "norm" in quotation marks, is rebellion. But then I thought, well this represents a big community and it’s not just for women as the word matriarchy would suggest, but just anyone, LGBTQ+ people, anyone who is marginalised from mainstream society. And I think anyone who feels fucked over by the patriarchy and that community, for me is created at my shows, online on my discord, and hopefully just mentally, when people listen to my music. I also made this website called the girli verse, which is online. It's called the Matriarchy Mansion. You can go in and there's all these different rooms with stuff that relates to the album and stuff like that. Just having, like, a digital space where people can be like, “oh, here I can be myself. I don't have to think about the bullshit out there.” That's kind of what Matriarchy means to me.

FMM: Yeah, I love that concept. I think that's another reason why I love that for your Australian shows, you had JUNO open up for you because that's another band that aligns with this message, especially with their single, i’m the man. It shares a similar message to what you stand for in your music.

Girli: Yeah. Oh, my God. Juno was so amazing. I loved them opening up for us and the show every night. They killed it. And again, like, so cool to have a woman-fronted band playing with me. And exactly what you said. All the messages that they're conveying with their songs are really powerful.

FMM: I've listened to the album and I think the song that stood out for me the most was Tokyo, which is track four, because it's a very different sound to some of the other songs. I'm interested to hear your take about that and the sound that came out of that song.

Girli: Yeah, that's one of my favourites as well. I was working with two of my really good friends, Dan Holloway and Jackie Apostle, who are amazing producers and songwriters. I was telling them about how my ex had gone traveling around the world and to Southeast Asia, and at the time, I was still in so much pain from that relationship. And I said to them, I was like, I just keep having these thoughts or these dreams. Like, what if I just get on a plane and I chase her? Like, I just go and I beg her to take me back, you know, like, what if maybe it would work? We wrote a song about this imagined trip actually happening and me actually getting on a plane, going to Tokyo and finding her and getting rejected. And the sound, Dan Holloway is such an amazing producer. I went into that day at the studio saying, I've been listening to a lot of Caroline Polachek and her album Pang, and this artist called Dora Ja, who has the most incredible experimental production. I was like, I really want to do something different. Actually, the main thing is I have this message and I want to say it and I want to tell the story, but sonically, I'm really open. I don't really mind where we go. Let's figure it out. We just ended up making a song that sounds nothing like any girli song I've made before and I love it. I think the thing that ties my music or my songs together is less sonic, and it's more about the storytelling and my lyricism. I feel like that gives me quite a lot of freedom, really, to just go sound wise wherever I want to go.

FMM: It was so good hearing that change because obviously, it's got those strong vocals we're familiar with, but also a different side to girli that we haven't seen before. This is great.

Girli: Oh, thank you. No, I'm glad you like that one. It's one of my favourites.

FMM: Do you have any other favourites from the album other than Tokyo?

Girli: I really love Overthinking. That's probably what my favourite is at the moment, just because that song, again, it's sonically very different. It's a bit grimesy sort of vibe, and it’s just a stream of consciousness, like three minutes about mental health and feeling overwhelmed by adulthood. It rings true to me still sometimes. Sometimes I'm like, oh, yeah, that's still true.

FMM: Leading up to the release, what are the main things you hope listeners take out from this project?

Girli: I hope that people will feel listened to and understood. I hope that they'll see themselves in some of these stories and feel like the songs give them some kind of release, whether they need to scream them really loud in their car or they need to cry somewhere, cry with their friends to them, or come to one of the shows and just let loose. I feel like the songs and the album is about my journey of figuring out my identity and coming to terms, well, coming into love about myself and my queerness, and then also healing from heartbreak and finding new love. It’s pretty much a healing journey. I hope that people will find some kind of healing from it.

FMM: In saying that it's a journey, is it best to listen to the album in order, or is it an album that people can put on shuffle? How do we best listen to it?

Girli: I think people can definitely put it on shuffle. I really struggled with the album order because I had so many different sequencing versions and I kept changing them, and I was kind of tearing my hair out a bit about it because I was like how should I do this? Should I do them in the order of what they were written, or should I do them in this sort of the narrative? Ultimately, I decided to sort of do it loosely in the narrative of the heartbreak and the healing. But then also, I was like, oh, but I want this song to be closer to the start of the album because I want people to hear that one because that one's my favourites. I kept being like, but that one's my favourite, that one's my favourite, which is a good thing because it means I really like my album. So that's good, but I think people can listen to the album however they want to.

FMM: Yeah, I can imagine it'll be like choosing your favourite child or choosing your favourite pet, but I guess you're in this age where you can listen to it in so many ways, whether that's physical or digitally. There's many ways you can listen to it and experience it.

Girli: Oh, my God. Yeah, absolutely. You can dip your toes in. I mean, like, it's on vinyl. If people want to just listen to the whole thing that way, it's on cassette cd. You can dabble, you can watch the videos. You can listen to, like, two or three songs on streaming. There's so many ways to consume music now, which is so awesome.

FMM: I know you're still touring, and obviously we've got the album coming out, but what are your plans for the rest of the year? It seems like you've already achieved so much. I'd love to hear where you want to go from here?

Girli: I think my brain is in album mode now. But definitely, I mean, you know, the album's coming out and then I'm doing some record store performances and then I'm doing my European tour Matriarchy Tour. Then, hopefully there's a plan for some more touring at the end of the year. I'll keep the Matriarchy Tour going as long as possible. I'm always writing music, so maybe even some more music before the end of the year.

FMM: It's so good to hear that artists are still doing a lot of record store pop ups because it’s always so cozy and just so good that that's still a thing.

Girli:Yeah, I'm so excited. I've actually never done record store performances, but it's been a dream of mine for a long time. I remember going to loads when I was younger and I'm getting to play some really iconic record stores in the UK, so it's going to be really cute.

FMM: Amazing. That's all my questions. Did you have anything else you want to share about this album or things you want people to know about yourself as a musician?

Girli: No, I think that's good. I think people should definitely know I'm half Aussie and Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. I'll be back. Thank you so much.