While some bands out there proclaim and advocate freedom of speech and expression, every so often you come across a band that are more than that.
A band that would literally bleed for their cause and their stance, and one which hides behind nothing – not even their music – when it comes to having their voice heard.
“It’s about being comfortable with what you’re getting across.”
Andrew Glitoris
One such band is Canberra outfit Glitoris who have made their name – and rightfully so – on the back of experimentation and confrontation, blending “genre-defying art rock musicianship with razor-sharp lyrics, sardonic wit, on-point politics, and theatrical badassery“.
Put simply, Glitoris not only walk the walk, they talk the talk as well with their many beliefs personified and given substance through verse.
With their new single Lickety Split out now and a recent tour with Regurgitator in the can, guitarist Andrew Glitoris joined HEAVY to discuss life and music in general.
“Glitoris is a four-piece, protest, kind of feminine punk, rock, pop, metal, art band,” she explained, for those who might be unfamiliar with the band.
We ask Andrew how the reception has been for Lickety Split, a song described as “a celebration of sex workers and sex positivity that defies norms with a soundscape more akin to a theatrical number”.
“Great,” she enthused. “We’ve been really happy with it, particularly radio. Community radio have loved it, but, I mean, we chose to lead the album with a single that was directly aimed to the community that we’re from rather than the mainstream music audience, if that makes sense? The band has emerged from… I guess what’s safe to say is a kind of fringe and queer community. We have always had a very strong LGBT following and the song is about celebrating sex positivity, queer sex positivity. It’s about celebrating sex workers and all the work that they do. We feature a lot of our friends and our community in the video, which I think has been quite racy for some. It’s funny, because you don’t really realise how conservative a lot of music or a lot of popular culture is until you do something like this, and you release it. Obviously, our community love it. They’ve gone off and think it’s great, but we’ve had some eyebrows raised in other areas, and it’s like wow, we really are in a very conservative time if people get a bit hot under the collar at th sight of a pole dancer. It’s like, bloody Hell. There’s no nudity in the video. We’re just commentating on our community and celebrating it.”
In the full interview, Andrew talks more about Lickety Split, the fact it is the band’s first single in three years, what they have been up to in that time, their upcoming self-titled album which will be out on July 14, what to expect from it, the band’s sound and how they make it work, if there’s such as thing as going too far with genres, the tour with Regurgitator, their own upcoming tour and more.
