Gina Birch from The Raincoats shared a new solo single called “I Play My Bass Loud” — listen below.
The song will be included in the self-titled debut studio album of the post-punk star, which is due to be released on February 24 on Jack White’s Third Man Records label (pre-order/pre-save here).
In a statement, Burch described the track “I Play My Bass Loud” as “glorifying the bass guitar as a voice, simple or layered, pounding or dancing, or all at once.”
“A celebration of the scream, the scream from the window and the fact that I’m here, female creativity on the bass guitar,” she continued. “I play my bass, my bass, my bass, my bass, I play my bass loud.”
Burch added: “It’s all about women playing their music and wanting to be heard, wanting recognition or space for that.
“The bass is sometimes called a minor instrument, and yet thanks to reggae and the work of many female performers, it has always been a creative and phenomenal instrument.”
The official video of the musician, performer and director Vice Cooler is attached to the track. The video, shot in Los Angeles, California, features four bass players and Birch herself.
“Vice asked his longtime friend, writer, dancer and choreographer from Oakland, Brontez Pernell, to be the main character of the video,” Birch explained.
“The video features five bass guitarists: Emily Elhai (Angel Olsen), Hazel Rigby (TBHQ), Mickey Itsigson (Small Wigs), Staz Lindes (The Paranoyds) and me.”
She continued, “We shot the video in Los Angeles, so the bassists in the video are mostly not the ones involved in the track, with the exception of Emily Elhai, who plays bass with Angel Olson and Gina B.” Tune in higher.
Regarding the upcoming LP “I Play My Bass Loud” in general, Burch said: “The album combines years of my musical, political and creative life with these genre-breaking songs. It’s a personal diary with sounds and lyrics, full of fun, anger and storytelling.”
The album will feature previously released singles “Wish I Was You” and “Feminist Song”, the latter of which became Birch’s first solo song.
See the official cover and full track listing below.
01. ‘I Play My Bass Loud’
02. ‘And Then It Happened’
03. ‘Wish I Was You’
04. ‘Big Mouth’
05. ‘Pussy Riot’
06. ‘I Am Rage’
07. ‘I Will Never Wear Stilettos’
08. ‘Dance Like A Demon’
09. ‘Digging Down’
10. ‘Feminist Song’
11. ‘Let’s Go Crazy’
Birch is scheduled to embark on a UK headline tour this spring – check out the full itinerary below and find any remaining tickets here.
MARCH
21 – The Hope and Ruin, Brighton
22 – Oslo, London
24 – The Hug and Pint, Glasgow
25 – Whelan’s, Dublin
27 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Birch is the bassist and co-vocalist of The Raincoats, which formed in London in 1977. The band released four studio albums between 1979 and 1996, and they played their last concert in 2019 (according to Setlist.FM ).
Among the famous fans of the post-punk band was the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. “When I listen to The Raincoats, I feel like a stowaway in the attic, breaking the rules and being in the dark,” he wrote in the liner notes of the 1993 reissue of The Raincoats’ first album.
“Instead of listening to them, I feel like I’m listening to them. We are together in the same old house, and I have to be completely motionless, otherwise they will hear me spying from above, and if I am caught, everything will be destroyed, because this is their business.”
