IMOGEN has taken aim at society’s reluctance to believe women on her bold new single ‘Sleeptight’. She has also announced an EP launch show at Bermondsey Social Club on Wednesday 27 October, with the ‘Bloodbag’ EP due the next day via 7476 (Matt Maltese, Matilda Mann, Lizzie Reid).
The Newcastle-born artist became temporarily infirm following complex surgery for a condition she was born with. This experience inspired the songwriter and campaigner to undertake an investigation on how much agency women truly have over their own bodies.
‘Bloodbag’, the title-track, and the following single ‘Lioncub’ dealt with inner questions regarding bodily dissociation and identity issues. Up next, ‘Sleeptight’ takes a more outward perspective, interrogating the reasons we don’t believe women, whilst also imagining those victims haunting those who choose to ignore the truth.
Of the song, IMOGEN said: “Sleeptight’ deals with the societal treatment of women’s bodies and the reluctance we have to believe women’s accounts of misconduct. The premise being ‘if you don’t believe me, I hope it haunts you.’
It was a conscious decision to set this anger against a big pop track. I guess I found the easiest way to process and deliver the message was to create something that people could dance and lose themselves to. My favourite pop songs are often like Trojan horses. In ‘Sleeptight’ I want people to be able to find empowerment and release. It’s definitely one of my favourite tracks to perform live.”
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
For a while I’d wanted to create a body of work that explored how much agency women have over their own bodies. It’s something that’s haunted my work for years so it felt powerful and important to me to put together 4 songs written at quite different points in my life, to properly understand how these themes change and shape and manifest throughout lived experience. I brought these songs in to the studio and helped produce them in a way in which they made sense together, each track complimenting and elevating each other. Putting them together like this was a really cathartic experience and it’s ultimately what inspired a whole visual project to accompany the songs.
What is the favourite song you wrote and why?
From this project, probably the title track Bloodbag. I hadn’t been able to process or write about the subject of my recent surgery properly, so I began creating a purely sonic depiction of how I was feeling: staggering drums and monotonous piano stabs and then suddenly all the lyrics just fell out as one. It was the first track I’d written with a band in mind too and ended up inspiring a lot of subsequent music. I’m really proud of it.
Who are your all time musical icons?
Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Nina Simone, David Bowie.
What are some things to do to keep your inspiration alive?
It varies, sometimes I’ll listen to so much music, watch so many films, read a lot and then I’ll spend a while not consuming anything at all. It’s often in these moments that I do my most creating. Maybe cos I’m processing all the stuff I’ve been taking in, I’m not sure. Something I’ve always done is learn a lot of songs on the piano or guitar, it helps to discover new chord progressions, song structures, phrasing techniques. Best artists steal right?
Who are you binge listening to these days?
Joan Baez actually! Just one song – Diamonds and Rust. On repeat for weeks. It just sums up a lot of feelings for me right now and I often get like that with one song or album. I’ll just solely binge it until I’ve processed whatever it is I need to process. Thanks Joan.
Favourite movie or TV show?
At the minute it’s got to be The Sopranos. I’ve got one episode left and I’m putting it off because I want to make a proper night of it. Italian food n everything.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about.
Sleeptight is the latest single off my upcoming EP and it deals with the societal mistreatment of women’s bodies. It came about after the world was watching the Judge Kavanaugh case unravel in the US and it hit a real personal chord. I tried writing these feelings out a few times but never quite found the right setting to do them justice and then my friend Matt laid down a real anthemic beat and the words and melody just poured out. Pop in its simplest form is often the best way to really deliver a message.
Do you have any peculiar pre or post show rituals?
I don’t really have any rituals… but I do go in to a strange, slow meditative state just before I go on stage, like, I’m not sure where I go but it’s not in the room. The gig then usually happens in slow motion for me… haha maybe it’s nerves but I’m not complaining, it’s a really comforting sense of calm, like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
I’m inspired a lot by fashion, art and film. For this specific project my mood boards were full of the visuals of Elizaveta Porodina, Hugo Comte, Jordan Hemingway. You’ll probably notice not so subtle references to Twin Peaks, Suspiria, Wes Anderson, more David Lynch. I get really excited by the idea that there’s so many ways to tell a story. From the lyrics themselves to the way you move to the colour of your shirt; they’re all layers that serve what you’re ultimately trying to say.
What would you change in the music and entertainment industry especially after this past year?
I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Ivors Academy over the whole of the pandemic, and as an association that looks after the wellbeing and rights of music creators, many pervasive issues within the music industry were brought to light. I think overall, I would call for greater support structures. For wellbeing and code of conduct to be written into contracts, for studios, for recording deals, the lot. There needs to be more accountability across the industry.
