(Interview)Girl Group: "There's always something new to write about. Like, you always think, 'Oh, maybe one day it's just going to be all good."

The name Girl Group is straight to the point, and that accurately reflects the members behind that name. Made up of Thea, Lil, Katya, Mia, and Maria, who are proudly bold and loud, and with a tagline of “born out of spite", it represents their music and attitude perfectly. Tracks like “Superdrug” confront the subpar medical treatment women receive, with many not taken seriously being a common reality. 

Their latest single “Food Shopping”, however, takes a nostalgic turn, reflecting on their childhood, and the video is a wholesome watch featuring their loved ones. The girls played BST Hyde Park to an enthusiastic crowd of fans who have been patiently waiting for them to begin their UK/EU tour this October. Before their set I spoke to Thea, Lil, and Katya about '00s girl groups, touring, and the day ahead.

With big festival stages like today, how do you prepare for them? Do you get nervous still, or do you kind of just lock in?

Thea: No, I think we all just get so much adrenaline, to be fair. And especially when it's so sunny and nice weather like today, I just feel so ready to get on stage (laughing). 

Lil: I was going to say there's something about a festival that I just love. Obviously you have all the connotations and the memories that come from festivals. I immediately feel like you are able to soak up some of the atmosphere.

Katya: Which helps with energy, as it’s such a summer vibe today.  

When you perform to new crowds, is there a song that you really hope they connect and resonate with and walk away wanting to know more?

Lil: What tends to happen for me, well, my impression is that we tend to do the beginning of the set, which is a bit like guitar-y and like more poppy, and then we go to “Shut Your Mouth", which is like an electronic dancing one, and that's usually where we tend to pick up people. I think because a lot of the lyrics are very shouty. (Laughs) 

Thea: I think some people just happen to have a more dance-y taste. And then there's also just something about the lyrics in “Shut Your Mouth” that is just so... I forget because we've done it so many times, but it's really funny and stupid. (laughs).

With such a busy tour schedule this year, what are you looking forward to the most, be it a city or a venue to perform?

Lil: I mean, we're playing some places that I don't think we would ever assume that we would be playing. Italy; Brussels, like places like that. Obviously you don't get to see a lot of the places that you go to and talk about. Even just going to a venue, it's just I feel like you get like a tiny little snapshot of the place.

Thea: I'll get some pasta in Italy. That's all I want. (Laughing)

Is it really surreal when it comes to that? When you know you've got fans in all these countries across Europe and not just the UK.

Lil: It's absolutely insane. Especially going in the comment section after we posted about the tour and reading fans write, "Oh, you're not doing a show in Paris," like being genuinely sad that we're not coming to their country and being like, I really want to see you guys. It's absolutely insane. And reading that comment section felt like a bit of a 'made it' moment.

Katya: It really did feel like that, and it's going to be really fun.

So when you were growing up, this is bit of a generic question. What girl groups did you look up to growing up?

Thea: I mean, Destiny's Child was always my favourite one.

Lil: I think one of the first songs I ever remembered hearing was Push the Button by Sugababes. 

Oh, that's a classic song, but the video was iconic for many reasons.

Lil: Literally, what am I thinking about? It's so random with the guys.

In the elevator, Heidi was with the geeky guy. (Laughs)

Lil: Yes, omg. They were just obsessed with making geeky people sexy. (laughs) No, but it was just so cool. They felt very scandalous. Katya hates girl groups. (laughs) But I feel like when we were growing up we only had a few years of girl groups here and there.

But then it's also been kind of a blessing, because I'm getting to discover them like a formed adult. Yeah, that's pretty much questioning the concepts, and I've obviously heard the tunes and stuff when I was little, and then I get to go back and be like, 'Oh, that's what it was all about.' Seeing that, I don't know if you saw that girl group documentary on BBC.

No, I've seen clips, but I can only imagine how brutal it was, especially for those in the '00s.

Lil: Yeah, it was fully like that, as, like I said, obviously we just sort of missed that massive heyday of it and seeing, for starters, and what they really went through.

Thea: But also just how cool and individual each of their projects were, like, and how much we, without even fully realising it, take things from them groups like Mystique, who had a bit of a badass energy. Those sorts of things we kind of look up to.

So my next question, kind of related to what we were just touching on. What does it feel like to be in a modern-day girl group? Obviously back in the 90s and noughties, it was very stereotypical to be put in a box. You were this one, you were this one, whereas now, you don't really tend to get that. Do you feel like you're more free to be who you want to be?

Lil: Yeah, definitely. Even though I think, as I sort of mentioned, there's something, even though it's obviously there, it's problematic in its own way. There is something that, as girls, we like about being like, 'Oh, I'm more like this one,' and I love how they're like the Spice Girls. And that's something that we really reference. But obviously, we're in a much better time for women in music now. It's obviously not perfect. But again, like hearing women being told what to eat or just dropped after if they need to get another number one and stuff like that. Obviously, it depends what sector of the industry you're in.

Which is an ironic question coming to you next. Do you ever get tired of talking about feminism and gender equality? Being in a girl group does it feel like you have to talk about it?

Thea: And she loves talking about it, but I always feel like you feel like you have to.

The thing is with male musicians we don’t have to bring it up, and so when talking to women it feels obvious, but it shouldn't, you know? 

Lil: I mean, I think because it's literally what we based our whole project on, I feel like we kind of were a bit like, 'Yeah, I do get the thing of, like, with most women artists, it's a shame that that's, like, constant.'

Thea: There's always something new to write about. Like, you always think, 'Oh, maybe one day it's just going to be all good.'

Katya: I don't feel like we'll run out of things to write about. There'll be a situation at the club or one sentence, a specific thing that someone said, and it's just like, 'Okay, that's a song. Do you know what I mean?'

Which leads to your Instagram bio. I really like how it says 'born out of spite'. Does that sum up who you are and the music you put out?

Thea: For sure, it's like what we're about, and then anything could just trigger that into creating something. We'll use that to fuel our music, and it was obviously born out of spite, which is quite a strong statement.

Katya: So much of our music is based around that.

Lil: From that, I do think about our initial story and how we first started out with reacting to the world around us. But every song that we write is about topics that we do feel spiteful about. Whether it's clearly an angry song, a rage song, or if it's just a bit more fun.

Katya: Like "Yay! It's Saturday."

Thea: Yeah, we like to take a fun spin on it, but it is always at the core of it, which is a lot of frustrations.

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