UK label Music For Nations is releasing a compilation of classic politically-charged music made by female artists.
Spanning 14 tracks, Women in Revolt! (Underground Rebellion In British Music – 1977-1985) takes in tracks by the likes of The Slits, X-Ray Spex, The Raincoats, Vivienne Goldman and Cosey Fanni Tutti, who appears alongside Chris Carter. The release was put together in coordination with Tate Britain’s upcoming Women In Revolt! exhibition, and was compiled by the exhibition’s creator, Linsey Young, together with Music For Nations’ Julie Weir.
Speaking about the compilation, Young said: "I think music is often a gateway drug and it absolutely was for me. I grew up in rural Scotland and accessing music as a teenager – by way of a 1.5-hour bus trip to a monthly record fair in Inverness! – was one of the first ways that I started to find a like-minded community, make friends and start to explore books, films, art and left-wing politics.
"I was also interested in feminist thought so naturally sought out women musicians: bands like The Slits were fairly easy to find but I later worked in a record shop and studied in Glasgow where clubs like Optimo opened the doors to all sorts of experimental work by a wide range of people. The energy and vibrancy of the alternative music that inspired me will be present throughout the whole of the Women In Revolt! exhibition."
A number of the artists who appear across the compilation, which will be made available digitally and on neon yellow vinyl, are featured in the Tate Britain exhibition, including the likes of Cosey Fanni Tutti, X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene and The Raincoats’ Gina Birch.
Music For Nations will release Women in Revolt! (Underground Rebellion In British Music – 1977-1985) on November 3, 2023.
