FEATURE:
Spotlight
PHOTO CREDIT: Frances Carter
who are not available on Twitter/X but, in the case of ratbag, I am going to make another exception! Even if that moniker is shared by other artists – making it even more confusing and hard to navigate when it comes to finding them! -, luckily the music makes up for that. Even if I am not a fan of the name, I do really love and appreciate the music. Definitely an artist who is going to go far. To be fair, that artist name does have significance for Aucklander Sophie Brown. The New Zealand artist can identify with that term, as it is given to someone who is a bit of a troublemaker. Whether spelled with a capital R or not – I have seen it both ways which, again, adds a bit to the frustration -, you are won over and compelled by he aesthetic, music and ambitions. I am going to work my way up to a new NME interview – ratbag’s most immersive and detailed interview so far. I will also drop in music videos where we get to see and hear the amazing artist in her element. First, earlier this year, DIY introduced us to an incredible talent:
“Hello and welcome to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… which aims to get you a little bit closer to the buzziest acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.
Today, we’re delving into the immersive world of ratbag, whose first two singles ‘rats in my walls’ and ‘exit girl’ have established her as a singular artist that merges shoegaze and art-pop-influenced sonics with Gorilllaz-esque, grotesque cartoon visuals. We caught up with ratbag to discover more about her music and monstrous bandmates….
Describe your music to us in the form of a Tinder bio.
What is tinder?
What's the story behind your first instrument?
I got my first guitar for Christmas when I was 7 years old, called it ‘thorn’ and felt super badass. I also put a mushroom sticker on one of the tuning pegs and named it - I can’t remember the name, but it was probably super badass too.
Your work encompasses much more than music, spanning sculpture, videography, claymation and drawings too. How do different mediums help construct the visual world you're creating?
My world has always been lingering around, sitting on a couch at the back of my head. I want you to join me in my world, to be able to see it, feel it, hear it, and that requires me to be unfettered by mediums. Using a mixture of mediums allows me to express the chaotic nature as accurately as possible.
Your debut single 'rats in my walls' was accompanied by a Where The Wild Things Are-esque visualiser. Where else do you draw inspiration from?
I tend to find comfort in horror. Jack Stauber, Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, Adventure Time, and any A24 horror film always give me a dose of inspiration and I re-watch them often. I also have a dream journal that I use to keep track of my nightmares, which I often revisit.
The video for your latest track 'exit girl' features your bandmates. Can you introduce us, and talk us through the concept behind them?
There are 4 band members, deemo (bassist), fritz (keyboardist), slug (guitarist) and eugene (drummer). I pulled them out of my world and brought them here, because I needed a band.
deemo is reserved and enjoys his alone time. fritz is frantic, he’s always trying to get somewhere. slug is just disgusting. and eugene seems scary and is scary. They’re all scary actually, and hungry all the time. I’m trying my best to wean them off human meat but it’s proving to be a very difficult situation, so i’m keeping them locked inside my house in the meantime. I would rather not be responsible for any murders at this point in my life.
Tell us the best advice you've ever been given as a musician...
To listen”.
There are not many recent interviews online with ratbag. That is going to change as her music gets shared and known more widely. I think that she is someone who is going to be in huge demand next year. The Line of Best Fit spent some time in September focusing on her amazing song, exit girl:
“Surrealism bleeds out of otherworldly places, and it is one of the most compelling concepts for fans of mind-boggling stories of fiction to seek out and admire. Whether it be something of music, sculpture, animation, or story, it’s rare for an artist to fully immerse themselves in each of these encompassing realms at once, but then again, ratbag is not one for the ordinary. Following the release of her latest single and music video for "exit girl", that idea is especially apparent.
Simmering in the worlds of punk and shoegaze, ratbag’s latest release comes only recently after her introduction as a musician. Her debut single "rats in my walls" came out in July, and already the artist is displaying a confidence that is especially apparent through the world of horror shown in the music video that accompanies her new release.
The music video for "exit girl" is the world’s first taste of ratbag’s unique visual style and is also the first look into the lore behind the artist. For starters, the music video introduces ratbag’s team of fictional bandmates, each representing a different aspect of her personality. The band are made up of animated monsters going by the names Deemo, Eugene, Slug and Fritz, reminiscent of other ambitious groups like Gorillaz or even Dethklok.
Matching the horror-inspired elements of this music video is, of course, the song. Carefully calculated in its many independent rhythms, beats pulse in time throughout "exit girl". The song is something of a scrappy little robot that blisters with life as it thrashes between the verses and choruses. Buzzing with personality and a lively fortitude, the track will lure in lovers of alternative and punk sounds especially. Beyond sound, it’s an addictive narrative, too. ratbag explains, “This claustrophobic circus of clowns is getting old. Sometimes, we just want out.” Featuring scratchy electric guitar and catchy piano chords, it’s a song that’s easy to love in its complexity.
Taking inspiration from bands like Pixies to Broken Social Scene, to other modern acts like Billie Eilish, ratbag’s identity as an artist is very much in flux. Looking beyond her latest two releases, ratbag promises there’s much more to come from here. The lore of ratbag will slowly be unravelled with each new release, but for now, the only other thing we really know about her is that she isn’t from here, but she thinks you might like her chaos.
Outside of music, ratbag boasts a large following on TikTok where she shares her voracious love of all things of the creative world: sculptures, photography, and fashion abound. Now, she’s slowly introducing the world to her music as well. With over six million likes on the platform for her previous single, the shift is clearly already paying off for the visionary”.
@worldofratbag Replying to @☆ ratbag ☆ ♬ Elevator Music - Lesfm
I am going to finish with NME’s interview. The most in-depth and visually arresting one of ratbag’s career to date, we get to learn more about an artist who is becoming well known beyond her native New Zealand. This is someone who is going to grow from strength to strength next year:
“If you’re a troublemaker and you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you may have been called a “ratbag”. Aucklander Sophie Brown, who now releases music as ‘Ratbag’, certainly had no shortage of the endearing insult. “In New Zealand, it’s a mischievous kid who doesn’t follow the rules, who doesn’t behave,” she explains. “I used to draw on walls, I was that kid unfortunately. I know how to get on people’s nerves.”
Brown has graduated from drawing on walls to drawing on paper, where she’s spent the last two years creating a multimedia fictional band that’s like Gorillaz-meets-Neil Gaiman. There’s Deemo, the towering, lanky red devil who sports a bucket hat, Fritz, a puke-green crocodile-clown hybrid, Slug, who wears a bird mask with a spiky mohawk, and Eugene, a portly beast with a purple octopus for a head. As Ratbag, Brown acts as the frontwoman, singing songs about her everyday life and feelings with the help (and occasional hindrance) of her band.
How did you come up with the idea for the world of Ratbag?
“Two years ago, I would live in bed at night and get bored thinking about my own life when I fell asleep. So I decided to create a world, and I’ve been adding to it almost every night. I’d lie there thinking about new characters, places. I’m writing in my journal or my phone and then going to sleep. The visual side has always been there. All my artwork as a kid was character designs and world building. Everything fell into place when I started making music and it became one world. ”
@worldofratbag cooper said u should stream my song.
♬ dead end kids - ratbag
How does the band fit into your life beyond music?
“If I were to take myself and split myself into a pie graph, each slice would be one band member. If you gave me an emotion, I’d be able to go – that’s that band member. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I’ll ask myself, ‘Who’s present now?’
“If I’m tired, Deemo’s gonna be there. If I’m feeling on edge, it’s Fritz. Sometimes they’re all there, sometimes one or two. If I wanna distract myself from something going on around me, I’ll ask myself, ‘What are they doing? Is Deemo lying down, playing bass?’ It’s helpful because it’s recognising how I’m feeling and letting my imagination have a moment. That’s what I love to do.”
So what does each band member represent?
“Deemo [the bassist] represents the wanting-to-be-alone, sad part of me. Fritz is the keyboardist, he represents when I’m feeling frantic. He also represents happiness – he’s present when I’m not sober, let’s just say that. Eugene is the drummer. He represents my anger and frustration, with myself or what’s going on around me. And Slug [the guitarist] represents disgust. When I feel gross, like I haven’t showered, or mental disgust, he’ll be there.”
What’s your ultimate dream with Ratbag in the future?
“My dream is to have a real life Ratbag village that you can walk through. The food is from the world of Ratbag, all the people like behind stalls are in full monster costumes. You can meet the band, you can meet the you can meet me, there’s like a big concert at the end of the day where I play all the songs. Everything is just Ratbag, you’re essentially stepping into my world – you’re not on planet Earth anymore. That would be insane to me”.
If you have not followed ratbag and you are new to her music, then do make sure that you get involved and rectify that. There will be a lot more releases from this sensational artist next year. If her ratbag moniker suggests an insult or something belittling, the music showcases this very strong, original and confident artist who is primed…
FOR big things.
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