Adorned in an abundance of hot pink, GIRLI has established herself as a bonafide powerhouse who originally hails from the UK alt-music scene, and who has been making waves across the globe following her first EP in 2017. Since then, she’s been pumping out more top-notch albums that each explore feminism, mental health, and the trials and tribulations of dating in the modern age and are accompanied by a bold, energetic and bubble-gum pop-punk sound that’s great to pump out whenever we want a little extra pep in our step. We sat down with GIRLI to chat all about her newest album, Matriarchy, and her upcoming tour down under.

Hiya Amelia! Apart from hot pink of course, what other colours are you most drawn to? I’m a maximalist when it comes to style, makeup and decor – the more colours the better. I love green, orange, red and purple because I just think they all look fire together. 

A lot of your tunes revolve around feminism, unrequited love and mental health. How do you find inspiration for your songs? Through my own experiences and viewing the world as a young queer woman; navigating my mental health diagnoses, the state of the world and then all the love and heartbreak that comes with it all!

I truly have no filter when it comes to talking about my emotions, so my songs are just pure word vomit from my brain that I put into the lyrics. So much of the music I grew up listening to was written by incredible lyricists: Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen to name a few. Lyrics are my favourite thing about songwriting. 

Your sound is also usually upbeat and catchy, while your lyrics often explore dark and deeper topics. How do you manage to merge these two dichotomies? I think because I want to make music that people can dance to and lose their shit to, whether that’s in their bedrooms at home or in the crowd at my shows. I love writing slow sad songs too, but those are for when you need to cry in the back of a taxi and want to sit in your melancholy for a little bit. The rest of my songs are for when you need to scream the song at the top of your lungs to get something off your chest. Music therapy!

What is your favourite song to perform live and why? I love performing my song “Friday Night Big Screen”. It’s a song off my first album, Odd One Out, and so many people who come to my shows always tell me that they have a deep connection to that song. A lot of people have memories of love and heartbreak attached to that song, and I always, without fail, see people crying in the crowd when I play that. In the last chorus, I get the crowd to get their phone lights or lighters up in the air and it’s always such a beautiful sight. 

How often do you listen to your earlier stuff, and do they still feel the same as they did when you first wrote them? Weirdly, as soon as I’ve released a song, I don’t listen to it anymore apart from when I play it live or if I make videos using the sound on TikTok or Instagram. Before a song has come out, I listen to the demo repeatedly and then the day it comes out, something switches for me. It takes a rite of passage with me and then belongs to the listeners. I still adore every song I’ve made, but because they’re such personal songs I attach them to times and experiences in my life and the versions of myself I was when I made them, which I’m not anymore. So, there is a natural detachment from older songs. It’s like looking back at yourself five years ago and thinking, “I was a totally different person,” that’s how I feel listening to older songs. 

Your latest single, “Be With Me”, is an ode to self-love. Why is this message important to you? Because it took me so long to actually feel it! It’s so easy to preach self-love and it’s talked about everywhere, but I didn’t realise the depth of love I had for myself until I got out of a relationship, where I realised that I wanted to be alone and not be validated by anyone else. I didn’t need that validation, I had it from myself. It was so freeing to come to that state of mind.  

What can you tell us about your upcoming album, Matriarchy? It’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions and stories, a space where I share so much about myself with zero filter and let the listener into my world; my matriarchy. The concept of a “matriarchy” to me actually isn’t the word’s technical definition (a system of society or government ruled by a woman or women.) To me, it means a world or bubble where everyone who doesn’t thrive under the current patriarchy has their chance to thrive and feel free and accepted – a safe space. So that’s women, LGBTQ+ people, minorities of all kinds and anyone who feels “different”, othered and outcasted. I want the experience of listening to the album and coming to the tour to be a safe space for those people. 

As a half-Aussie, what is your favourite thing about performing down under? For my Aussie family to see me play. My Aussie grandparents have never seen me perform, and hopefully, they’ll be able to soon. That would be so special to me. Plus, I just love Aussies! 

Anything else on the horizon we should look out for? Hopefully touring in Australia, and playing at more Aussie festivals! Watch this space.