Reclaim These Streets

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by Kimmi Watson , one of the 64 voices

“Every woman’s got a story” 

When I was first contacted, in mid March, by Loud Women’s Cassie Fox, to see if I’d like to participate in a project for a song called Reclaim These Streets, I was more than delighted to have been asked. I was carrying a lot of anger and frustration raised by the killing of Sarah Everard on Clapham Common. I was not only pissed off that I didn’t go to Clapham because the official vigil had been called off, but even more pissed off by the reaction of the Met Police and mainstream media to her vigil, not to mention a resurfacing anger around violence against women that had not been so widely reported previously. I was in a rut music wise, my new songs as digital releases were mostly ignored, band rehearsals and gigs were off limits due to the pandemic and I was also suffering from lock-down/working from home inertia and felt like a caged animal. I badly needed an outlet! 

“Calling to her sisters” 

I welcomed the challenge of creating my own track and video clips for this moving and important song. I listened to the demo track, had a cry (hormones) and then set about the task almost immediately. Two vocal takes and a lot of messing around with signs and time-lapse videos later and I’d submitted my humble DIY efforts.  Pleased to have gotten a virtual “extra gold star” from Cassie for apparently being the first to contribute, I then watched eagerly as the project grew and grew and the involvement expanded to include some band members who’d played at She17 Shefest all day festivals (Iam Her, Naz & Ella, Deux Furieuses, I, Doris, Sulk93, Ich Bin Finn) and an Indianapolis based former Lady President member’s new bandmate (small world).  Then the project grew beyond my imagining to include some of my musical inspirations (Big Joanie’s Estella Adeyeri, My Bloody Valentine’s Deb Googe, Ros Cairney, Jayney Starling and Brix Smith). 

“You are not alone” 

Cassie also organised a session on Zoom for a group of us to sing along to the song. This really was a moving connection to the project and a much needed reconnection with our peers, just before the roll out of pre-release video footage with key singers and musicians who’d been involved in the studio recording sessions, in the days leading up to the release. Then Patsy Stevenson, the face in the media from the Clapham Vigil joined the project and then next…wait…what? Is that really Shakespeare’s Sister’s Siobhan Fahey, who when in Bananarama, was one of just four women to be in Band Aid?  

“She was just walking home”

May 14, release day came and POW! There it was, the video, the single, the reviews, the push and collaboration to drive the climbing chart position. What a fine piece of work: Deb Googe’s undulating bass run downs, Charlie Stone and Jen Macro’s guitar licks, harmonics and riffs and Stevie B’s driving drum beat beautifully carrying 64 diverse and divine voices on a musical march to Reclaim These Streets and raise awareness and funds for Women’s Aid. I was reminded again of the powerful, evocative lyrics and in particular the words I’d chosen for my video placards, such as “She was just walking home.” and “You Are Not Alone.”

“Till every woman’s safe to walk on every street”

If we need a reminder as to why this single was released in support of Women’s Aid, who better to articulate it than the song’s writer, Cassie Fox: 

“I wrote this song out of rage and frustration. Two women a week are killed by men. Refuge services are having to turn away one in two survivors of violence. And yet refuge funding has been cut by one quarter since 2010. This is a song of feminist solidarity and hope – all women and gender non-conforming people have a right to walk safely on every street, and be safe in their own home.”

Click to buy or download the single and donate to Women’s Aid.

The Reclaim These Streets roll call is: Abby Werth, Amber of Hadda Be, Angela Martin of Bugeye, Bec Jevons of IDestroy, Brix Smith, Caroline Gilchrist of Hot Sauce Pony, Cassie Fox, Charley Stone, Deb Googe, Debbie Smith, Dungareen Jean, Elis Sarv from Noise Noir, Ella Patenall of Naz & Ella, Emily Eagle of The Pukes, Emma Sky of Slut Magic, Erika Severyns, Estella Adeyeri of Big Joanie, Gail Something-Else of Muddy Summers & the Dirty Field Whores, Gemma Cullingford of Sink Ya Teeth, Georgie Willsher of Beverley Kills, Gilan, Harriet Doveton, Helen McCookerybook, Holly Carter of Berries, Jade Ellins, Janey Starling, Jen Macro, Jo Bevan, Joyce Raskin, Julie Riley of I Am HER, Karen of Hagar the Womb, Kat Five of Feral Five, Kel of The Empty Page, Kelly Chard, Kimmi Watson (see below), Kristina Stazaker, Lee Friese-Greene, Lilith Ai, Liz Hayward of Ode to Sleep, Lorna Tiefholz of Rabies Babies, Marijne van der Vlugt, Michelle Marti of Girls Rock Indiana, Minni Moody, MIRI, Molly Energi, Nadia Javed, Ngaire Ruth, Nicki Mirage of Brazen Hussy/KNM, Patsy Stevenson, Paul Maps – Joyzine, Penfriend, Priya, Ren Aldridge of Petrol Girls, Ros Cairney of Deux Furieuses, Roshi Nasehi, Rowanna Chown, Sam McCann of Gender Chores, Shona MacMillan, Siân Alex of Gold Baby, Siobhan Fahey, Stevie B of T-Bitch, Suteki Hegg, The Pukes, Umbilica.

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Photo by: Kiera Anee.

Kimmi Watson is She17 founder, singer songwriter as Sulk93 + erstwhile bassist for Lady President. She also plays bass for Ich Bin Finn. 

Listen to Kimmi Watson’s  Reclaim These Streets Spotify Playlist

New Music from She17 Artists

She17 house band Sulk93 have released a new 7 track EP, most of which including title track Pants on Fire, have been performed at She17 events in the past few years. Written by Kimmi Watson and recorded in lockdown at home, these songs have been released digitally via Distrokid and can be heard on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google, TikTok and other platforms. LISTEN HERE

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Here’s a bit more about each song on the EP.

PANTS on FIRE is a collection of seven songs written by Kim Watson, five of which have been performed live over the past two or three years by the band and two of which were written and recorded by Watson since Sulk’s last full band gig in 2019. 

Track 1, PANTS on FIRE was written in 2018 and is dedicated to all the bull shitters of the world and was inspired by a proliferation of people making promises and then not keeping them, be it politicians, authority figures or fair-weather friends! 

Track 2, Mrs Dalloway is inspired by the screenplay of the film The Hours. Originally written in 2017, it is an imagining of the final thoughts of the late Virginia Woolf!

Track 3, Anymore 2020, is a stark realisation that the environmental, social and emotional world has changed around you and there is no going back to how it used to be! Originally written in 2017 it is quite pertinent to this past year. 

Track 4, Contract Cleaner, was written in July 2019 originally for a Sulk 93 studio jam. It is about the joys of working freelance, whether as a cleaner, writer or a fictional TV assassin. It has been described as the love child of Keith Richards and Villanelle! 

Track 5, The Eyes in The Wall, was originally written in 2017 and is inspired by the short story the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The song is a band favourite to play loud, live or in the rehearsal studio. 

Track 6, 24 hours to escape this place, is the only song on the EP yet to be performed live by Kim or the band. It was written during lockdown in August 2020 and is about realising the urgency to move on, and fast! 

Track 7, Don’t Ask!!!, was written in 2018 and debuted live shortly after at She17’s Shefest #4 event, as part of Sulk’s set. It is a fun, childish, fickle, shallow, pop bitch about not taking too kindly to someone! 

The PANTS on FIRE EP was written, performed recorded and mixed at home in Walthamstow by Kim Watson, between May and November 2020. With love and thanks to Ruby Hillcoat for the drum track on Contract Cleaner, plus Angie Hillcoat and Pam Donaldson for their live interpretations when performing these songs, which have also helped shape some of these arrangements. I’m Looking forward to being able to play these songs together again soon!  

She17 Founder Kimmi Watson has also been busy writing and recording new songs for a solo LP called Nature Interupted by Civilisation.

Recorded and mixed between March and November 2020 at home in Walthamstow this introspective, raw, honest, sometimes optimistic, exploratory lockdown project charts the challenges and benefits of the “new normal”.

“As we appear to have come full circle to the uncaring times of Thatcher’s Britain, in terms of social, economic and political tensions, a hint of 80s indie pop has been applied to some of these songs (at least that was the idea).” Says Watson.

Nature Interupted by Civilisation was released last week on Soundcloud FREE and can be enjoyed here.

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She17 Minutes Podcast Now Live

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In the current situation as we are unable to safely run and promote live events, we’ve created a nostalgic podcast, all about She17, with most episodes about 17 minutes long, reflecting on our community events and show casing some of the musicians we’ve had the pleasure of hosting. An oral and aural history project, if you like!

These episodes can be found on Podbean, Google and Apple podcasts. All are collated and narrated by Kim Watson, She17 Founder and co-creator.  See of the first four episodes details below. Click on the title to play each episode.

She17 Minutes – Episode 1: in the Beginning

A 17 minute podcast episode all about the humble beginnings of our Walthamstow based live acoustic women’s music project. Featuring a mix of live performances giving a flavour of some of the early events and some behind the scenes rehearsal footage showcasing collaboration, creativity and even a bit of comedy.

She17 Minutes – Episode 2: Practice, practice, practice! 

She17 rehearsals and arrangements from 2013 – A look behind the scenes at the practice and arrangement aspects of performing live covers. Featuring performances by Rachel Darnley-Smith, Tracy Dover, Angie Hillcoat, Lizzy Renihan, Clare Shaw, Sonic Flute, Maz Tunstall, Kim Watson and Jo Winning. 

She17 Minutes – Episode 3: 1st Birthday Nostalgia featuring Emily Barker 

A 17 minute podcast about the humble beginnings of our Walthamstow based live acoustic women’s music project. Celebrating She17’s first birthday party in style with a look back to 6 June 2014 and a 17 strong bill, headlined by Emily Barker. With music from Emily Barker, This Is Cleo and Sulk.  Collated and narrated by Kim Watson, She17 Founder and co-creator with special guest: Emily Barker 
http://www.emilybarker.com/

She17 Minutes – Episode 4 – Lady President in Conversation 

This extended episode focuses on the E17 all woman band Lady President, who played regularly at She17 events and other venues in London between 2014 and 2016. Rebecca Jade, Anna Shorten and Kimmi Watson share some favourite memories from their time together rehearsing, recording and performing. The Lady President songs featured in this episode can be heard at https://ladypresident.bandcamp.com