Artio- Interview (EP Launch) International Woman's Day #3

Interview by Josephine Sillars

Following the release of their new EP 'Backbone.' The Scottish artist Josephine Sillars caught up with the band to talk writing, equality and about the future of their music.

Q:Hello Artio! For someone unfamiliar with your music, how would you describe yourselves?

A:We would describe our music as pop created by kids who grew up on Green Day and Pierce the Veil. We have been branded as 'alt-pop', taking great influence from PVRIS and modern Bring Me The Horizon. We write from very political standpoints, eg, the climate crisis, gender inequality, and mental illness.

Q:You guys are currently on tour around the UK and have a headline in your hometown of Leeds this Friday. How excited are you for this show, and how has the tour been treating you so far?

A:We are incredibly excited for Friday! It's our biggest headline yet and to play the full EP in our hometown is just too delicious. Tour is going brilliant, we took a trip up to Glasgow and played with our pals in Twist Helix and Victorias Flight, possibly the best people to see after a 6-hour car journey! Our date in Newcastle was sold out, we couldn't have asked for a better introduction to Newcastle. We play Hull tonight, followed by Leeds and then Newcastle again, the sequel. Our tasty little EP has been received so well on this tour and we are so grateful for everyone who's come down to see us so far.

Q:You have just released a new EP: Backbone. It’s quite a personal EP, dealing with mental health and toxic relationships, but also touches on the current climate crisis. How important is balancing the personal and the political to you in your music?

A:We believe that writing from both sides is incredibly integral to us as a band. Our songs that are written from a personal standpoint touch on self-harm and toxic relationships, issues that are very personal to someone, to show people they're not alone in these feelings and they're not to feel they have to be ashamed or hide. Then from a political view, we want to unite in love and rage, commenting on the system we have grown up into, and how we will use what platform we have to advocate for change.

Q:With International Women’s Day having just past, and with festivals world wide coming under scrutiny for gender equal line ups, how do you feel women are represented within the music industry today?

A:We feel that the gender balance in the music industry has come so far, yet it is still not good enough. The way female songwriters are perceived in contrast to men is enraging at times. When Lewis Capaldi (an artist we very much respect btw) writes about heartbreak and a public ex it is praised, on the other hand, an artist like Taylor Swift is scrutinized for writing about the same things, wanting to look sexy for yourself and not to feed the public eye, wanting to cover up or let it all hang out, her body is her business. We rarely critique men for what they wear in gossip magazines. Female identifying artists are also held to ridiculous standards, they shouldn't be political or aggressive, 'we just want them mellow and nice to look at. We don't want to hear what they have to say.' and we as a band wanted to rewire this perception, alongside inspirational women such as Billie Eilish, Becca McIntyre (Marmozets) and Lynn Gunn (PVRIS). We can be angry, centuries of oppression give us every right to be, but we can use this anger to wield such power in the words, the performance. Who gives a shit what she's wearing, listen to what she has to say. Q:And finally, anything to plug? What’s next for Artio?

A:Our EP 'Backbone' is out not everywhere, currently on sale exclusively in HMV Leeds as well as on our merch store (artio.bigcartel.com), wink. We have lots more releases planned for this year, as well as shows and festivals all over the country. If you wanna join the revolution, you know where to find us.