It feels like far more than text on a t-shirt. Partly because there’s something about the phrase that has middle-finger energy.
To be fair, in a time of MAGA and "Stop the Boats", everything with a slogan hits different.
For me, it's a reclamation of the t-shirt as a battleground. It's an FU to the 'name three songs' misogynists, as well as to the men who still think a woman's place in the club isn't behind the decks...
Kelly Lee Owens' Girls Love Techno slogan tee keeps selling out and to those paying attention to her rise, it comes as no surprise.
The t-shirt is just three words and none of them are the name of the artist. The magic of it is the oscillating energy that emanates from the tee: from dancefloor liberation to anti-gatekeeper cackle.
What I love about it is that it works on three levels at once. It’s a joke, a provocation, and a refusal to carry on with business as usual. It’s perhaps a reminder that dance music has always been about access for everyone and you end up wearing wry smile about who now gets to take up space.
The fact it's made by one of the most inspiring and revered artists on the scene - who I've been obsessed with since first hearing the translucent throb of CBM on SoundCloud a decade ago - didn't surprise me at all.
For the past decade, KLO has been at the forefront of a shift in electronic music. From embracing drone, ambient and sound therapy, to her radio-friendly (at least in the 6 Music, Double J and KEXP world), club bangers. And if you have any doubt about the latter, her euphoric set with Charli XCX in Ibiza is worth tracking down.
If you hadn't seen the love for her music - everywhere from Pitchfork and The Face to winning the Welsh Music Prize and plaudits from Depeche Mode (who took her out as the support on her stadium tour) - then welcome to the party.
On this week's podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the artist behind the music that has pulled me through much of the past decade. Music that feels soothes, but also pulses me into action.
If you’ve ever red this newsletter about the crisis' in music or found yourself wondering why gigs feel more precarious, more expensive, or harder to sustain - this conversation helps explain why.
Hearing Kelly talk about her journey from cancer ward nurse to record shop clerk (she told me she even served Björk) to stadiums, it was clear that none of her success is taken for granted. We talked about our working-class backgrounds and how, if she had £500 million, she would save grassroots music - some of which she's already doing by playing life-affirming shows in 200-capacity community centres in North Wales.
If you’ve never listened to the Drowned in Sound podcast before, this episode has it all, from the importance of music communities to practical solutions for addressing the crisis in grassroots music.
You can listen on Apple Podcasts or watch on YouTube or search for "Drowned in Sound" to subscribe for free wherever you get your podcasts.
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If you only have 12 minutes to dip into it, here's a clip with Kelly and I discussing Depeche and those community shows
"...playing in Bethesda to 200 people, I will never forget that show as long as I live. They took no moment for granted. I had a 10-year-old on one side of the DJ booth - I'm not kidding! And a 70-year-old on the other side..."
If you’ve ever been in a room like that - you’ll know exactly what Kelly means.