LISTEN: https://ingrv.es/femme-power-9vf-o

Genre-hopping, rule-breaking, queer and multi-hyphenate trio RudeGRL + CC follow up singles ‘LIKE WOW’ & KILLER 16 with a mini album release called FEMME POWER on Ingrooves (Universal) on May 6th – The Lead track is KING KONG .Exploring a union of rapid-fire rap, fuzz bass, industrial beats, twang guitars and atmospheric post-punk, celebrating grime and the 80s. The band have already gained some serious heavy-weight support from BBC 6Music, with Iggy Pop playing their songs ‘Like Wow’ and ‘Killer 16’ on his radio show and Iggy Pop will be featuring KING KONG on his new BBC 6 MUSIC shows.

RudeGRL + CC follow FEMME POWER with a double A Side release – A version of Adam Ant’s GOODY TWO SHOES featuring the original drummer from the hit Bob Wiczling (The Count) and Jonathan Read from The Specials on trumpet & I’M GOOD – Mixed by Nick Hodgson from KAISER CHIEFS – Released on Cleopatra Records on June 17th. Iggy Pop will also be featuring GOODY TWO SHOES on his new shows.

Connecting singer-songwriter and prodigious MC Jenna Dickens aka RudeGRL (from Basement Jaxx, Sub Focus) & multi-instrumentalist Chris ‘CC’ Constantinou (One Thousand Motels, The Wolfmen, The Mutants) – who started out as Adam Ant’s bassist and has collaborated with Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), Sinead O’ Connor, Lou Reed and more – and Burlesque star Bunni Morretto who also adds bv’s. This trio of self-described outsiders share a mutual love of punk and a burning desire to get things off their chest. The urgency of the group’s sound mirrors their production style; quick, fluid and instantly gratifying.

Speaking of the quick-fire nature of the writing process, CC said: “I’m looking forward to our first RudeGRL + CC album ‘LIKE WOW’ being released and getting it out to the world later this year. The 12 songs from the album came together from a series of sessions at my studio, after which RudeGRL and I agreed we would write a song an hour every 3 hour session. We chose the beats to work with then I jammed something out on bass and guitar then Jenna would lay her vocal mostly in one take.”

Of the album’s title track ‘Like Wow’, CC explained: “LIKE WOW came about as Jenna had missed her train and we had an hour to kill so thought we would jam. It was written in the time it took to play it! Bunni Jenna’s girlfriend was vibing us along on the sessions and i said you should come join us on stage when we go live”
The album will also arrive with a separate, double A-side, single, featuring a superstar-studded cover of Adam Ant’s number one worldwide hit ‘Goody Two Shoes’. Hosting the drummer who played on the original hit as part of Adam Ant’s line up, the single also features performances from the horn section of The Specials, Hal Lindes of Dire Straits, and Preston Heyman (Massive Attack, Kate Bush).

Constantinou plays all instruments on the album and shares production duties with UK composer Nicholas De Carlo. The group’s audacious debut EP, Like Wow, which landed earlier this year, features an empowering title track that was written in just ten minutes. For Constantinou, this efficiency is the key to their success. “It was just like – plug it in and let’s play,” he recalls of the EP’s titular battle-cry. “The whole process has been so organic from the off. I think the thing that really makes it work is that we don’t spend too long on anything so it’s just a stream-of-consciousness of everything that I’ve learned and everything that’s very natural to Jenna, who’s very quick at stuff.”

Constantinou and Dickens first crossed paths many years ago when they were both signed to Sony, but reconnected when Chris texted Jenna at 3am saying he’d been inspired to pursue a live music-meets-hip-hop concept after seeing a band play in north London, and immediately thought of Dickens. After rekindling their chemistry and inviting Dickens’ partner Bunni Morretto – with whom she runs London’s queer women-led striptease night JuiceBox – along for the ride, the band went straight into the studio to record their debut album; an attention-grabbing culture clash packed with grime-loaded bangers like “Play Doh” and “Fukk” and electroclash bullets like “Cross My Heart”.

The album was written in record time; 12 tracks in 12 hours. “The energy is extreme – it’s unreal for me,” notes Constantinou, who urged Dickens to write the album as if it was her very last. “I told her: ‘whatever you’ve got to say, say it now.’ And if you’re angry, say it and don’t censor it.”

“I hope it connects people and makes them feel like they’re not alone,” says Dickens. “I really hope it empowers people and it helps people in some way to feel hopeful about moving forward. I do think it’s important to share our truth because everyone is going through something and it helps to just connect with each other.”

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