If you haven’t heard of them already, Girl Ray are North London three-piece Poppy Hankin (guitar/vocals), Iris McConnell (drums) and Sophie Moss (bass). Formed in the corridors of their North London secondary school, the band fittingly dropped their debut single ‘Trouble’ on their final day in formal education, and have been on a sharp upwards trajectory since.  

Partnering with tastemaker label Moshi Moshi, the noisy trio dropped their debut album Earl Grey on 4^th August of this year to great acclaim. It was recorded with the band’s long term collaborator Mike O’Malley over what they describe as two “intense and insane” weeks in Ramsgate, and deals with themes of love, identity and transformation with a wisdom and sincerity far beyond its writers’ years.

Fresh off the back of a summer jam packed with festivals including Green Man, End Of The Road and BBC Radio 6 Music Festival, Girl Ray will headline London’s famous Scala on 9^th November. We caught up with the band to discuss 00s hairdos, North London’s finest music venues and why they hate the term ‘girl group’….

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TMR: Girl Ray was formed in the corridors of secondary school in North London. Were there many other all-female girl groups at your school or were Girl Ray alone in this?  

We were pretty much alone in the corridors of rock. There were a few female-fronted groups, but none really that were all female.

TMR: Earl Grey is your first full-length album. How did the process of writing that differ to the singles / EPs you had released before?

It didn't really - Earl Grey is just a collection of stand-alone tunes.

TMR: It’s well documented that all three of you hail from North London – how has growing up in that area shaped your music making and what are your favourite music venues there?

It allowed us to meet each other! London in general is a really good environment to make music. There isn't really a special cavern in our hearts for North London venues - but the Forum is pretty great.

TMR: The video to ‘Don’t Go Back at Ten’ is a glorious homage to the 00s. Why did you pick that era to represent the track, and how has that time influenced your style and music?

We found it really funny how dramatic all the music videos from that era were... plus cheap props because of charity shop bargains.



TMR: You guys have done a lot of touring around the UK lately, with Haley Bonar and Slow Club to name a few. If you could tour with any musician from any era who would it be and which song would you sing with them?

ABBA, ‘The Name of the Game’.

TMR: The lyrics to your songs are often incredibly direct – how much are they based on actual events in your life and what has been the hardest song to write lyrically?

Mostly they're truthful. I guess the song 'Preacher' took a while to write the lyrics to because I wanted to make sure they were just right. Otherwise I tend to write lyrics pretty quickly and not give them too much thought!

TMR: With a sell-out tour, a spot at BBC's 6Music Festival and an acclaimed album under your belt, 2017 has been a huge year for Girl Ray. How have you supported each other emotionally during this rollercoaster year?

It's been an emotive one. Real tricky at times. Mike keeps us real and puts us in our place, otherwise we would bite each other’s skin off.



TMR: I’ve read online that you guys are huge fans of streaming services like SoundCloud and Spotify. Does the fact that people consume music differently now ever affect your writing process?

Oh that was a joke I think! Not particularly.

TMR: I’ve read that you label yourselves as “estrogen pop”. Was this a conscious way of reclaiming any ‘girl group’ labels you have or might encounter in the press?

I suppose it’s a bit of a dig at the label 'girl group'. We find that quite unnecessary. Somebody wrote the term in the comments of one of our vids on YouTube and we liked it and stole it

TMR: If you had to explain Girl Ray to a stranger in one song, which would it be and can you explain why?

'Trouble' because it has all the elements of a classic Girl Ray tune - harms, positive vibes, negative lyrics, Sophie Moss constantly trying to show off throughout the song.

TMR: Can you tell us the funniest moment you’ve shared as a band to date?

The moment Mike tied his shoelace and it broke.



Earl Grey is out now.

-Holly Manners