"How we long for the day you take your privilege"
Brodie Milner (Leeds, UK) is an artist who has a lot on his mind, who steeps his brain in the essence of things not content to always write about how boy meets girl, loses girl and laments it. On his latest track, Philomela, he taps into the classic mythology of "Philomela", a cautionary tale involving male domination, rape, mutilation, child killing and cannibalization. The 2500 year old parable that is, in it's essence, a subversive tale of feminism, of female empowerment finds the God's eventually turning Philomela into a nightingale, a bird known for it's song thus regaining her voice. Tereus had cut off her tongue after raping her, to silence her.
Milner taps into the seemingly never ending toxic masculinity and womxn increasingly finding their voice against it:
‘When I was reading those original texts, I was astounded by how relevant the stories were. The myth of Philomela had so much symbolic resonance – from the representation of silence through the loss of her tongue, to her gaining empowerment with the help of her sister, Procne.’
‘It translated seamlessly to rape culture and the #metoo movement. When the first allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein’s abuse began to surface, I was immediately inspired to write about it.’
‘But because of how important the topic is, it was vital that the lyrics to Philomela approached the subject sensitively. It was imperative that I did not attempt to speak on behalf of women’s experiences, but instead stand beside them to oppose the men who perpetrate sexual violence.’
‘Once I’d got the lyrics right, the aggression, energy, and dark melodies of the song just fell into place.’
The urgency of Philomela that moves on a thump like a heartbeat, guitar rhytmns, pained lead lines, droning synths, keyboard strikes and Milner's purely commanding vox stands as a rebel yell against rape culture and for women's empowerment.
"A vicious whim of some deplorable man
How we long for the day you take your privilege
And find its command fade
As it lays flaccid in your hands"
The thought that the Philomela parable is so ancient and these problems, these horrors, still exist, for the most part at the hands of men is so disturbing. The statistics are easy to find, appalling and so incredibly sad. Maybe we (men) should all be turned into hoopoes after all.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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‘Intricate percussive looping guitar melodies under a powerful voice.’
Brodie Milner wears his songs like an ill fitted suit. Combining intelligent lyricism with intricate melodies, his music feels nuanced, evocative, and a bit too sad for a summer's party. Listeners can expect to hear influences from the likes of John Martyn, Sharon Van Etten, and some old novelists you might not have heard of.
Based in Leeds, England.
Based in Leeds, England.
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