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THE IRONING MAIDENS
release their new single
‘BREATHE OUT’
today

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“As if turning a cruel stereotype into a piece of art wasn’t enough, The Ironing Maidens are rocking inventive sounds and inspirational girl power.” Music is My Muse

“In her introduction Melania spoke of ironing the wrinkles of patriarchy” and linked the development of the electric washing machine with the synthesiser developed by electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram. This juxtaposition, much like their name, locates The Ironing Maidens at the intersection of music and gender politics. It might seem like a shtick at first but it’s so thoughtfully executed in composition and performance that it makes most rock bands look naive” Cyclic Defrost Review

“From the techno banger of the title track to the ambient synthesis of ‘The Dangers of Ironing’, The Ironing Maidens have brought the invisibility of women’s work and influence [in the industry] to the forefront” Purple Sneakers

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Award-winning electronic duo, The Ironing Maidens, are putting domestic labour, technology and the history of women in electronic music centre stage with their new single, Breathe Out, releasing today on 1 October 2021.

Ingeniously adapting real irons and ironing boards into electronic instruments to create breakthrough music, The Ironing Maidens have toured Europe (playing Germany’s famous Fusion Festival, The Performing Arts Festival Berlin), featured at Byron Bay’s Falls Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Jungle Love, Curiocity Festival Brisbane, Wide Open Spaces Festival and more. They were finalists in the Grant McLennan Fellowship in 2018 and won a John Chataway Innovation Award for their shows at Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2019 and 2020. Always creating unique experiences for their audiences, they have also toured regional laundromats in NSW and QLD.

The Ironing Maidens – Patty Preece and Melania Jack – were inspired to create this experimental electronic arts project seven years ago when they discovered many electronic music pioneers, who happen to be women, were absent from their electronic music education. “Looking into the themes prominent during the 1950s when women like Daphne Oram were developing their highly influential work, we noticed parallels between the dismissal of women’s work in the home and the lack of recognition for women in music technology development,” said Patty. “So we developed a new show exploring ways of creating sound with the irons (an iconic ‘housework’ symbol) and discussing these themes of recognition.”

The new single, Breathe Out, was borne of their most recent live show – A Soap Opera – which premiered at Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2020. Shatteringly, COVID-19 restrictions prevented The Ironing Maidens like so many other Australian artists from touring since then. But they haven’t put down their irons. This year saw the duo release a narrative-based podcast pilot of the same name, run a streaming project to promote regional artists in their hometown of Cairns, and continue to iron out the wrinkles in the crinkly old patriarchy.

In this new single, Melania has a near death experience while hanging out the washing, and goes to ‘the other side’. There she meets Daphne Oram – the mother of electronic music – who shares her story of trying to establish the BBC radiophonic workshop and her sense of being undervalued. When Melania explores her feelings of worthlessness, and feeling tired and wrung out by the never-ending cycle of domestic labour and trying to achieve her dreams, Daphne encourages her to keep going despite the challenges.

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This single is timely. With so many people experiencing COVID-19 lockdowns and spending time at home with their families, more housework now exists and studies show that it’s women who are still picking up all this extra work. The themes explored in the single are more relevant now than ever and speak to the overwhelm many women are currently experiencing while trying to hold on to their paid jobs during massive changes to employment, educating children at home, keeping up with the never-ending cycle of housework, and the emotional labour it takes to keep a household functioning. Women’s work needs to be valued – at home and in the workplace – and that’s the underlying message in this song.

Melania explains, “We have spoken to many women at our shows and heard many stories about the way this unfair workload affects their health and wellbeing. Some women have disclosed harrowing stories about feeling trapped, feeling their self worth slip away, and some have spoken of suicidal feelings. When women are expected to do the majority of this unpaid domestic labour it leaves them less time to pursue their own careers and dreams and this affects their ability to be financially sustainable. We are seeing the longterm effects of this in the rise of homelessness among older women”.

Also featured in this unique single is an artist whose work has had so much influence on the electronic genre – Daphne Oram. The Ironing Maidens researched the Daphne Oram archive at Goldsmiths University in London in 2019, and this has had a huge impact on their work.

“Going through the archive and interviewing people in London about her work really changed the way we saw Daphne,” says Patty. “It’s usual to paint her as a crazy and isolated person in an attic, building her oramics machine by candlelight. But actually Daphne’s pioneering work was very sought after and well respected amongst her peers. It’s heartening to see that a career in the industry can be a fulfilling lifelong adventure – and that’s before electronic music really even existed”.

Blend these themes and thoughts with some pretty tasty tune influences like Honey Dijon, Sylvan Esso, Maya Jane Coles and some old school house and you get electro-house-wife, an Ironing Maidens self-made genre.

A homage to Daphne Oram and a call to arms for the housewife, The Ironing Maidens’ new single, Breathe Out, is available on all digital outlets on 1 October to celebrate their second gig in this COVID-19 environment at the Tanks Arts Centre Cairns. Tickets on sale now through ticketlink HERE.

The music film clip will be released on 6 October 2021.

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Follow THE IRONING MAIDENS
Website – Facebook – Instagram
Soundcloud – iTunes – YouTube

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Photo by super talented photographer Cristina @ THE PHOTO CORNER

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BIO

AMNPLIFY – DB