Lawson singer-songwriter Belle Butler will release her first single on Friday.
I Am She is her response to personal and witnessed experiences of misogyny and gender-based discrimination, violence and abuse. It is one part of a multidisciplinary project aimed at highlighting the enormity and everyday nature of this issue.
Butler's indie-folk songs are raw and real, with immediately engaging guitar and piano work accompanied by intimate vocals that kick you in the guts. If her sound were a Neapolitan ice-cream, it would be equal thirds Sarah McLachlan, Eddie Vedder and Mick Flannery.
Butler spent much of the twenty-teens playing Sydney gigs and writing songs but ultimately felt intimidated by big egos in a male-dominated music industry so she took a step back.
Her biggest challenge as a musician has been her own introversion and reluctance to be in the spotlight. I Am She marks a personal shift and reflects a nation-wide cultural shift - the refusal of women to continue to stay silent.
It comes at a time when there has been a collective swell of rage expressed by women across the country. I Am She echoes the frustration, anger, sadness and strength of the masses who gathered at rallies this year and offers a potential anthem for women demanding to be heard.
The song was produced and mixed by acclaimed producer Anna Laverty. It is equally devastating and empowering, with lyrics that reflect the many different experiences of 'she': She who has been called a bitch, a cow, a slut, feisty, hysterical. The Valkyrie. She who has been wolf-whistled, watched and waited for. Who has been touched, unwantedly. Who has been trapped, helplessly. She who has had to run, had to hide. Had to look down, look away. She who was raped. She who only just got away. She who didn't. She, on the news, in the papers, online, her body finally found. She who knew the man coming for her. She who didn't.
"I Am She is a social commentary, making complex issues surrounding misogyny and loneliness accessible to a diverse range of people. The song and its lyrics speak directly to the experience of women who feel alone and without support, in a culture that so often dismisses them. It is beautifully written..." - Verity Firth, Executive Director of Social Justice at the University of Technology Sydney, former Minister for Women
As well as the single, Butler's project also comprises a photo-narrative collection of portraits of women accompanied by accounts of their personal experiences, and a collaboration with local artist Natalie Sharpe, who did the cover art for the single. See Project I Am She|Belle Butler.
