Gina Birch

Gina Birch emerged from the raw, confrontational world of British post-punk as co-founder of the Raincoats, a band whose angular guitar lines and refusal of conventional structure became a blueprint for feminist DIY practice. Formed in 1977, the Raincoats orbited around scraping textures and jagged rhythms, their self-titled debut album (1979) and Odyshape (1981) treating melody as negotiable rather than necessary. Birch's bass playing favoured atonal pulses over groove, her visual art background informing the band's collage-like approach to song construction.

Beyond the Raincoats, Birch sustained a parallel career as a filmmaker and solo artist, her 2023 album I Play My Bass Loud arriving after decades in the margins. Critics including Jude Rogers from The Guardian praised its playful defiance, noting how Birch transformed aging into another form of rebellion. Kurt Cobain famously cited the Raincoats as an influence, cementing Birch's role in punk's feminist lineage. Her work persists as evidence that amateurism, wielded with conviction, becomes its own mastery.