Gina Birch, who co-founded iconic UK group The Raincoats after witnessing the Sex Pistols’ first gig, has released her debut solo album, ‘I Play My Bass Loud’, on Third Man Records. In 1977 Birch met fellow art student Ana da Silva and the two founded the Raincoats. With Birch offering a melodic counterpoint to da Silva’s darker undertow, the band fused diverse influences spanning reggae and The Ronettes to Subway Sect and Lou Reed, typifying the timeless idea of punk as raw expression, not simply one sound. The band’s debut album, ‘The Raincoats’, released in 1979, has been cited as an influence by Bikini Kill, Sonic Youth, Beat Happening, and Nirvana, with Kurt Cobain even professing his love of the band in the liner notes to 1992’s ‘Incesticide’.)
Along with her eclectic musical output, Birch is filmmaker, and has directed videos for The Raincoats, as well as for artists such as The Libertines, New Order, Beth Orton, and more. In recent years, Birch has committed herself to painting, creating a growing body of work that saw her illustrate a recent book of Sharon Van Etten’s lyrics. Birch continues to push her creative spirit in new directions, staging her first solo painting exhibition earlier this year at Gallery 46 in Whitechapel, London.
