Birthed from Nottingham’s underground queer scene, ARCH FEMMESIS are an Electro Punk duo formed by Performance Artist ZERA TØNIN and Androgynous Synthesist MEDDLA. Their blend of brooding, chaotic basslines with intense, psychosensual poetry creates an intoxicating mix that horrifies and hypnotises the audience.
Inspired by the aggressiveness of British punk and the eccentricity of New York Club Kids, they evoke a nostalgic nod to Queer dance culture but with a fresh facelift and chemical peel. The duo have been gaining rave reviews around the UK for their extrovert performances and DGAF attitude, combining art, fashion and music into an immersive electronic experience.
MADUSA is a contemporary retelling of the infamous gorgon, featured on the bands debut EP ‘VIOLENTS,’ a sapphic ode to demonized femininity. The song embodies a wrathful and fear inducing tone, that horrifies and hypnotizes the audience with a stern warning “Fear the Wrath of Woman,” used by the band as a queer umbrella for the divine feminine.
The project is an experimental collaboration between Photographer Julia Terzi and Vocalist Zera Tønin. Filmed mostly at night, Julia and Zera were able to capture stunning scenes across Salford and Trafford amongst the royal blue lights of manmade landscapes.
Filmed over 1 1/2 years during COVID and edited in a time limit of 6 continuous hours, the video has warped through endurance extremities to produce a cinematic short film with a post punk aftermath.
The aim of this video was to resolve traumas and negative experiences in a self-healing manner. Instead of revenge, the transformative power of creativity evokes a shedding of the past. Like the snake that is symbioticall associated with the Medusa, the serpent sheds it skin and is traditionally associated with life, rebirth, regeneration, guardianship, medicine and fertility.
Films such as ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night,’ ‘Suspiria’ and ‘Neon Demon,’ are a major influence for this project. Greater Manchester’s industrial landscape is transformed into a Scandi Noir-esque Queerdom. Factories and subways become ballrooms. Car parks; catwalks and stages. All echoing the pounding beats of this fearsome anthem, bringing Berlin’s Berghain to the back streets of Salford.
Since their successful stint supporting The Lovely Eggs over summer, 2022 has been a very fruitful year for the duo, promising a string of exciting new opportunities. We have exclusive information that ARCH FEMMESIS has planned a UK Headline Tour in October, which includes Birmingham’s Sunflower Lounge and six other confirmed dates.
Follow the bands’ Instagram to keep in the loop and to purchase tickets for their upcoming gigs this summer.
For music and merch:
Bandcamp