While the Internet continues to make a fuss about incels, aka involuntarily celibate men, Rowan Miles and Gabriella Turton of London electronic duo The Femcels platform the thoughts of a passed-over minority: angsty, sex-deprived British fems.
Rubbish and annoying—that’s how Turton and Miles describe their sound. A 7.6 review of their debut album on Pitchfork and a growing fanbase might beg to differ; or enjoy it anyway.
Five months into knowing each other and three months into living together, the duo recorded their debut album I Have to Get Hotter blackout drunk in 2024 when they first formed the group, though they didn’t release until January of this year. Produced by Ike Clateman of London electronic duo Bassvictim, the three came together to create a biblical representation of how lame it can feel to be a 20-something-year-old.
With excessively long song titles like No One Will Fuck Me When I Wear Two Different Shoes (One Jordan, One Gucci Flip Flop) and You’re Gay and You’re In Love With Me (Please Let Me Touch Your Boobs), the duo use the album to poke fun at girlhood and societal expectations of fems delivered over a synthesized, hyperpop dreamscape.
Rubbish or not, they’ve amassed over 25 thousand followers on Instagram and 33 thousand on Spotify upon only releasing six months ago.
And what’s cooler than playing an international tour? Being refused entry from the countries you were supposed to play in, of course. A week before they were set to perform, The Femcels announced that their first international tour was cancelled due to new visa regulations between the UK and the US, which leaves the up-and-coming duo’s first stop at Brick & Mortar Music Hall, supposed to be this Saturday, postponed indefinitely.
In spite of the eight hour time gap and before we knew they weren’t coming, 48 Hills caught up with The Femcels just as Miles was waking up from a midafternoon nap to chat about everything; from how they met to their ideal sandwiches.
48 Hills So, when you first met, was it like an immediate click?
Turton Rowan didn’t like me very much.
48 Hills What didn’t you like about Gabriella?
Miles She was talking about drinking loads of drinks the next morning, and I felt a bit sick already, so, I was just like, I have to leave this conversation, and I felt, like, a bit nauseous.
48 Hills How long into knowing each other until you started making music?
Miles A few months?
Turton Yeah. I think it was like five months.
48 Hills What initiated that?
Miles We, like, lived together. We were like, we were having these e-girl meetings, where we’re kind of, like, deciding how to become famous.
48 Hills So you guys started living together before you started making music?
Turton Yeah, we moved in together three months after knowing each other.
48 Hills How would you describe the music you create, your sound in your words?
Miles Rubbish.
Turton A little bit annoying.
48 Hills And where do the lyrics come from?
Miles They come from like, I listen very deeply to my fart sounds, and I, like, interpret words from that.
Turton There’s like a little bee I hear sometimes, and he tells me stuff. Not in like a way I’m psycho, just in a way that I, like, listen to nature.
48 Hills In your Interview feature from earlier this year, you said you wanted to get a four in Pitchfork, but you got a 7.6. How does it feel to be well-received by the public?
Miles I’d say we’re well received by critics, but not always the public.
Turton I was gonna say I don’t think the negative review exists anymore, and we just get hate on, like, yeah, from comment sections.
48 Hills Fair, then how does it feel to be well-received by critics?
Turton I feel like a freakin’ hipster, man.
48 Hills This is your first international tour! How are you feeling about that?
Turton I’m really excited to go to Chicago.
48 Hills Why’d you pick San Francisco as your first North American stop?
Miles Haight-Ashbury.
Turton I love gay people. Are there still gay people there?
48 Hills So many gay people of all kinds. You’re gonna wanna go to the Castro. Can fans expect any new music anytime soon?
Turton Yeah, we’re making a cover of a cover of ourselves, but it’s just all with balls.
48 Hills Can you explain?
Turton He needs balls, he needs balls.
48 Hills Oh, I loved your cover of “He Needs Me” [by Shelley Duval]. He needs balls is gonna be incredible, I can’t wait.
Turton Thank you. You can find us on Linkedin, or Twitter, or Google search, or Instagram.
Miles Oh my god, I’m actually getting so many fucking notifications on email from people looking at my LinkedIn.
48 Hills Have you started feeling any effects of fame besides your LinkedIn?
Miles My boobs feel really big. It’s like absorbing. I don’t know. It’s like a sponge.
Turton Yeah, boobs are definitely like a sponge. That’s the only way to clean your house.
Miles Talk about the song that made your boobs bigger.
Turton Yeah, so we made this song, and it’s about Barron Trump, and you know how he did that art of, like, the girl with the big boobs?
48 Hills I’m not familiar.
Turton He made really good art when he was 13. He did a painting of a girl with big boobs, so there’s like a chant at the end, it’s like, “more boobs, less war.” And then, the next day the war ended and my boobs grew.
Miles Honestly, her boobs, she was like, “Ro, look at my boobs.” I was like, “Yeah, I noticed they’re really big.” And then I was like, “No way, this is the biggest I’ve ever seen your boobs.” And the war ended. The power of The Femcels.
Turton Like, honestly, everyone, like, even the producer was freaked out. We were all so freaked out.
48 Hills Is [the songwriting process] a little more serious now that you guys have a following?
Miles I mean, I feel like it would be ruined if it was serious, right? Like we have more practice and stuff, but I don’t think it’s good to take yourself too seriously in a studio. I guess having fun is still like just being creative, so it’s normally beneficial to be silly.
48 Hills What would be in your ideal sandwich?
Turton Can I tell you my ideal sandwich? And it’s a bit disgusting. You get a plain piece of thick white bread, and then you put mayo, and then you put kimchi, and then you just fold over the piece of bread, and then you just eat it.
Miles I just ate a kimchi sandwich, inspired by you earlier, but it had anchovies in it.
THE FEMCELS will not be performing at Brick and Mortar this weekend :/ but you can support them here.
