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With a mission to “Make Punk Gay Again”, electro punk duo ARCH FEMMESIS are here to get silly, sapphic and sultry with audiences across the UK and Europe. Mixing campy, aggressive vocals with 80’s club kid techno and dark synths, they represent a nostalgic nod to queer dance culture (but with a fresh and contemporary voice).
They recently performed at the North’s biggest queer party, Homobloc 2023, part of Manchester’s iconic Warehouse Project. They’ve also supported electro-jazz icons The Comet is Coming and Grammy nominated poet Joshua Idehen at Rock City Nottingham. And in 2022 they went on a full UK tour with psych punk legends and Iggy Pop collaborators The Lovely Eggs, culminating in a homecoming show at the O2 Ritz Manchester.
The band have achieved everything to date as a D.I.Y. band with no label or booker, just a loyal fan base and a lot of creative energy. With strong support in the queer, goth, punk and electronic/experimental music scenes, they have the ability to cut across genres, genders and generations.
In 2024 they will release their much-anticipated second EP which will include crowd favourites and danceable queer anthems “Pussy Bitch”, “Tutti Fruitti” and “Dickinitis”. They are due to make their debut at Rebellion Festival 2024 and also have gigs lined up with LA-based metal band Patriarchy and feminist queer punks Problem Patterns as well as headline shows and festival appearances.
Similar artists: Peaches, Diamanda Galás, Azealia Banks, Suicide, Soft Cell
Artists they’ve performed with: Grove, The Lovely Eggs, The Comet is Coming, Joshua Idehen, CLT DRP, Tokky Horror, Baba Ali, Benefits, ALT BLK ERA, Panic Shack
Audience: Over 3,100 Instagram followers, two headline D.I.Y. tours completed in the UK and Europe, over 100 gigs performed
To see their upcoming gigs, please visit their Linktree page
Email the band at archfemmesis@gmail.com
"They’re angry, they’re funny, and most importantly of all they’re absolutely fucking BANGIN" - FREQ Zine
Watch the latest music video to their song "Androgynista" here, created with Bad Friday Pictures and glitch artist 13x
Performing Berlin techno banger, "Dickinitis" at The Bodega, Nottingham
Press Highlights
"Danceable Filth!" - Phill Jupitus
LIVE REVIEW: MAN ON MAN, Arch Femmesis, Pink Suits, Downstairs At The Dome, London
Arch Femmesis were a complete delight from start to finish, much like the feeling when you discover a new flavour of ice cream that tickles the tastebuds. Effortlessly bringing the crowd along with their deliciously thumping electro attack. Androginyista got the floor moving like it was happy hour at the local gay bar, and the (should be) hits kept coming, as the group made a lot of new friends this night. The absolute highlight of this set was Rejectile Dysfunction, a delightful romp about the inadequacy of straight men. They were also getting a lot of love from people coming up to them at the merch table.
- Bring the Noise UK
LIVE REVIEW: Benefits / Arch Femmesis At The Grace, London
Tonight’s first band are Arch Femmesis, and not to put too fine a point on it, they fucking RULE. It’s the Suicide set-up, “vocals” and “instrument”, although there’s Zera Tønin where Alan Vega would be, and she has an amazing voice, taking in both Patti Smith and Diamanda Galás at various points.
- FREQ zine
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: Androgynista - Video of the Day
In my mind, if you mix Amy Taylor (Amyl and The Sniffers), Mhairi Black, Lady Gaga and Grove, you should get something as kinky, fabulous, feminist, punk, strong, spiky and individual as Arch Femmesis.
Add a stadium full of attitude and style, and you get their new video, ‘Androgynista’.
- Loud Women Magazine
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Photo taken from 98 Wounds magazine, issue 34
Merch
As a D.I.Y. band, all merch has been designed and created by lead singer Zera Tønin. This includes over 50 handmade drawings, T-shirts, badges, limited edition cassette tapes and hand-painted panties and thongs. This unique set of merch has funded their EP recordings and video shoots.
The current range of merch is available via Bandcamp or at live shows
