History
Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell and Sophie Moss met as students at Fortismere School in Muswell Hill, North London. [2] The trio began playing music together in their first year of sixth form, [3] at age 16 [4] and for a year played small gigs under different names, including "Sturdy Shelf" and "Ghosty Mo" [5] before settling on the name "Girl Ray" (a play on the surrealist artist, Man Ray). [2] [3]
In 2016, Girl Ray released their first official single, "I'll Make This Fun" [3] and recorded a session for Marc Riley's BBC Radio 6 Music show. [6] The band's second single, "Trouble" had a limited 7" physical release through the Moshi Moshi Records Singles Club on 25 November that year. [7]
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band toured as support for Haley McCallum, Our Girl, Slow Club, Ezra Furman, Porches, and Teleman. [2] [7] [8] In March 2017, the trio played the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Glasgow [9] and later that year made appearances at the Green Man and End of the Road festivals. [2]
Earl Grey, the group's debut album, was released on 4 August 2017 by Moshi Moshi. The album was named "Album of the Week by Stereogum [4] and Under the Radar [10] and received positive reviews from critics. [11] [12] [13] It placed third on Under the Radar's top 15 debut albums of 2017 [14] and 38th on their overall top albums of 2017 list. [15]
Girl (2017–2019)
Girl Ray's first single post-Earl Grey was "(I Wish I Were Giving You a Gift) This Christmas", released on 8 December 2017 as 7-inch vinyl. [16] The following year, "The Way We Came Back" was released, a song Hankin originally wrote when she was 16. [17]
For the band's second album, Girl, Girl Ray moved away from the twee influences of their debut release, [18] with a more pop and R&B sound. [19] [20] [21] Rapper PSwuave featured on the song "Takes Time". [22] Ash Workman produced the album, [20] which was recorded at Electric Beach Studios in Margate. [23] Girl was released on 22 November 2019 via Moshi Moshi Records and received mixed reviews from critics. [19] [20] [24]
Girl Ray supported Metronomy on their UK tour in autumn 2019. [25]
Prestige (2019–2023)
Work began on Girl Ray's third album, Prestige, whilst on tour in Europe in early 2020. [26] Hankin recorded demos after binging the TV series Pose , which inspired the album's disco sound and aesthetic, [26] [27] and the album was written during lockdown. [28]
Whilst working on Prestige, Girl Ray released several song covers. [29] [30] In 2021, the band covered "Murder on the Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, with the proceeds from the release going to Hackney Night Shelter [31] [30] and in 2022 they covered "Another Try" by Haim for Under the Radar'sCover of Covers album. [29]
Prestige was released on 4 August 2023 by Moshi Moshi. [32] The album was co-produced by Ben H Allen [27] and was recorded in Allen's Atlanta studio. [33] Al Doyle and Joe Goddard of Hot Chip also produced on the album. [34] Critics reviewed the album positively. [35] [36] [37] [38] To celebrate the album's release, Girl Ray DJ'd a club night at the George Tavern. [27]
In October 2023, Girl Ray released the single "Hurt So Bad". [34] The song was written during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside Prestige, when the band considering a house sound for the album. [34]
Girl Ray set out on a UK and Europe tour in November 2023. [28]
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