Ratbag (musician)

Last updated

Ratbag
Birth nameSophie Brown
Born2003or2004(age 19–20)
Origin Auckland, New Zealand
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, visual artist
Years active2021–present
LabelsMischief
Website worldofratbag.com

Sophie Brown (born 2003 or 2004), [1] known professionally as ratbag, is a New Zealand musician and multimedia artist. Active since 2021, her music draws influence from grunge, shoegaze, punk, and pop, [2] [3] and often features surreal horror-inspired visuals centered on a fictional cartoon band of monsters, which she depicts in various artistic mediums. After building a following on TikTok, Brown released her debut EP, Why Aren't You Laughing?, in December 2023.

Contents

Early life

Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, Brown drew art from a young age, and was a fan of horror films growing up. [2] She received her first guitar at age 7 as a Christmas present, [4] but did not pursue music until age 15, when she began writing songs in her bedroom on her father's ukulele. [2] [1]

Career

Brown began making art and music as Ratbag in 2021. [2] In Australia and New Zealand, ratbag is a common slang term for a mischievous child, which Brown has said she was often labeled growing up. [2] After building an audience on TikTok with a series of surreal multimedia art, she released her first single as Ratbag, "Rats in My Walls", in July 2023. [5] [3] A second single, "Exit Girl", was released the following September with an accompanying music video. [3] Both singles were included on Ratbag's debut EP, Why Aren't You Laughing?, released 8 December 2023. [6] [1]

Artistry

Brown's music incorporates elements of punk, shoegaze, grunge, pop, art pop, and alternative rock. [3] [4] [2] [7] Her musical influences include Pixies, Broken Social Scene, David Bowie, Declan McKenna, and Billie Eilish. [3] [2] Brown has said she enjoys experimenting with sounds in her music: "I like to take normal sounds and make them really weird – I’m really into reversing. I like mucking around with the little pieces of vocals and cutting it up. It’s almost like I’m dissecting things in my computer." [2]

The music of Ratbag is often accompanied by surrealist drawings and animations created by Brown. These typically feature her fictional band of animated monsters: Deemo, a devil-like bassist; Fritz, a crocodile-clown hybrid keyboardist; Slug, a guitarist in a mohawked bird mask; and Eugene, a purple octopus-headed drummer. [4] [2] According to Brown, each of the four monsters represents a different part of her personality. [2] These visual elements have been compared to those of Gorillaz, Dethklok, the children's book Where the Wild Things Are, and the art of comic book writer Neil Gaiman. [3] [2] Brown herself has cited Jack Stauber, the shows Don't Hug Me I'm Scared and Adventure Time, and A24-produced horror films like Midsommar and Hereditary as inspiring the visual and narrative aspects of her work. [4] [2]

Brown has a substantial following on TikTok, where she posts digital art and stop motion animations of her "band" and the story surrounding them, [2] as well as showcasing her love of sculpture, claymation, photography, fashion, and other artistic mediums. [3] [1] [5]

Discography

EPs

Singles

YearTitleAlbum
2023"Rats in my Walls"Why Aren't You Laughing?
"Exit Girl"
"Dead End Kids"

Music videos

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slowdive</span> British shoegaze band

Slowdive are a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead, Christian Savill (guitars), Nick Chaplin (bass), and Simon Scott, all of whom played on the band's debut studio album, Just for a Day (1991). Halstead is the band's primary songwriter.

In the entertainment industry, sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game, or other entertainment product that was unpromising on release but became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have little promotion or lack a successful launch but gradually develops a fandom following media attention, which in turn increases its public exposure and public interest in the product. As Variety puts it, "A 'sleeper hit' can be defined as the kind of show that catches us by surprise—programs whose popularity grows over time and can ultimately outshine the preordained hits." A sleeper hit often lacks star performers or high production values, but prevails, at times against its own makers' expectations, on the strength of such qualities as narrative, approach, or novelty, as well as market accidents. Sleeper hit films benefit theater owners because the owners keep a larger percentage of money from ticket sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muni Long</span> American singer

Priscilla Renea Hamilton, known professionally as Muni Long, is an American singer and songwriter from Gifford, Florida. Under her birth name, she signed with Capitol Records to release her debut studio album Jukebox (2009), which was met with positive critical reception despite failing to chart. She then spent the following decade co-writing songs for other artists, including the hit singles "Promise This" for Cheryl, "California King Bed" for Rihanna, "Worth It" for Fifth Harmony, "Love So Soft" for Kelly Clarkson, "Imagine" for Ariana Grande, "Who Says" for Selena Gomez & the Scene, and the global hit "Timber" for Pitbull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabbie Hanna</span> American Internet personality and musician (born 1991)

Gabrielle Jeannette Hanna is an American internet personality and singer-songwriter. She rose to prominence on the video platforms Vine and YouTube before releasing her debut single, "Out Loud", in 2017. Her debut extended play, 2WayMirror, was released on May 31, 2019, and her second EP, Bad Karma, was released on May 15, 2020. Her debut album, Trauma Queen, was released on July 22, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TikTok</span> Video-focused social media platform

TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a Chinese short-form video hosting service owned by ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 3 seconds to 10 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Khalifa (song)</span> 2018 single by iLoveFriday

"Mia Khalifa" (originally titled "Mia Khalifa (Diss)", also known as "Hit or Miss", and sometimes stylized as "MiA KHALiFA") is a song by American hip hop group iLoveFriday (stylized as iLOVEFRiDAY). The duo of Atlanta-based rappers Aqsa Malik (also known as Smoke Hijabi) and Xeno Carr self-released the song on February 12, 2018, which was later re-released by Records Co and Columbia Records on December 14, 2018. It was included on their second EP, Mood (2019). The song was produced by Carr. The song is a diss track targeting Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese-American Internet celebrity and former pornographic actress. The decision to write a song dissing Khalifa arose over a misunderstanding. A faked screenshot, intended as a joke, seemed to show Khalifa, who once appeared in a pornographic film wearing a hijab, criticizing Malik for smoking while wearing a hijab in a music video. iLoveFriday thought the screenshot was legitimate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashnikko</span> American rapper and singer (born 1996)

Ashton Nicole Casey, known professionally as Ashnikko, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Her 2019 single "Stupid" featuring Yung Baby Tate gained viral popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok and was certified platinum in the United States and Canada. Ashnikko's debut mixtape, Demidevil, was released in January 2021, and spawned the singles "Daisy" and "Slumber Party". Her studio album, Weedkiller, came in 2023.

This article describes trends in popular music in the 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charli D'Amelio</span> American social media personality (born 2004)

Charli Grace D'Amelio is an American social media personality. She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-sharing platform TikTok. She quickly amassed a large following and subsequently became the most-followed creator on the platform in March 2020 until she was surpassed by Khaby Lame in June 2022. With over 151 million followers, she is the second-most-followed-person on TikTok, as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addison Rae</span> American social media personality (born 2000)

Addison Rae Easterling is an American social media personality, actress, and singer-songwriter. Rae rose to fame on the video sharing app, TikTok. She amassed over 88 million followers, making her the fifth most-followed individual on the platform.

Tamia Monique Carter, known professionally as Flo Milli, is an American rapper and singer. She rose to prominence after her 2018 single "Beef FloMix" and its 2019 follow up, "In the Party" reached virality on the media platform TikTok; the latter received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In late 2019, she signed a recording contract with Justin Goldman's '94 Sounds, an imprint of RCA Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bella Poarch</span> American singer and social media personality (born 1997)

Denarie Bautista Taylor, known professionally as Bella Poarch, is an American social media personality and singer. On August 17, 2020, she created the most liked video on TikTok, in which she lip syncs to the song "M to the B" by British rapper Millie B. She is the most followed TikTok contributor from the Philippines. In May 2021, she released her debut single "Build a Bitch".

Sharlee Jade "Shaylee" Curnow, known professionally as Peach PRC, is an Australian pop singer, songwriter, and social media personality. Her major label debut single "Josh" was released in early 2021, which peaked at number 38 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Peach is a prominent figure on the social media platform TikTok, where she posts content about her life, self-care advice with Bipolar disorder and drug and alcohol abuse, and her music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LØLØ</span> Canadian singer-songwriter

Lauren Mandel, known by her stage name LØLØ, is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Having built an audience via TikTok, she has released three EPs, two with Hopeless Records. Her sound is influenced by pop punk and alternative rock.

<i>M3GAN</i> 2022 American film by Gerard Johnstone

M3GAN is a 2022 American science fiction horror film directed by Gerard Johnstone. It was written by Akela Cooper from a story by Cooper and James Wan. Allison Williams and Violet McGraw star, Amie Donald physically portrays M3GAN, and Jenna Davis voices the character. Its plot follows an artificially intelligent doll, who develops self-awareness and becomes hostile toward anyone who comes between her and her human companion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizzy McAlpine</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1999)

Elizabeth Catherine McAlpine is an American singer-songwriter. Born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, McAlpine began gaining recognition by posting original songs and covers on the platforms SoundCloud and YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mothica</span> American singer (born 1995)

McKenzie Ashton Ellis, known professionally as Mothica, is an American singer. She grew up in Oklahoma City and began producing music when she was 18 years old. Since 2015, she has produced a dozen albums and singles distributed across several online musical streaming platforms such as on Spotify, SoundCloud and Bandcamp. In June 2020, a TikTok video she posted that included her song "VICES" went viral, providing greater notability as a musician and singer.

Hannah Rose Collins, professionally known as Scene Queen and formerly RØSÉ, is an American singer and songwriter signed to Hopeless Records. She is known for coining the style "Bimbocore", a subgenre of metalcore with feminist themes. She rose to fame on the social media platform TikTok, where she has garnered over 618,000 followers as of September 2023. Her debut EP Bimbocore was released on April 29, 2022. A followup EP, Bimbocore Vol. 2, was released on November 10, 2022.

Christine Nicole Chlapecka is an American TikTok personality, activist, and musician. She is best known as a key figure in "#BimboTok", a TikTok subculture centered on reclaiming the bimbo stereotype and aesthetic in a queer, feminist, and leftist context.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Sam (8 December 2023). "ratbag: "I don't know why I like mistakes, but I just do"". Dork . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rigotti, Alex (8 November 2023). "Ratbag and her fictional band are terrifying TikTok". NME . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Teder, Camryn (14 September 2023). "ratbag opens a portal into her weird world of shoegaze with latest single "exit girl"". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Carter, Daisy (20 September 2023). "Get To Know… ratbag". DIY . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  5. 1 2 Murray, Robin (27 July 2023). "ratbag's 'rats in my walls' Is A Breathlessly Honest Introduction". Clash . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Carter, Emily (8 December 2023). ""An invitation into my world…" ratbag releases debut EP, why aren't you laughing?". Kerrang! . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  7. ↑ Rincon, Alessandra (14 December 2023). "ratbag Throws Away the Rules in Debut EP 'why aren't you laughing?'". Ones to Watch . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.