Introducing Emerging Artist ratbag…

Breakthrough alternative star ratbag shares her new single juliet & juliet. Alongside January’s haunting look what you’re doing to me, juliet & juliet is taken from ratbag’s forthcoming new project.

ratbag has continued to defy expectations across a series of wildly varied singles, with NME and Rolling Stone recently naming her as one to watch for 2025. juliet & juliet continues to keep listeners on their toes as a buoyant love song that mixes gruesome with saccharine, with ratbag singing strange sweet nothings

juliet & juliet was debuted live to rapturous audiences across Australia earlier this month as ratbag joined Magdalena Bay on their Imaginal Mystery Tour. Following her debut headline shows in Australia and New Zealand last year, 2025 will see the burgeoning artist play more shows across the globe, including a spot on the lineup at the recently announced Iceland Airwaves in Reykjavík this November.

How do you use world building in your music to create a story for your listeners?
I am a very visual person so creating a world for my music helps me to create my own story, which then translates to my listeners. I use colours, textures, different characters to convey the story I see in my head. I love to dedicate lyrics to a character that ill sketch out and sometimes sculpt or paint too. Anything to bring them from my world into this one. It’s really very beautiful that my world connects with my listeners, it’s all i could ask for.

You just wrapped up tour with Magdalena Bay in Australia, what was it like performing juliet & juliet to crowds for the first time?
Performing juliet & juliet was truly wonderful for me. playing infront of new people is a great experience, there’s something so fun about slowly convincing a crowd to take a bite.

What was your favourite song to play live on tour?
My favourite song on tour was most definitely rats in my walls. I love surprising people with my scream at the end. I found that it was the most popular one on tour too, which was cool. people would say “what was that shoegazey rats song? It was epic”

Are there any standout moments from tour you’d like to share?
Singing to a sea of people who don’t know my music is exciting but also scary. my standout moments were when I’d see people singing my words, it was comforting and i honestly had to swallow the lump in my throat quite a few times as it would happen. on the last night at Perth, a really cool girl in the crowd was screaming every lyric, word for word. it was so special for me, I found her after the show and thanked her.

What was the writing process like for juliet & juliet?
Writing juliet and juliet felt natural and rewarding. i had just come out of a weekend of disappointing house parties so it felt fitting to write about how much i loved having my favourite person with my on those nights. writing the instrumental/production was like a fun math equation. I spent hours fitting the vocals into the rhythmic drums.

Did you have ideas about how you wanted the song represented visually during the writing stage?
Yes, straight away. I could visualise this killer house party with pulsing lights and punky outfits. most importantly I could clearly see the bathroom where Juliet and I would spend most of our time. Just rummaging through cabinets, trying on perfume, talking trash, making out. The stuff that’s always somehow more fun than the actual party itself.

When writing for your upcoming project, who have been your biggest influences?
I’ve been really into blood orange, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sharon Van Etten, always Thom Yorke and David Bowie too.

What can fans expect from your upcoming project?
They can expect a new land on the map of my world to unfold. this upcoming EP very much talks about my evolution into womanhood, and how it’s both beautiful and terrifying to be a woman.

How would you say your music has evolved since the release of pinky boy and pinky girl?
I’m not entirely sure actually, I guess with new characters comes new concepts and thoughts from myself. musically, I would say I’ve been evolving into expanding my sound bank even further.

What do you hope fans take away when they hear Juliet & Juliet for the first time?
I hope it makes them want to fall in love.

What’s up next for you?
That’s for me to hold tight and for you to find out.

Interview By Remi Levison

Stay tuned for more exciting news from ratbag over the coming weeks.