‘I Like To Dance’, the new song launched on triple j last night from Sydney artist Alex The Astronaut, tells the story of an unnamed, hypothetical woman who experiences violence at the hands of her partner.
“You scream ‘Why don’t you leave!’ / My kids are two and three / I just can’t pay for what they need / We both know he’d find me,” Alex sings.
This song isn’t Alex’s story: she wrote the song after a social encounter with a magistrate, who told Alex that he saw a devastating amount of cases of domestic violence each week. Alex spoke to her friends and realised how many of them had experienced domestic violence themselves.
One in three Australian women has experienced physical violence; one woman a week is murdered by a current or former partner. With this story, Alex zooms in on the experience of the women behind those statistics and brings into view the women who should be known for their strength, kindness, talents, and dreams, not the violence that they’ve experienced.
1800 RESPECT
https://www.1800respect.org.au
ALEX THE ASTRONAUT TOUR DATES
Thurs Aug 8 – Charlie Cunningham Tour – Darmstadt, Germany
Fri Aug 9 – Haldern Pop Festival – Rees, Germany
Sun Aug 11 – Broadcast – Glasgow, UK
Wed Aug 14 – The Camden Assembly – London, UK
Sat Aug 31 – The Cube – Wodonga *
Sat Sept 7 – NEX – Newcastle *
Sun Sept 8 – C.Ex Coffs – Coffs Harbour
Thurs Sept 12 – Astor Theatre – Perth *
Fri Sept 13 – HQ Complex – Adelaide *
Thurs Sept 19 – Saloon Bar – Launceston *
Fri Sept 20 – Uni Bar – Hobart *
Sat Sept 21 – Costa Hall, Deakin University – Geelong*
Fri Oct 11 – Brothers – Cairns *
Sat Oct 12 – James Cook Uni Bar – Townsville *
Sun Oct 13 – Magnums Hotel, Airlie Beach *
Sat Nov 2 – Land of Plenty Festival – Shepparton
Sat Nov 9 – This That Festival – Newcastle
* Supporting Vera Blue