Interview: Kat Moss Talks the Experience of Womanhood in Hardcore Music and Creativity Fueled by Fearless Authenticity

Kat Moss, lead vocalist of Scowl, talks taking on the patriarchy and the power of feminine rage.

Written by Mar Carmona

Scowl has been tackling the hardcore scene with traditionally feminine flowery motifs lead by punk powerhouse and @8leggedbaby, Kat Moss. The band gained a cult following soon after the release of their 2019 debut EP and are now headlining tours, playing sold out shows, and performing with big names like Limp Bizkit. From Moss’s colorful personal style, to Scowl’s merchandise and album covers showered in flowers and bright imagery, there’s no doubt Kat and the band are singlehandedly redefining femininity’s role in hardcore and shining a light on the experience of being a woman in music.

Afterglow: How do you think Scowl and your own role in the band has impacted what it means to be feminine within hardcore? What was the motivation behind some of those artistic choices?

The motivation behind a lot of those choices was a lot of wanting to be authentic to myself and expressing myself in a way that felt authentic. I resonate with feminine aesthetics and imagery, and I also resonate a lot with being an emotional one. I try not to always phrase it that way or center it around particularly being a woman because I have so many friends who identify less with being a woman and more the experience of being a woman, if that makes sense. There’s a very big difference. For me personally, I don't super identify with gender. It’s not something that is super important to my identity, but I do resonate a lot with the experience of being a woman, and how our world and our culture is kind of traumatizing.

There’s a lot to experience as people who are not cis white men, that’s really challenging, probably a lot more challenging than my perspective as a white woman. Bringing Scowl into it is like bringing our imagery, our concepts, and the way that I choose to create and present myself and present the imagery for the band. It's really for and because of that trauma. That’s probably the deepest I've ever spoken about it too. So yeah, it's really about how I resonated so much with female rage and hurt because I experienced it. It’s heavy shit!

One hundred percent, it’s definitely the tragedy of the female experience.

Yes, absolutely. I try not to overindulge in thinking about it because I'll just start feeling bad. I wish I was a bit more educated on this so bear with me, but throughout many waves of feminism, there's been moments where individuals have been going in the right direction and then fall short because maybe they indulge too much in that. I mean I love rage, but it’s very complicated. It's very complex.

You mentioned how you identify and embrace being an emotional individual. Sometimes society can create a lot of shame surrounding that, especially when it comes to existing in a male-dominated space. Often one feels pressure to mold yourself to be similar to everyone around you. Have you experienced this?

Yes, exactly. That exact point is why I've chosen to embrace that. Instead of being ashamed, I’m choosing to embrace: being emotional, a woman, an individual, and an authentic body. Whether it be my emotions, the words I write, the clothes I wear, or the merch we print, whatever it may be — I'm going to embrace that instead of being ashamed of it.

I really like that. What advice would you give to somebody that may identify with the experience of being a woman and wants to get into their local hardcore scene or start a band?

It’s going to be scary. It's going to be intimidating, as it is getting into anything new. Experimenting with new, creative endeavors, it's always going to be intimidating, but there's going to be that added layer of like, if you want to embrace that femininity — go for it, don't hold back. Just do it. It doesn't have to be perfect, just do something. Get a group together, meet new people who play instruments. It is going to mean a lot to you in the future. The first six months of being in a band was not easy. I didn't know what I was doing; I was scared [and] I was awkward. I was bad at stage presence, you know, I didn't know what to do with myself, but I loved it. I kept coming back. Even if you try it and you don't love it, you know not to come back at least.

As far as some of the challenging experiences you’ve mentioned — how do you go about navigating those?

It's hard. Sometimes I want to get really emotional, there's been times that I've been kept up at night because of the things that anonymous faces on the internet have said about me. It’s usually stuff that relates to my identity and the way I present, kind of the core of who I am. What I'm putting out there is vulnerable. What helped me navigate it was getting over it pretty much by realizing these are just faces. I had to tap in a little bit into my ego and the confident side of me, which is the Kat who is onstage, who has all this confidence. When I'm not on stage that turns off, but sometimes I have to turn it on and I have to give myself just a little shot of ego.

“These people are talking about us, that's a good thing! They're talking about me, that's a good thing! I don't know who these people are, I've been putting myself out there, people are going to talk about it,” this is the reality of the world. At the end of the day, I recognize that usually this stuff is projection. It's usually like, the people are saying these things because it’s something about me that makes them see something in themselves that they don't like. Or they're offended by it because they're not used to it. That reminds me that I'm doing something special. It’s a fucked up way to realize that, but I have to do it otherwise I will be kept up at night because I get pretty sad and I'm a pretty sensitive person.

This idea of taking up space even if certain people don’t want you to is so hard.

It's so hard. Even now, I'm sitting here about to play a show that we're headlining at a place that I've only been to once before and I'm so grateful. I try constantly to tap into my gratitude. But I also still want to make myself small, like I still find myself wanting to fit into this box of this idea of myself about what I should be and it's always hazed by the patriarchy, right? And I'm like, “Nope! We’re gonna play the show, going to wear my big boots, and I'm gonna be tall and big and take up space and like, I'm gonna play the fucking show!”

That’s awesome. I wanted to ask about your style, which you mentioned is a big part of your identity. You recently collaborated with the brand Havoc for their Scowl-inspired collection which recently just dropped. How was that experience?

I'm so hyped about it! I’m pretty sure it’s already sold out. We’d been talking about it since the summer, and I met Shy officially at Sound and Fury in July, but we have been mutuals for a minute. I just love what she does. She puts her blood, sweat, and tears into it. It’s incredible, and I told her today that I am so proud. I had no expectations, but the people really liked this stuff. I'm so grateful because I love fashion, self-expression, and art. This is really like leaning into something I love a lot with my music.

You can follow Scowl on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and stream their latest album on Spotify and Apple Music.

This interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.

InterviewsAfterglow ATXDecember 9, 2022mar carmona, hardcore