This is going to be short because I’m pretty much typing with one hand. I sliced my finger right open yesterday when cutting a bagel open, and you know- it could have been a day off work if I put more effort into my injury!
Manchester is home to some incredible bands; we already know the bands from the past but let’s stop looking back for a bit and focus on new bands such as GIRLTEETH. I think there are 4 of them in the band (obviously member amount isn’t important) and they are all exceptional musicians. They only have one song out at the moment, but it’s this one song that will demand your time and ears. It’s meant to be played loud, and to probably annoy your neighbours if you want.
Paper Hearts is delicate and heavy in all the right places (I sound like I’m describing myself) and has this beautiful euphoric build-up; it’s the kind of song you’d play walking home in the pissing rain after a really shit day. The only thing that would make the day better would be listening to music you love and going to sleep. So whilst awake, you should probably listen to GIRLTEETH. This is a dream introduction to what’s to come from them, and to basically become obsessed with them. It’s an actual crime to not love and adore them. I don’t make the rules. It’s truly a gorgeous song, and the perfect introduction to such a divine band. There’s a lot of longing and heartache in this song, but it’s done in a way that could probably break the happiest person around. You can tell they’ve put their all into this song, and that’s part of the reason why they are such a great band to listen to.
They are also playing a huge gig at the Peer Hat on the 14th December as part of Just Do The Thing presents The Thing: a transfem-centred fundraiser for Trans Mutual Aid Manchester and Yulia Trot’s solidarity fund. The night will have some BIG names playing but if you’ve not got tickets, then you’ve probably missed out because I am fairly sure it is sold out!
Paper Hearts is the perfect introduction to GIRLTEETH and I cannot wait to hear more from Manchester’s finest new band!
Anything I write about jasmine.4.t I have definitely written before, but she deserves all the praise in the world, and if that means I repeat myself- so be it!
Her show at Gorilla on Sunday was the last as part of her Tranarchy World Tour, and it was only right it ended in her home city of Manchester. The last time she headlined Manchester was back in May at the Deaf Institute, and it was of course, an incredible show but there was something incredibly special about the show at Gorilla. There was something about the show that made you realise just how phenomenal Jasmine and her band truly are. The lineup was slightly different but that takes nothing away at all. Basically, every single time, her band have been the absolute best of the best. No matter where they play or who is in the band- you won’t find a better group of people.
One thing you take away from a Jasmine show is the importance of community and feeling completely safe at her shows. The front row was full of queer kids having the best time- safe away from how brutal the outside world is. This just shows the importance of Jasmine’s music and the importance of community. Society will try to erase trans and non-binary people and try make you believe they are the ones to fear and hate. But it’s those in power…always those in power that are to blame. Seeing so many young queer kids have the most carefree time on Sunday gave me some hope. Some much needed hope because the world is cruel and cold to us.
What I adore about Jasmine and her band is that you can really feel how much they love being on stage, and how it is important to unleash these songs on stage. They are songs that NEED to be heard- they carry such importance. I wish I had this kind of representation growing up. It may have made growing up slightly easier but knowing that queer kids have someone like Jasmine to look up to is just so beautiful. There were two kids at the front, and I knew at their age I wouldn’t have had the money to buy merch, so I grabbed a set list from the sound desk and gave it to them. I hope they go it signed by Jasmine because you cannot put a price on that. The kids will be alright.
You can really feel it was the last show of the tour, and I think this was pretty much summed up by Emily climbing up the stage and also lobbing her bass across the stage as the last song, Did U No ends (I think the person on the sound desk was questioning their life choices after that.) Emily doesn’t go quietly, and that’s why we love her. Asher and Maxie are two new additions, and they are an absolute joy to watch- you can’t tear your eyes away from the stage, and you cannot help but be in awe of these 4 incredible musicians on stage. They are all remarkable. Obsessed forever.
There are many loud and rowdy moments on stage, but for me, it’s always going to be the tenderness of Roan that gets me. Jasmine’s vocals on this are angelic, but when you witness it live, it is truly something else. It is the most gentle and soothing part of the show. It feels like we are all transcending into something and part of you feels like you are intruding in something so personal, but you cannot help but watch. It’s such a grounding song, and the way Jasmine performs it just makes it so ethereal. She does exactly the same with Kitchen too. Both songs are so powerful and vulnerable. Nobody does it like Jasmine; there is something about her words that just get you right in the gut.
Jasmine’s shows are loud, passionate, the definition of safety and community. If you’re ever searching for those things- listen to her music, go to her shows. I’m pretty sure her and her band are the hardest working musicians this year has seen. They are all such a joy to watch, and they all truly shine on stage. For me, it’ll always be Did U No as THE most important moment of the shows but songs like Elephant (this will never not make me cry) and Woman that show exactly why Jasmine and her band deserve the world and more. To see the crowd absolutely belt out every single word to Guy Fawkes Teso Dissociation (I sing this to my cat) and Breaking In Reverse will never get old. I just want to live at a Jasmine show to be honest. I don’t think I can fully put into words how much her shows and music mean, but I reckon anyone who listens to her or has been to her show gets it.
Jasmine and her band rip right through the bulk of her debut record, You Are The Morning and also play some tracks off the YBT Deluxe version. This version is named after Jasmine’s close friend Yulia Trot who is one of the Filton 24, who are being held as political prisoners in the UK. You can find more about Yulia here:www.freeyulia.com and you can learn about how to support Yulia and the Filton 24 on Instagram: @freethefilton24 and the trial started this week. Free Palestine, always. Free the Filton 24. Free Yulia.
I just also want to mention because it is VITAL. Yulia is being held at HMP Styal. If you’re able, please call the prison on 01625 553000 and demand that they reinstate Yulia’s rights. To find out more, please go on Instagram and find @s_tax and look for the post from 5 days ago, and you’ll have all the info you need there. If you cannot contact the prison, please share the post. Thank you x
There aren’t many bands/singers I will bawl at the second I hear their voice or pay attention to the lyrics. One in particular goes against this, is the beautiful and just wonderful human being- jasmine.4.t.
I’ve written about Jasmine a few times, and her music means so much. Her words mean the world- it’s like feeling at home or safe in the person you are. She’s just amazing and seems to always know what to say. She’s just incredible.
Rather than me tell you why her new single, I Can’t Believe I Did This Without You is incredible and go into detail why, I want to use this to show why this song is important using Jasmine’s words. Anyone can listen to the song and hear it’s importance, but I want to share why it is such a vital song and the importance of the deluxe version of You Are The Morning (which is out on Friday.)
Read carefully, and please support Yulia in any way you can. Free Yulia. Free Palestine.
“This deluxe version of my record is dedicated to political prisoner Yulia Trot aka YBT. I met Yulia at the first queer event I ever attended. It was six months after I had come out, and I was still living in Bristol but staying with friends in Manchester. Yulia and I became really close – she taught me how to do my makeup over FaceTime, supported me through my marriage ending, and when I became homeless I moved onto the sofa of her one-bed flat in Manchester until I found a room. She stayed by my side through the toughest times of my life, giving me the strength to carry on through my transition, and in time we became each others’ chosen family. When I started performing as Jasmine, she would come on the road with me as roadie/security. There were a few times when she put herself between me and men twice her size who wished to harm me.
As the project grew, Yulia continued touring with us, running the merch stand and selling her handmade friendship bracelets for the benefit of Trans Mutual Aid Manchester, an organisation that supports members of my community with essential costs. She became a close friend of the whole band and a vital, supportive and reliable member of our community.
One evening in November 2024, while we were recording a live session for 6 Music, we heard news that Yulia had been arrested that day in a violent raid on her home. She is one of the Filton 24, arrestees alleged to be connected with a group of actionists entering the UK headquarters of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit systems in August 2024, where £1m worth of damage was said to be caused. This included killer Israeli drones that have been reported to target Palestinian children in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Our beloved Yulia was initially arrested under terrorism law in a gross misuse of legislation that allowed heavy-handed police powers. She was then charged with the non-terror offences of burglary and trespass, but transferred as a political prisoner to a maximum security private prison on the other side of the country, away from her family and friends, where she will be held on remand for a total of two years until her trial. As with several other protestors that the state wishes to make an example of, she was kept in the rehab wing so that she would experience sensory torture from the constant screams of inmates experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The prosecutors’ details were shared with Israeli state officials in a breach of judicial independence. The United Nations have intervened in this case, stating that anti-terrorism legislation “may have been used to circumvent procedural safeguards in relation to detention, and as a specific and general deterrent” in a serious breach of human rights standards. Several international humanitarian law firms have cosigned a letter (https://eldh.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/UK-Filton-18-Statement.pdf) warning that this case signals a serious backslide of democracy and the rule of law.
Since her arrest, Yulia’s chosen family and friends have been regularly visiting her at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey and supporting her financially while in prison. Her absence is felt deeply and the visits to the prison carry an enormous emotional toll for us all. It terrifies me to see how my best friend’s mental health has deteriorated – she is autistic and is really struggling on the inside. There have been several periods where we have worried about her not surviving until her trial.
Entering the prison as a trans woman is terrifying, knowing how trans women are treated in prison. The first time I visited I was groped, and the second time I visited one of the guards made a joke about sexually assaulting prisoners. Though Bronzefield is the largest “Woman’s Prison” in Europe, several inmates there are transsexual men who are forcibly detransitioned on entry and denied access to their testosterone. Recently a trans man died in custody there – he was one of Yulia’s friends. This all happens while pride flags are displayed in the visiting hall. These daily traumas are wearing down on Yulia to the point where she thinks she is no longer herself, and will never be the same again.
Since my record was centred around themes of queer solidarity, queer friendship and queer love, three things that I believe Yulia personifies, it made sense to dedicate this deluxe version to her. These are some of the songs that she loved the most and often requested live, in particular “Did U No”, which was her favourite. I visited Yulia in prison during the recording session for this track, and I remember crying, screaming, and channeling my rage at the state into the vocals when I returned to the studio that evening.
We had planned to record “Did U No” for the album originally, as it was also a favourite of Phoebe’s, but sadly we ran out of time in LA. It is such a joy, now, to be able to finally get it down. It is joined by “Find Ur Ppl”, which was the second song that I wrote after coming out (following “Woman”). “Find Ur Ppl” is a song about meeting Yulia and the Manchester community, which feels vitally important given how many young trans people are in danger, isolated and in need of the safe haven of queer camaraderie. “I Can’t Believe I Did This Without You” and “I Don’t Think Anyone Else Could Hold The Same Place In My Heart” are two new songs on this release that I wrote during the LA recording sessions for the album, up on the roof of Sound City Studio between takes. I recorded five songs as demos and sent them as a thank you to my bandmates and producers after returning home to Manchester from LA. It’s nice to have more polished versions of these two. The remaining song, “Please Can We Hold Each Other Yesterday,” is a more recent ode to lost time with loved ones. I demoed this track on my phone and Steph Marziano (the awesome producer of these new tracks) liked it so much, as it was, that she suggested we didn’t re-record it and release it as is. I love how these tracks have turned out, with the help of Steph and the incredible band lineup that I have been playing live with this summer – Phoenix Rousiamanis on violin and keys, Maeve Westall on drums and Emily Abbott on bass.
Now when I sing these songs, I am singing them to my best friend, my mother, my sister, my daughter – the political prisoner Yulia Trot. Of all the things that I have lived through, nothing has felt as big as losing her. I hope that one day she will be able to hear these recordings. I hope that one day she, all of her co-defendants, and all of Palestine, will be free.
Please support Yulia’s friends and family with visit costs and read more at freeyulia.com and follow @freethefilton24 on Instagram.”
Jasmine will be on tour in the UK and Ireland in November:
11th Nov – Scala, London, UK 12th Nov – Thekla, Bristol, UK 13th Nov – The Art School, Glasgow, UK 15th Nov – Academy 2, Dublin, IE 16th Nov – Gorilla, Manchester, UK
Beat In My Bones. 