Millicent Ellen Lovelock (born ) is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Zealand who performs as Repulsive Woman. She was a member of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

bands, Astro Children (2010–2017, 2019) and Trick Mammoth (2013–2015). As Repulsive Woman she released her debut album, ''Relief'', in June 2019. Late that year Lovelock relocated to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. ''Relief'' won the

Taite Music Prize The Taite Music Prize is an annual New Zealand music award event. It features the same-named prize awarded for the best album from New Zealand. The prize is named after respected New Zealand music journalist and broadcaster Dylan Taite, who die ...

for Best Independent Debut in May 2020.

Biography

Lovelock started her musical career in

. At four or five years old she started to learn violin but does not consider herself to be proficient, and had been taught guitar by her father from the age of 13. Later she was classically trained in violin and clarinet. Her early performances included cover versions of pop boy band,

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gr ...

. Lovelock on guitar and vocals founded Astro Children in 2010, with fellow school friend, Isaac Hickey on drums. The alt-pop, shoegaze duo's name references "Astro Zombies" by the

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

. One venue they played at was The Attic in

George Street, Dunedin George Street is the main street of Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for two and a half kilometres north-northeast from The Octagon in the city centre to the foot of Pine Hill. It is straight and undu ...

, which doubled as a recording studio. They recorded an extended play, ''Lick My Spaceship'', at that venue, which was issued in October 2012. They provided their first music video for the EP's single, "The One We Start With", in June 2013. Their debut album, ''Proteus'', was also recorded at Dunedin's Attic Studios and was released in that year. While still in Astro Children, Lovelock joined indie pop group Trick Mammoth late in 2013, on vocals and guitar, alongside Adrian Ng on guitar and Sam Valentine on drums. Ng had produced ''Proteus'' for Astro Children and had formed Trick Mammoth in 2012 with his former school mate, Valentine. Lovelock was recorded on that group's debut album, ''Floristry'' (February 2014), for Fishrider Records. From late 2014 to March 2017 she was a student columnist for ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'' with her "A Situation Report". She also completed her master's degree in English studies at

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

with her thesis, "One Direction fans and the co-construction of identity". In her opinion column she addressed issues of sexism, cuts to humanities courses and concerns on the future for young women. ''Otago Daily Times'' journalist Vaughan Elder reported that she was "so polarising" and that "predominantly older white men" took issue with her opinions. Lovelock had adopted the stage name, Repulsive Woman, late in 2015, while still a member of Astro Children. Her honours dissertation was on

Djuna Barnes Djuna Barnes (, June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer who is perhaps best known for her novel ''Nightwood'' (1936), a cult classic of lesbian fiction and an important work of modernist litera ...

and her 1936 novel, ''

Nightwood ''Nightwood'' is a 1936 novel by American author Djuna Barnes that was first published by publishing house Faber and Faber. It is one of the early prominent novels to portray explicit homosexuality between women, and as such can be considered l ...

''. Lovelock's pseudonym is from Barnes' poetry collection, ''The Book of Repulsive Women'' (1915). As Repulsive Woman she recorded her cover versions of One Direction songs and progressed to writing her own material. Astro Children issued another EP, ''Plain and Fancy Killings'' (April 2016), which ''Undertheradar''s Joon Yang noticed took the duo, "closer to a darker, sludgier, and post-punk lyrical and sonic territory." Repulsive Woman released her debut single of original material, "Relief", in mid-2017. During that year she had taught herself cello and then used the instrument for the single. Lovelock relocated to Berlin for 2018 where she studied at

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

before returning to Dunedin. Her debut album, ''Relief'', was released in June 2019 and was supported by touring the country from May to July. Her backing band both for the album and the associated tour were Adelaide Dunn (also engineer and producer), Julie Dunn on bass guitar and Olive Butler on violin. Late that year Lovelock relocated to

. ''Relief'' won the

for Best Independent Debut in May 2020. The citation describes her album, "an elusive, guitar-driven exploration of self in the context of modern society. ovelockuniquely crafts soothing melodies with intricate lyrics to convey inner-conflicts and societal pressures." While in Manchester she has recorded material for an EP, writing parts for bass guitar, guitar and strings, including recording violin parts on a

MIDI keyboard A MIDI keyboard or controller keyboard is typically a piano-style electronic musical keyboard, often with other buttons, wheels and sliders, used for sending MIDI signals or commands over a USB or MIDI 5-pin cable to other musical devi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelock, Millie 21st-century New Zealand women singers 1990s births Living people New Zealand women singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters New Zealand rock singers New Zealand expatriates in England Musicians from Dunedin University of Otago alumni