DIY, Delusion & Dirty Blonde: Fighting for Space in a Loud Industry

With a sharp edge and infectious charm, Manchester duo Dirty Blonde are becoming a force to bed reckoned with on the indie rock scene. Known for their punchy songwriting, unapologetic energy, and DIY spirit, Ailis MacKay (vocals and guitar) and Hayley Tait (lead guitar) have been on a whirlwind ride – most recently supporting Louis Tomlinson at Electric Brixton for a Music Venue Trust benefit show, and now gearing up to drop their debut EP, ‘Looking For Trouble’, on April 17. 

Music Is To Blame caught up with Dirty Blonde to talk about the challenges independent artists and gender minorities are facing, and being bold in an ever-changing industry. Things kicked off, naturally, with a chat about French phrases and gym prices. 

“I just went on a walk,” Ailis said. “I wanted to get a gym pass but it was £9 a session, so I said, ‘I refuse to spend 9 quid for one session. I don’t respect my body that much.’”

And from there, we dove into their world...

Meet Dirty Blonde 

MITB: Introduce yourselves and where you’re from. What should our readers know about Dirty Blonde?

Ailis: We’re Dirty Blonde, a female alt-rock duo from Manchester and we describe our sound as if Taylor Swift had an attitude problem and had a baby with Yungblud.

MITB: Your sound blends gritty indie rock with bold pop hooks—is Manchester influencing your music?

Both: Yeah! It’s gotta be! Mainly by Oasis—the reunion is happening!

MITB: Are you going?

Ailis: Yes! Hayley got really lucky with the tickets.

MITB: Are you opening for them?

Ailis: Ouh maybe!

MITB: We’ll make a few calls.

MITB: Your new EP ‘Looking for Trouble’ drops on April 17—congrats! What can you tell us about it?

Ailis: We wrote it in a really organic way, and it just ended up having its own sound. It’s all about figuring your life out in your twenties—with all the chaos that comes with it. So it’s just a raw and honest representation of what we were going through at the time. I would say the influences are Kings of Leon, Miles Kane, of course Oasis, a bit of Billie Eilish, and Chappell Roan.

MITB: I’m obsessed with ‘Adore Me’ at the moment because I recently went through a breakup, and it truly was the song I needed!

Hayley: Oh, thank you!

Ailis: I hope it made you feel better! Breakups are horrible because they’re so out of your control. It’s nice to let that emotion out somehow.

MITB: As independent artists, how do you balance creative control with industry pressure?

Hayley: It’s hard. Expectations and levels are high, and you have to compete with massive artists. We’re totally DIY—every video, every demo. We push ourselves, and we’re lucky to have each other. If one of us is struggling, the other is there. We definitely keep each other going.

Ailis: You’ve gotta be resourceful and a bit deluded. Instead of asking ‘why?’, ask ‘why not?’ That’s always been our mentality.

Hayley: Exactly.

Being Women in the Industry

MITB: What’s your experience been like as both women and indie artists? What should change in the industry?

Ailis: It’s difficult. There’ve been moments we felt overlooked, because we’re women, but also just as artists. When you’re a minority in the music industry, there is always going to be that question mark—'is it the music, or my gender?’ It’s horrible having to question why.

We’ve had great opportunities and instead of people saying ‘their music’s great,’ they say ‘it’s cause they’re women.’ You’ve got to work ten times harder to get the same opportunities as male artists and to be taken seriously.

We’ve seen pay gaps too—same gig, but a male band got offered £50 more. Hayley made this great point about the ‘all-female nights’—it’s great to try and get representation out there, but we don’t see ‘all-male nights’ since it’s just considered a ‘normal music night’. The female and gender minority talent is out there; you don’t need special nights to validate it. If you make your lineups fairly distributed and you’ve got the representation there, you don’t need these special nights.

Hayley: It’s like they try to represent women and gender minorities, and by doing so they’re actually making it worse.

Ailis: Yeah, like we’re not good enough to be on a regular lineup.

Supporting Independent Venues 

MITB: You’ve been supporting independent venues on your recent tour for the Independent Venues Week—what was that like, and why do those kinds of spaces matter so much for emerging artists?

Hayley: That tour was our first headline run and our first time on the road properly. It was fun spending lots of time together, and with the band. Independent venues are where we started—it’s how bands get their break. And these venues are the real supporters of grassroots music.

Ailis: They’re trying to break that vicious cycle.

MITB: Because these venues are struggling financially, is it a challenge for you to support these venues and find a balance between keeping gigs affordable for people and paying for yourselves and the venue fairly? 

Ailis: Of course, also pay the crew and the support act fairly as well! So here’s a tip: buy the ticket—but also, buy a drink! People don’t realise how much that helps. A few years ago, before Covid, bars could make up for low ticket sales, but now, even that’s harder. So go and watch a band, have a drink, even a soft!

MITB: Buy a t-shirt as well!

Ailis: Yes! Support the venue’s merch too!

MITB: With small venues under pressure and AI shaking things up, what advice would you give to new artists starting out in today’s scene?

Hayley: Don’t rush. Build your brand first. You can have the best songs in the world, but if you haven’t got a brand that people can invest into, it won’t land. As we first started out, I just wanted to get a song out there, but thankfully we didn’t! The reality is that no one is gonna hear it until they know who you are, and you need to establish that. I think it’s important to get an image for yourself and make sure it’s gonna stand out.

Ailis: And don’t worry about over-posting. Algorithms mean most people don’t even see your content. If you’re investing money in your music, shout about it for months—not just around release week. Keep going, keep pushing it.

Hayley: Make sure the music is good quality –if you’re going to record the song you want to put out there, and you want a chance for it to be played on the radio, it’s gotta sound great.

Ailis: Yeah. It’s like starting out in every business, you need to make that investment.

MITB: It made me think about the impact of TikTok and how artists who have been in the industry for years have their 10-year-old song blowing up because of a TikTok trend.

Ailis: Yeah exactly. Maybe 2035 will be our year!

Live Magic & Big Dreams

MITB: You recently opened for Louis Tomlinson at Electric Brixton for the Music Venue Trust—that must’ve been surreal! How was the experience, and what did it feel like to perform in front of such a dedicated fanbase?

Ailis: Oh it was amazing! A lot of the time, when you’re a support band, the crowd take some time to warm up to you – but like you said, the Louies are so dedicated and they’re really trusting of his taste for who he picks as his supports, and who he picks to be the soundtrack of his clothing drop. They were rooting for us from the minute we set foot on stage and it’s such a rare thing to have, and even pre-saving our EP after. We’re so grateful to them for being open to hear new music!

MITB: How did it come about?

Ailis: We were on a deep-sea fishing trip in Greece and Louis was on the boat next to ours. We had our EP on a USB stick and we were like ‘could we chuck this over for you?’ He was like ‘yeah man’—and then we got an email. God bless Crete!

MITB: Are you excited for your upcoming headline show in London on May 16th, so after the release of your EP? 

Hayley: Can’t wait!

Ailis: First time playing all the songs live so that will be nice!

MITB: Any local or up-and-coming artists you love right now?

Ailis: I’ve been listening to a lot of Eighty Eight Miles recently. Definitely check them out!

Hayley: Denver County Council from Manchester—it’s loose, rocky, Kings of Leon vibes.

MITB: If you’re going on a UK/Europe tour, what cities would you love to play in?

Hayley: France, obviously!

Ailis: Paris for sure. A few people have asked us to come to Sweden. I’m fluent in Spanish, so definitely somewhere in Spain!

Hayley: Amsterdam, Berlin…

Ailis: To be fair, absolutely everywhere. If you’ve got a sofa in any European country we’ll play there!

Interviewer: I’ve got one in Paris—just so you know!

Ailis: (laughs) Sorted!

MITB: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me, I can’t wait to hear the full EP—and hopefully see you live all over Europe soon!

Ailis: Thank you! Let’s start manifesting it now!

Lydia Sedda

@inlydseyes 

Images: Lydia Sedda

If you enjoyed reading this article please consider buying us a coffee. The money from this pot goes towards the ever increasing yearly costs of running and hosting the site, and our "Writer Of The Month" cash prize.