Bristol musician MARIA has written a powerful spoken-word piece detailing what it is like to be a woman in today's world.
The thought-provoking track captures the anger and frustration felt by women everywhere.
The track is called 'Home By Nine' and was written by MARIA (who performs with Bristol band Dutty Moonshine Big Band) a few years ago. Since then there has been several major stories about violent attacks by men.
Read more: Bristol MP's plea to men as murderer is jailed for life
In between the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa on March 3 and September 17 2021, 77 other women in the UK were killed by men - one woman every 2.5 days.
Globally, that figure rises to six women an hour.
'Home By Nine' is a powerful spoken word poem, set to music by Martin Badder, with the video shot overlooking Bristol city centre at sunset. The full track will be released on February 11, to coincide with the official 2022 Sexual Abuse/Sexual Violence Awareness Week.
All profits will go to two Bristol charities, Bristol Women's Voice is a women's equality charity that campaigns on all issues related to women - gender-based violence being one of them. Another is SARSAS (Somerset & Avon Rape & Sexual Assault Support) and they help survivors of sexual abuse.
The track’s vocal line came instinctively to MARIA: “I wrote Home by Nine on a train one day. I was feeling so overwhelmed, so hurt by everything my friends and I had experienced in our lives. It all came crashing down on me and my heart honestly broke that day.
“There isn’t a woman in my life who at some point hasn’t been afraid, followed, assaulted, or not believed. Not a single one. I felt like I was burning with anger at the injustice of it and then the words just came out.
"I’ve been writing since I was 16, and nothing has ever flowed out onto the page so quickly. It needed to come out. It needs to be said."
BristolLive spoke with Martin about how the track came about. He told of how he saw a spoken word video on Instagram and couldn't get the words out of his head, saying that they were so relevant and hard hitting.
He said: "You didn't want to listen to it, but you knew you had to, it had a lot of home truths and it really resonated with me."
Martin stated that a few months later while he was working on a garage track, he had finished the track but had no vocals for it.
So he decided to go back to MARIA's Instagram and layer the spoken words over his track - he was left in awe.
Subconsciously, he thinks he had MARIA'S words in his head whilst creating the track.
"That works, it's seamless, it is meant to be" were his words after listening to his creation.
Martin was anxious about getting into contact with MARIA, he said he left the draft on his hard drive for a long period of time as he was worried that she may not like the fact that he layered her words over his track.
Also that there was a possibility that MARIA could dislike the piece, however eventually he finally plucked up the courage to message her.
"If she doesn’t like it, it will go no further," he said to himself.
MARIA loved it, only a few weeks later she went to his studio to record it properly and before they knew it it was complete.
He sent it to a couple of record labels that he had released music with before and the popular and well-known Nervous Records, based in New York got back to him almost immediately.
Badder told BristolLive: “I just want as many people as possible to hear this track, if it just makes one person think twice or change their attitude, I feel we will have achieved a greatness with this track.
"I have both a young daughter and a son, so I am so keen for the world to a better place when they grow up."
Badder hopes the track’s message will open vital conversations, particularly with men.
One morning Badder, very early, around 3am, Badder was walking home after a DJ set, something he does frequently.
The streets were deserted and there was only him and he saw a young lady walking home, usually he would just walk behind her, however he thought about this track and thought that he really didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable so he moved to the other side of the road and sped up so he passed her and she would know she wasn't in danger.
“Consider your behaviour and how it may come across to other people, especially late at night” he added.
Katy Taylor, director of Bristol Women’s Voice, said: “We are living through an epidemic of male violence against women and girls and ‘Home By Nine’ is a powerful reminder of the dangers women face and the fear they experience daily.
"Bristol Women’s Voice is committed to making Bristol a city free from all forms of gender-based violence and we will continue to do everything in our power to tackle the sexism and misogyny that lays the foundations for male violence.
"We are proud to be a part of this project alongside SARSAS, which does such vital work to support survivors of sexual violence in and around Bristol."
MARIA adds: “The way things are right now, it is normal to be afraid. But being afraid does not make us weak. It makes us strong, and I want women everywhere to know that.”
BristolLive have received an exclusive short clip from the track you can watch this at the top of the page, however the full 'Home By Nine' track will be available to buy on ITunes and Spotify from 11th Feb 2022, all profits will go to Bristol charities helping survivors of sexual abuse, Bristol Women's Voice and SARSAS (Somerset & Avon Rape & Sexual Assault Support).
If you have been a victim of rape, sexual assault or violence contact SARSAS on 0808 801 0456 or 0808 801 0464, you can also email them on support@sarsas.org.uk.
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