Harpy is as striking and dangerous as the Greek beast that bears her name. As she prepares to descend on Download, the London alt. queen explains how she’s all about blood, chaos and “not taking any sh*t…”
Harpy isn’t a project, a person or an alter ego – it’s an energy. It came crawling out of a darkened room, one with thumping music, flashing lights and partygoers in latex and leather, inspired by the expressiveness and freedom of the London goth and fetish club scene its creator would frequent.
“It’s an embodiment of a very powerful, strong, independent, not-taking-any-shit kind of energy,” she considers.
The concept actually existed before the music, but Harpy always knew that it was her inevitable path.
“I was born making sounds,” she gleefully tells Kerrang!. “I was screaming from day one like a banshee.”
Her devilish storytelling slinks from genre to genre, encompassing pulsing industrial (Slaughterhouse) to eerie alt.pop (Not My God Anymore). There’s some spellbinding rock (Medicine) thrown in the cauldron, too, all with an insatiable lust for gloom.
Some of these songs were brought to life with the help of WARGASM’s Sam Matlock, who Harpy first met in 2021, and their frequent collaborator Charlie Russell.
“Sam is my brother in chaos,” Harpy says. “I love that man very, very dearly. Charlie was then introduced to me by him, and along came The Devil’s Tripod. We’re trouble when we’re together – we have some crazy nights out – but we do make good music!”
WARGASM brought Harpy along to tour with them in late 2023. More recently, she opened for Cassyette, who she first met when she was an extra on the Sad Girl Summer video. “She’s the coolest person on the planet, punk to the core,” Harpy says of her mate. “One of the best human beings you’ll ever come across.”
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The tour was the perfect way for Harpy to find her audience, particularly with so many fellow queer people in the crowd. And this month, she’ll get to unleash the full force of her theatricality for her debut headline show at The Camden Assembly in London.
“I’m really excited about what this show is going to bring,” she grins. “Up until this point I’ve only done supports, and you’re limited to what you can do when someone’s going onstage after you.”
After all, things can get messy – quite literally, in Harpy’s case, as she’s known to pour blood over herself mid-set. “I don’t want Milkie Way slipping over and getting blood on her beautiful ’70s outfits!”
Harpy’s here to be evocative and impulsive. The worst thing anyone watching can be is indifferent.
“I am about intense feeling, and I really want to make people feel intense things at the show – whether they’re grossed out or they’re turned on, or they hate it,” she asserts. “If they hate it, I love that.
“As long as they’re feeling something strong, that’s gold for me.”
Harpy plays London Camden Assembly on March 21 and Download Festival in June – get your tickets now.
This interview originally appeared in the spring 2025 issue of Kerrang!.
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