Rob Steadman

Professional Musician and Teaching Artist

Rob Steadman has been a professional touring musician for over ten years as the drummer for Indie Folk band Stornoway

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It's a Test

by Kritters

Kritters’ latest single, It's a Test, is about self-control as survival tactic, and the self-editing we've all done at one point to avoid scaring people away with our (totally normal) wants or needs - trimming our personalities, holding our breath, curtailing our own lives. Who hasn't had a relationship like that? It's a dynamic that's present in wider, structural relationships, too - out of power groups do all kinds of self-editing to avoid scaring in-power groups, because scaring them can have terrifying results. Accompanying the release is an ambitious video which brings eight canonical artworks to life, reimagining the women subjects as empowered and more fully human. Some engage in destruction, some seek escape, and some take revenge. Like real people, and not vessels for the egos of male artists. Lead singer/songwriter Kirini O.K. is also a visual artist, and the video is fueled by her outrage at the tyranny of male genius in art history and present. Kritters are strong adherents of a philosophy they call D.I.YES, which in practice means they designed and built the sets, created the costumes, and filmed and edited the video entirely themselves.