/MUSIC WELCOME TO THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ILL
ILL’s success is all the more edifying, of course, because of the hands-on, autonomous way with which they’ve gone about achieving it. Proudly displaying their DIY punk credentials, the band have maintained firm creative control from the very outset. They manage themselves, handle their own PR, and every aspect of the band – from videos to artwork to photoshoots – has all been carefully conceived and executed. And while six years might seem a long time to wait for a debut album, ILL wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“I think we’re so much better for it,” says Bluzma, “the fact we’ve taken a few years to put out an album. Bands get record deals really early on in their career, and they put out albums before they’ve worked out who they really are.”
“With us,” adds Shanahan. “We’ve taken the time to establish our identity and develop an aesthetic: the videos, the ethics, the politics. It’s about much more than the music. I sometimes joke and refer to this band as like a little autonomous nation – the People’s Republic of ILL.”
Exploding into life in 2012, ILL’s core members, Shanahan, Bluzma and Ledgard, first met when playing together in Womb, the women’s improvisation collective born out of the experimental arts scene based at Salford’s Islington Mill. Deciding to start a brand new project, the band’s sound, over the past six years, has evolved from improvised,