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Milkie Way

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Not to be confused with Mikey Way or Milky Way.

Milkie Way
Headshot of Milkie Way performing with an electric guitar.
Hastings performing in 2023
Background information
Birth nameRachel Alexandra Hastings
Also known as
  • Milkie Way
  • Girl in the Pit
Born (1997-12-09) 9 December 1997 (age 26)
County Antrim, Northern Ireland
OccupationMusician
Member of

Rachel Alexandra Hastings (born 9 December 1997), known professionally as Milkie Way, is a musician from Northern Ireland. Born in County Antrim, she moved to London to study at the London College of Fashion and spent time as a model and a concert photographer. She and Sam Matlock formed Wargasm in August 2019, and their mixtape and album Explicit: The Mixxxtape (2022) and Venom (2023) peaked at number 19 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and number 88 on the UK Albums Chart respectively.

Hastings also played bass guitar as a session musician for Barns Courtney and Yungblud and featured on Trash Boat's 2021 single "Bad Entertainment" and Gunship's 2023 single "Monster in Paradise". Her performance of "Bad Entertainment" at the 2021 Heavy Music Awards caused its Twitch account to be banned for three days, prompting defiant social media posts from the ceremony, Hastings, and Trash Boat's Tobi Duncan.

Early life

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Milkie Way was born Rachel Alexandra Hastings in County Antrim on 9 December 1997.[a] She was raised on Motown, soul music, and pop music such as David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations, got into guitar music via the Smashing Pumpkins and Bikini Kill,[5] and got into nu metal via Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.[6]

Aged 14 or 15, she taught herself bass guitar to spite an ex-boyfriend who had derided her musical ambitions.[7] She moved to London to study at London College of Fashion, but dropped out due to her inability to cope with being told what to do.[8]

Career

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Hastings performing as part of Wargasm, 2024

Hastings spent a period modelling in Tokyo[9] immediately after dropping out.[8] She also modelled alongside Cara Delevingne[7] and for Toni & Guy and Valentino campaigns.[10] While at university, she would make friends by attending concerts with mosh pits, which she would photograph using disposable cameras.[11] After accruing a collection of images, she launched the "Girl in the Pit" photography project,[11] as part of which she photographed the band Dead![7] She also toured as the bass player for Barns Courtney.[12]

In 2018, after Dead! broke up, the band's Sam Matlock contacted Hastings to ask if she played an instrument,[7] as he was looking to set up a band with female vocals and a Riot grrrl attitude.[12] They began producing pop punk[1] but soon pivoted to nu metal.[13] The pair launched Wargasm in August 2019[14] and released the mixtape Explicit: The Mixxxtape (2022) and the album Venom (2023),[15] which respectively charted at number 19 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and number 88 on the UK Albums Chart.[16]

In July 2021, Hastings featured on Trash Boat's "Bad Entertainment", a track from their August 2021 album Don't You Feel Amazing?,[17] which charted at number 9 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and number 70 on the Scottish Albums Chart.[18] Trash Boat and Hastings performed the track at that year's Heavy Music Awards,[19] for which she wore a custom-designed crucifix vest created by the designer Anine Irdem.[20] The ceremony's Twitch stream was banned for three days[21] after users reported her for exposing her nipples,[20] prompting Hastings to tweet she "could not believe how powerful my nipples are".[21] Trash Boat's Tobi Duncan observed that his nipples were also visible through his fishnet shirt, and the award ceremony responded positively to the performance.[21] Matlock later attributed the ban to fans of another artist filing reports,[4] and Hastings would later wear the outfit on the artwork for Explicit: The Mixxxtape.[22]

By the time of "Bad Entertainment"'s release, Hastings had toured with Yungblud.[23] In July 2023, she provided vocals for Gunship's "Monster in Paradise", which also featured Dave Lombardo, Tyler Bates, and Tim Cappello;[24] later that year, the track appeared on their album Unicorn,[25] which charted at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart.[26]

Artistry

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Hastings has mentioned how Romily Alice of Japanese Voyeurs and disco music inspired her artistry.[27][28] Her style icons include Prince, Wendy O. Williams, Paris Hilton, Sora Choi, Tank Girl, 1980s cock rock, Dennis Rodman, Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Brody Dalle, and Lady Gaga.[14] At the start of January 2021, Yungblud described Way as "a metal Gwen Stefani".[29]

Discography

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Main article: Wargasm (band) § Discography
Year Title Album Ref.
2021 "Bad Entertainment"
(Trash Boat featuring Milkie Way) 		Don't You Feel Amazing?[17] [30]
2023 "Monster in Paradise"
(Gunship featuring Milkie Way, Dave Lombardo, Tyler Bates, and Tim Cappello) 		Unicorn[25] [24]

Notes

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  1. ^
    • For her first and last name, see [1].
    • For her middle name, see [2].
    • For her birthday, see [3].
    • For her birthplace and year, see [4].

References

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  1. ^ a b "WARGASM on creating their spiky brand of electro-rock in AltPress issue #402 cover story". Alternative Press. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  2. ^ "HASTINGS RACHEL ALEXANDRA". ASCAP. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  3. ^ @milkieway_ (23 November 2011). "oop. kinda forgot it's my birthday in 16 days" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b "Meet the rising NI heavy metal star who caused 'topless' stir at awards ceremony". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 24 July 2022. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  5. ^ Shutler, Ali (27 October 2023). "Wargasm: Thank you for the Venom". Dork. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Nu-metal is cool now". The Face. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Wargasm: Nu-Metal-Loving, Riot-Grrrl-Spirited U.K. Duo Are "Fire and Fire"". Revolver. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b "The Downbeat Podcast w/ Milkie Way (Wargasm)". YouTube. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  9. ^ "WARGASM" (in German). Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  10. ^ Summan, Yasmine (13 March 2020). "Female musicians breaking through the industry that you NEED to check out". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b "WARGASM's Milkie Way: "If the choice isn't presented to you, do whatever you can to make one. Be a rebel and be an ally"". Kerrang!. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  12. ^ a b "WARGASM: "We stand for chaos"". Kerrang!. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  13. ^ ""Someone said that they were in a Portaloo while we were on stage, and the bass rumbled some excrement out of them." Getting to know Wargasm, the genre-splicing, Fred Durst-approved duo making major waves in modern metal". LouderSound. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Ten Minutes With Milkie Way". Rokit Vintage Clothing. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  15. ^ Shutler, Ali (27 October 2023). "Wargasm: Thank you for the Venom". Dork. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Wargasm". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Album review: Trash Boat – Don't You Feel Amazing?". Kerrang!. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Trash Boat". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Trash Boat - Don't You Feel Amazing? (album review )". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  20. ^ a b Summan, Yasmine (21 October 2021). "What Can We Learn About the Double Standard Toward Women in Rock?". Loudwire. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  21. ^ a b c Childers, Chad (3 September 2021). "Twitch Shut Down Heavy Music Awards Stream Over Nipple Incident". Loudwire. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  22. ^ "WARGASM show off their favorite s**t: PRINCE jackets, MAIDEN merch, bullet belts and more". Revolver. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  23. ^ Vandenbogaerde, Matthijs (7 July 2021). "Nieuwe single Trash Boat - "Bad Entertainment" (feat. Milkie Way)". Dansende Beren (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  24. ^ a b "Hear Milkie Way, Dave Lombardo and more on Gunship's new single Monster In Paradise". Kerrang!. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  25. ^ a b Marshall, Will (29 September 2023). "Gunship - Unicorn | Album Review". Noizze UK | Live Music | Reviews | Interviews | Podcasts. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  26. ^ "UNICORN". Official Charts. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Crowdsurf & Turf Meets: Wargasm". crowdsurf & turf. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  28. ^ "WARGASM Musicians — London". Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  29. ^ "The NME 100: Essential emerging artists for 2021". NME. 4 January 2021. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Trash Boat team up with Wargasm's Milkie Way on new single Bad Entertainment". Kerrang!. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
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