| Milkie Way | |
| Birth Name: | Rachel Alexandra Hastings |
| Birth Date: | 9 December 1997 |
| Birth Place: | County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation: | Musician |
Rachel Alexandra Hastings (born 9 December 1997), known professionally as Milkie Way, is a Northern Irish musician. 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 shut the ceremony's Twitch stream down, prompting defiant social media posts from the ceremony, Hastings, and Trash Boat's Tobi Duncan.
Milkie Way was born Rachel Alexandra Hastings in County Antrim on 9 December 1997. 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,[1] and got into nu metal via Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.[2] Aged 14 or 15, she taught herself bass guitar to spite an ex-boyfriend who had derided her musical ambitions.[3] 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. She spent a period modelling in Tokyo[4] immediately after dropping out.[5] She also modelled alongside Cara Delevingne[3] and for Toni & Guy and Valentino campaigns.[6]
While at university, she would make friends by attending concerts with mosh pits, which she would photograph using disposable cameras. After accruing a collection of images, she launched the "Girl in the Pit" photography project,[7] as part of which she photographed the band Dead!. She also toured as the bass player for Barns Courtney.[8]
In 2018, after Dead! broke up, the band's Sam Matlock contacted Hastings to ask if she played an instrument, as he was looking to set up a band with female vocals and a Riot grrrl attitude. They began producing pop punk[9] but soon pivoted to nu metal.[10] The pair launched Wargasm in August 2019[11] and released the mixtape Explicit: The Mixxxtape (2022) and the album Venom (2023),[12] which respectively charted at number 19 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and number 88 on the UK Albums Chart.[13]
In July 2021, Hastings featured on Trash Boat's "Bad Entertainment", a track from their August 2021 album Don't You Feel Amazing,[14] which charted at number 9 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and number 70 on the Scottish Albums Chart.[15] Trash Boat and Hastings performed the track at that year's Heavy Music Awards,[16] for which she wore a custom designed crucifix vest created by the designer Anine Irdem.[17] The ceremony's Twitch stream was banned for three days after users reported her for exposing her nipples, prompting Hastings to tweet that she could not believe how powerful her nipples were. 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.[18] Matlock later attributed the ban to fans of another artist filing reports,[19] and Hastings would later wear the outfit on the artwork for Explicit: The Mixxxtape.[20]
By the time of "Bad Entertainment"'s release, Hastings had toured with Yungblud.[21] In July 2023, she provided vocals for Gunship's "Monster in Paradise", which also featured Dave Lombardo, Tyler Bates, and Tim Cappello;[22] later that year, the track appeared on their album Unicorn,[23] which charted at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart.[24]
Hastings has mentioned how Romily Alice of Japanese Voyeurs and disco music inspired her artistry.[25] [26] 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.
| Year | Title | Album | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Bad Entertainment" (Trash Boat featuring Milkie Way) | Don't You Feel Amazing | [27] | |
| 2023 | "Monster in Paradise" (Gunship featuring Milkie Way, Dave Lombardo, Tyler Bates, and Tim Cappello) | Unicorn |