Why Tegan & Sara Believe In "Practical Activism" In The Trump Era

"I love peaceful protests!" beams Tegan Quin. Tegan, one half of the Canadian sister act Tegan & Sara, maintains that, currently, the nascent Trump administration has her feeling "a pretty constant course of anger and frustration", but the 36-year-old LA resident, when talking of attending women's marches or airport protests, maintains a sense of hope.

"We're gonna fight all the backwards nonsense that comes out of this administration," Quin says. "America is a great country, and it's been really sad watching them struggle, the way they have over the last year, through this incredibly negative and upsetting election. It's just so sad when the news feed is full of racism, sexism, bigotry, Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia. It's horrible. Especially for anyone who likes to think that the world is a better place than what it is."

"It's just so sad when the news feed is full of racism, sexism, bigotry, Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia. It's horrible."

Artistic activism isn't new for the Quin twins. Each is openly gay, and they've spent their career vehemently supporting queer issues. "We've always thought that a very necessary part of being a decent human being is that you use the opportunities that come your way to do good," offers Tegan. "We've never wanted to be preachy about it, [but] we felt a social responsibility right from the start. Whether that was running T-shirt drives for charity, or donating to organisations, we've always had this belief in practical activism.

"As far as creating the music, though," she adds, "that's utterly self-centred: all I do is write about myself!" But, Tegan thinks, even though her songs are filled with her emotions they're not really filled with her; as songwriters, the twins have long hewed — across eight albums and two decades — to pop music's 'universal' over the specific. "I know that we're all obsessed with getting to know the artist, and there's always going to be people who want to know what our lives are like, and who we're dating, but my ultimate hope is that when the music comes in, you're not thinking about me at all, only your own experiences," says Quin.

Which isn't to say that they don't want to have a direct connection with listeners. That's something that's been there since their beginnings, as Calgary schoolgirls "travelling around [Canada] on a Greyhound bus". "When we were starting out in the late '90s the first thing we did was get a website, put an email up there and say 'Write to us,'" Tegan recounts. "Our first piece of email we ever got was totally a criticism! It said: 'The only reason you're getting any attention is because you're teenage girls.' At that time, there was this prevailing male scepticism that we had to deal with. Even when we signed with Neil Young [and his Vapor label] in 1999, there was so much male scepticism. 'Why would Neil Young sign you?' Just that standard sexism, dudes who just couldn't understand how Neil Young could relate to anything written by a young girl. I think we've thrown that narrative into flux, because I'm always writing about relationships with women, so we're perfect for any guy who only wants to hear songs written about girls."

Through years of doing everything themselves — "learning how to set up gear, how to negotiate a contract, how to sell merchandise, how to balance our float every day" — the sisters forged a direct connection with fans, leaning on them for restaurant recommendations or to help with merch. They have a particular fondness for Australian audiences. "I was so fucked up, so jetlagged the whole time," Tegan remembers their first Australian tour, "and, after dark, when Australians started to drink, I could not understand anything that was said to me. But we loved it, and were so profoundly affected, and it really shaped the next few years, because we became obsessed with building Australia."

Their latest tour finds Tegan & Sara playing the Mardi Gras Party and shows at the Zoos in Melbourne and Sydney. They're excited to play non-traditional gigs — "We're up for anything!" — and return to Australia. Even though they "can't stand to sell [their] own merchandise anymore", Tegan wants to make things clear: the twins are "definitely not jaded".

"We've been so invested in our careers that we take a lot of pride in our success," offers Tegan. "As women, and as queer people, straight up we've had to work really hard. Instead of feeling jaded that it was such hard work, or that it took so long, I just feel pride. When people criticise us for changing our sound, or stupid trolls write dumb shit on our Instagram page, I don't feel angry, I feel pride. Yes, we did succeed. Yes, we do get played on radio. Yes, we have become successful. But we earned it. I look at Sara, and think: 'Fuck, man, we did it! This is so great!'"