IF IT FEELS OPPRESSIVE, KICK AGAINST IT

By Abby McCabe 

Music Journalist 

There’s something inherently beautiful about the music trans individuals create. More specifically, but not exclusively, trans electronic music.  

It’s impossible to imagine a world where Wendy Carlos never co-invented the Moog synthesizer or a world where Sophie Xeon never lent her genius to prominent pop figureheads everywhere. It’s impossible to imagine a world where trans artists never embraced music, reimagined it, left a little piece of themselves intertwined, and gifted it back to humanity.  

I’ve always been fascinated with electronic music and its ability to be boundless. It opens creative floodgates for almost anything you could ever imagine. And as an artist, you learn to respect the machine – you feed it, it feeds you, and a symbiotic partnership is born too intimate to explain.  

No, I’m not romantically involved with my laptop. 

But what makes the relationship between trans artists and electronic music so special?   

As a cisgender woman, I have no experiences unique to transness. I cannot give a response to a question that I am not able to answer, but I can give my perspectives on how trans-electronic music and its byproducts have affected me as a person, as an artist, and as a listener.  

The first thing that comes to mind is my admiration for Arca — a trans artist, superstar, poet, and experimental diva. Arca has opened my mind and my heart in so many different ways I never thought possible. Through her various forms of self-expression, Arca tells a story, often depicting gender and technology entangled. Her desire to transcend the human body into something greater, more complex, and robotic-like to freely explore without the limitations of flesh can be observed throughout her ‘Kick’ series, spanning five albums.  

“When a child is brought into the world, kicking is the first manifestation of its will. So I see it as a metaphor for individuation, for choosing to differentiate yourself. It’s a rallying cry to kick against categorization. If it’s oppressive, kick against it.” – Arca 

My love for Arca is endless. Her ability to show vulnerability through vulgarity in her art inspires fierceness. 

I also find myself thinking about hyperpop. The genre as a whole being built on the backs of talented trans trailblazers. From the freaked-out drum breaks to the abrasive autotune overlapping what sounds like, a metal pipe being dropped from a 10-story building, hyperpop challenges even its most daring listeners to embrace the strange. And it’s wonderful. With the use of such an avant-garde approach, it leaves little to be said about gender, allowing artists to continue pushing and exploring beyond the binary. The more inhuman and alien-like you sound, the closer you get to success. 

It’s also just fun. 

Hyperpop was made to celebrate the spirit of nonsensical joy for anyone crazy enough to follow along, so who cares whether you’re born male or female. Acts like 100 Gecs, Dorian Electra, Fraxiom, and Gupi (aka Food House) are not only prominent figures in the genre but also prominent figures in trans music history.  

Nobody asked me, but I think 1000 Gecs deserves to be displayed in the Louvre. Maybe even put in a capsule and shot into space for the aliens to enjoy.  

With so many more subgenres and nuances underneath the electronic umbrella, it’s impossible for me to cover all I have to say about this magical sector of art and music. Trans individuals’ ability to inspire others through their own experiences and create new realms outside of our perceived comfort zones is something I’m certain we must protect now more than ever. A few weeks ago I was standing amid an eden lonestar set when lead singer and trans-frontwoman Miss lonestar acknowledged the state of our country, prompting audience members to keep these creative spaces sacred and safe. A place where art can connect us all without fear of scrutiny. In that moment, I felt the weight of reality more so than I’ve ever felt. I felt ashamed of my country. And I felt the presence of my privilege, that I would never face ridicule or live in fear for my existence like so many trans individuals do.  

During these times of great uncertainty, it’s important to keep trans art alive. To support these artists, and celebrate their incredible contributions to music. Their stylistic influences that have taken the world by storm will be remembered as the greatest musical gift to mankind.  

Trans rights are human rights, and trans art is eternal.