It’s a scary time to be a queer American: with homophobic hate crimes on the rise and LGBTQ+ rights rapidly eroding, it can be difficult to find anything to be hopeful about. With pride month coming to a close, however, it’s more important than ever to remember why we celebrate and why resistance, resilience, and joy are so important. While it’s certainly necessary to fight injustice by supporting important causes, just as important is expressing ourselves meaningfully and joyfully to keep hope alive for the future. And what better way to hold on to a little hope than through the music of some incredibly talented queer electronic artists?
Queer Club Bangers
It’s a well-known fact that raunchy club anthems and pride go hand-in-hand, especially if the songs come from queer artists. French producer Kiddy Smile clearly understands this considering his sassy bop Let A Bitch Know; it’s clear that Smile isn’t going to be taking anyone’s shit, especially if it has to do with his sexuality. On ICU, Cakes da Killa entices a potential partner in the club while simultaneously celebrating queerness outside of himself, saying “I will love you no matter what the world believesâ€. To cap it all off, LSDXOXO’s The Devil details a lurid sexual encounter with Satan himself; could it get any queerer?
Queer Experimental Producers
As fun as the club can be, many LGBTQ+ electronic artists prefer to follow a less mainstream route, switching out pumping house tracks for more experimental sounds to fully express their queerness. Whether this comes in the form of Dear Laika’s whirring vocals and acoustic samples in Lilac Moon, Reflected Sun, the pummeling breaks of LCY’s Milan, or the burbling acid of For The Angels by Dax Pierson, each artist finds their own unique way of making their sexuality heard in a world that would seek to silence them. The clattering drums of Loraine James’ Let’s Go and the brutal synths of How Can I Resist U (Fatima Al Qadiri), like the rest of these songs, are microcosms of each artist’s self: miniature brushstrokes of a much larger queer canvas.
Queer DMV Artists
Expressing oneself in one’s community is vital to pride and as such I would be remiss to not include some of the many wonderful queer electronic artists in the DMV area. Baronhawk Poitier creates slick grooves like Temperado Tornado, combining elements of Latin music with a driving four-on-the-floor beat, forming the perfect vibe for a sunny afternoon at the pride parade. Outputmessage has been an essential part of the DC electronic scene for nearly twenty years and it’s easy to see why with 40000km, a pulsing electronic piece that puts his queerness on full display. There are also many relative newcomers to the DMV scene much like Baltimore-based :3lON whose floating vocals ride the breakbeats of Quantum Leaping like a rainbow jumping from a cloud and finally descending to earth. Such beauty is essential; the hope and expression of these artists is key to queer resilience, a resilience that could not be more relevant than in the present.
For more great queer artists, make sure to check out Blisspop’s Electronic Pride playlist below!