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Dorian Electra, a Queer Pop Star Who Defies Genres
The singer recently released music that tangles together metal, dubstep and hard-core punk, “all these hypermasculine, testosterone-filled genres.”
- Dec. 11, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
Name: Dorian Electra
Age: 28
Hometown: Houston
Now Lives: In a spacious Victorian-style house in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, with nine roommates.
Claim to Fame: Mx. Electra is a singer and producer known for genre-contorting pop songs and elaborate music videos. Mx. Electra’s 2019 debut album, “Flamboyant,” is a glittery confection of convulsive hyperpop. The video for the title track featured the performer, who is gender-fluid, with neon green hair and a penciled-on mustache, twirling around a candlelit manor.
Big Break: In 2017, Mx. Electra met A.G. Cook, a record producer, through mutual friends at a DJ set at Sunnyvale, a nightclub in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. Mr. Cook, who founded the electro-pop record label PC Music, was the executive producer behind Charli XCX’s breakout mixtape, “Pop 2, ”and suggested that Mx. Electra appear on the track “Femmebot.” “I was like, I’m working with my favorite artists, how is this even real?” Mx. Electra said.
Latest Project: In October, Mx. Electra released a frenetic, experimental full-length album, “My Agenda.” The songs expand on the ideas that animated their first album, with some written from the perspective of incels — so-called involuntary celibates who blame women for their lack of sexual activity — to examine how internet culture fosters toxicity online. “My Agenda” tangles together metal, dubstep and hard-core punk, “all these hypermasculine, testosterone-filled genres,” Mx. Electra said.
Next Thing: Mx. Electra plans to release a remixed version of “My Agenda,” inspired by the styles of artists featured on the project, and will work on new music next year. The singer has been livestreaming performances of the record on Twitch and posting them on YouTube. Mx. Electra is also supporting Planned Parenthood in a new campaign, as one of 200 artists pledging solidarity with the organization.
Catwalk: Fashion plays a key role in how Mx. Electra conceptualizes songwriting; the singer will plot out what colors to wear in a music video before even finishing a track. Mx. Electra walked in a runway show in London Fashion Week in February for DB Berdan, a Turkish brand, and is eager to do more modeling. “For me, fashion has been a way to be like, this is the body I was born with,” Mx. Electra said. “But what can I do with it? Who can I be?”
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Source: Music - nytimes.com