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PLEXXAGLASS: Dark Pop Meets Queer Feminism

PLEXXAGLASS: Dark Pop Meets Queer Feminism

PLEXAGLASS

The rise of the pop artist is not linear, and in fact, it is as unique to each individual artist as is the journey through queerness. One’s arrival at their identity may resemble another experience, but no two journeys are the same. For Plexxaglass, the evolution of identity in both music and life have been stories of exploration, growth, and authenticity. 

Dark pop is where we can nestle in and understand the nonbinary artist’s sound, yet it is more complex than that, as are most things. Finding beauty in the macabre, the droning resonance of minor keys are abundant and revealing. From their relationship with themselves to the ones with those around them, Plexxaglass uses their art as a motive for self-exploration and finds relief in sonic expression, mental health, bodily autonomy, gender, and sexuality; they are digging down deep and delivering powerful and relatable songs.

After releasing their latest single, “Lilith,” produced by Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, Plexxaglass has discovered a brand-new audience and a true inner strength. Through hard work, dedication, determination, and a solid vision, they remain true to themselves, honest about their experience, and vulnerable with their art. From talking about how their music has become a declaration of empowerment to a safe space for them to live in their truth, we learn more about the art, the artist, and the person, who is Plexxaglass. 

There is an anthemic and powerful resonance to your music; how did you discover your creative voice?
I’ve always wanted to perform; I started out in musical theater when I was a lot younger, so, when I decided that I wanted to dabble in my own music, it was a process of figuring out how to remove a lot of my training, to be honest. I really do credit a lot of it to my producer, Kevin Billingsley. I co-wrote a song for a band that he was working with, and I was in the studio with him, and he said to me, ‘Hey, this is sounding great, but can you enunciate less?’ I know that sounds like such a simple thing, but it really clicked with me. There is some ambiguity when it comes to pop music, and that little adjustment really helped me a lot.

How has music been a tool of self-discovery and expression?
My second single I ever put out is called “Liar,” and it is specifically talking about my Bipolar II. More neurotypical people might feel that declaring your mental illness is like saying a bad word, but for me, it was very powerful for me to get that diagnosis and to feel like what I was feeling was real. 

I also took a big journey with my music on my gender identity. I’m pretty newly out nonbinary—it’s only been, like, a year-and-a-half—but looking back on my work, I don’t even know if it was subconscious or what, but I didn’t really use pronouns; it was all first person. I just recently went back and realized that it has always been there, even before I came out, to separate myself and declare myself in that way. 

Coming into your nonbinary identity, what was that journey like for you?
I was reading a book, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, and there are these nonbinary characters who use ze/zed pronouns, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ I think before I read that book, it hadn’t really clicked with me that this was an option for me. I can tell you so many anecdotes of when I was a kid, trying to mask myself, and feeling so frustrated that I had to conform to what being a little girl was supposed to look like, and be like, ‘The Z Generation, they really have it going on;’ I applaud them and thank them because they know something about all of this that my generation, and generations prior, just did not know. It’s been great. It didn’t feel like a scary coming out—it felt right and relieving, and it was very affirming 

How did the concept of bodily autonomy arrive as a theme you wanted to write about in the single “Lilith”?
I wrote it when the last season of Handmaid’s Tale came out; I was very fascinated by the character studies that they were presenting in that season and watching them go through the struggle of realizing that their ideology was flawed. And then Lilith is such an interesting biblical character, or not biblical depending on who you ask; she’s left out in some cases. I don’t even know when I first heard about her, but I always found her interesting. The thought of Adam having a wife before Eve is just fascinating in and of itself, but her is she basically left Adam because she didn’t want to have sex with Adam in missionary; she wanted to be on top sometimes. He was like, ‘No,’ and so she left because she’s like, ‘We’re made from the same clay, bro. Where do you get off thinking that you’re better than me?’ She was actually made from the same clay, not just the rib, and I think that’s a reason why she is used in spirituality as a pinnacle of feminism and equal rights. I think she’s a really cool figure and one that I definitely used when I was completing this song.

How much do visual concepts and components incorporate into your songwriting?
A lot; when I first start writing a song, I’m always thinking about, ‘What could a video for this song look like? What kind of imagery am I feeling here?’ I see little stories when I’m writing; I definitely feel like specific environments, like for “Lilith,” it was almost like Siberia, a whole desert wasteland. 

Have you ever had issues with executing your entire vision, from start to finish?
I actually directed two and edited one of my music videos myself because I had very specific shots that I wanted, and when it comes to stuff like that, I think it is really hard to articulate exactly the movie that I’m playing in my head. I am that type of person, and so many people in my life have made many attempts to break me of this, but I do have a problem speaking up for myself. There are times when it’s in someone else’s hands that I bite my tongue because I don’t want to be like, ‘Hey, there’s two seconds longer than I want on this shot. Can you shave off two seconds and then sit and render it for two hours? Thank you.’ So, when it’s just me, I can feel good about going back and being nitpicky.

How did the collaboration with Mike Shinoda come to be?
He started to get into the TikTok game and was asking people to duet songs that he created, so I actually did a duet with him on TikTok and some of his fans found me through that. One of them messaged me on Instagram and said, “Mike wants to produce independent artists this year, you should submit your song.” So, thank you Jacqueline because if it wasn’t for a Mike Shinoda/Linkin Park stan, we wouldn’t be talking about this release right now.

We talk a lot about the negative effects of social media, but that sounds like an instance of it working in the right way, by creating opportunity and connecting with people.
I’m so glad that I finally swallowed my pride and decided to go on TikTok because, even before all the Mike Shinoda stuff, I had a video going a little viral. It was a low point; I was incredibly depressed and feeling like I wanted to quit. I was so tired of the grind; it’s just so draining, and all of the comparison, it is really hard. I posted a video just being very brutally honest, like, ‘Hey, I can’t seem to break through, and it’d be really cool if some people that I didn’t know would check out my music.’ I’m not big on unsolicited feedback, but I was looking for a fan base. It’s been crazy; I went from, like, 100 monthly listeners to 2,000 in 24 hours, and it’s been a steady three to five K a month.

It sounds like resiliency is a prevalent theme in your life.
As a nonbinary and pansexual person, I do feel so lucky to be alive now. There’s so much more progress that needs to be had, but I think it is finding that community, and knowing there are people in that broader community that I may never meet, but it’s so comforting. I think without that, I would not have felt comfortable being myself and speaking freely about my identity. I have never conformed with my art; I think that’s the one part of my life that has always been 100 percent authentic to who I am, inside and out. It is the truest form of expressing myself, and at the end of the day, whatever happens with this journey that I’m on, I can go to bed at night and have this concrete example of me being true to myself, no matter what. 

Photo by Pri

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