Thursday, September 24, 2015

The Sound of Queer Music, Vol. 10

Celebrating artists and bands that fuck with the heteronormative cultural bias...

Who Is Fancy. No typo -- there's not supposed to be a question mark. But to answer the question, Who Is Fancy happens to be twentysomething Arkansas native Jake Hagood. This cute cub released a break-up anthem in early 2015 along with three music videos, each featuring someone other than Hagood lip-syncing the song -- a Justin Bieber type, a full-figured black woman and a mixed race transgender model. In April, Who Is Fancy revealed his identity on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It turned out to be a pretty successful strategy -- the song's a hit and the videos have accrued millions of YouTube views. Hagood plans to continue recording as Who Is Fancy. Want more? There's a good interview here.

Who is Fancy (photo: Stephen Schofield & Sarah Barlow)
Song & Video: "Goodbye." Gimmicks aside, Jake Hagood is a fine singer and this is expertly crafted pop reninforced by a simple but genuinely compelling video concept.


Want to see the alternate versions of this video? Version 2 is here and version 3 is here.


James Panther. This Portland-based musician (and astrologer) describes his sound as "a stylistic hybrid between soul and alternative rock, but in a piano singer-songwriter format." He's enthusiastically queer, anti-consumerism and pro-spirituality. It all comes together beautifully. Wanna know more? There's an interview with Panther here.

James Panther, taking tree-hugging to a new level
Song & Video: "Desirable." The song is about getting over that toxic personal relationship so many of us have with our own bodies. It's honest, empowering, enchanting pop. The video, funded by a Kickstarter campaign, is gorgeously shot and features Panther and what he calls "a gaggle of beautiful woodland creatures."



Panteros666 & Woodkid. That's multi-talented French producer Victor Watel and video director and singer-songwriter Yoann Lemoine. It's a collaboration made in electronic dance music heaven.

Woodkid AKA Yoann Lemoine (left) & Panteros666 AKA Victor Watel 
Song & Video: "Clear." Deep, atmospheric house featuring cool, confident vocals by Woodkid. The video finds a blue-haired Panteros666 serenely observing some developments in a futuristic alternate universe with amorous other-worldly beings, a big beating heart and some nifty unidentified flying objects. 




Did you miss any of the first nine volumes of queer music? Just follow the links below...
volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4, volume 5, volume 6, volume 7, volume 8 & volume 9

Or check out this quartet of 2014 year-end compilations: volume 1, volume 2, volume 3 & volume 4

No comments:

Post a Comment