Breaking Norms and Bending Genres

UP-AND-COMING ARTISTS WHO HAVE SUBVERTED MUSICAL EXPECTATIONS

Written by Jessica Katz, Online Editor Graphic by Jessica Tenenbaum, Staff Graphic Artist

Music has the power to uplift us, inspire us and challenge us because the value it holds is different for every artist and every listener. Due to this, each of these unique sounds deserves to be highlighted while on the paths to stardom. With their authenticity, vulnerability and creativity, the following artists have broken the mold of the music industry.

REMI WOLF

Remi Francis Wolf is a singer-songwriter and ex-American Idol contestant from Palo Alto, Calif.1 In 2020, Wolf hit the lottery when her song “Photo ID” became a viral hit on TikTok, which was later boosted with a remix featuring her close friend and fellow musician Dominic Fike.

There is something special about Wolf. She constantly throws herself into outlets of creative expression, and she has most definitely pushed the boundaries of music. Ashley Evers, Marketing Coordinator at Island Records, describes Wolf’s music as funky, eccentric and divergent. “It’s very out there, but tastefully out there,” Evers said. A hybrid of elated funk and soulful pop, Wolf incorporates distorted guitars, sharp vocals and whimsical beats into her sound.2

Wolf also uses music as an outlet of self-acknowledgement to spill her guts about everything—including her struggles with addiction and anxiety. “She’s never been afraid to stay in her own lane and take true ownership of what she creates,” said Evers, “I really think that every piece of content and every social asset has always been true to her.” Somehow, she translates difficult emotions into chaotic sounds, and that’s what is pushing her to superstar status.3

DUCKWRTH

Duckwrth, born Jared Lee, is a singer, rapper and graphic designer from

¹ LaTesha Harris, “Remi Wolf on her debut album ‘Juno,’ and what’s left in pop music’s rulebook,” NPR, 2021. ² Ibid. ³ Ibid. South Central Los Angeles, Calif.4 Inspired by hip-hop, punk and rock, Duckwrth has blossomed to create his own high-energy colorful sound and sense of lyrical vulnerability.

In his childhood, Duckwrth tried to navigate between two worlds: his mother’s Pentecostal household and his neighborhood outside.5 While he found interest in the music coming from his city, his mother tried to keep him away in fear of him joining a gang, which she unfoundedly associated with the genre he was interested in. His sheltered upbringing led him to spend lots of time alone drawing, writing and eventually writing music.

In his 2019 EP “The Falling Man”—specifically, in the song “Soprano”—Duckwrth unpacked his upbringing. Duckwrth explained in an interview with Ailsa Chang, a journalist for NPR, that “It reveals how music was secular but I still was curious about the music I wasn’t supposed to listen to.”6

As an artist, Duckwrth’s aims to incorporate religion into art and show men that it’s okay to be emotional. With time, his mother has warmed up to the idea of his rap career, as she has begun to understand how he’s helping to spread ideas on his own terms. “This is my form of missionary work,” Duckwrth said, “It’s me revealing, like, the realities right now. And it’s also being able to speak to people, but with their language.”7

YEULE

yeule is the creation of Nat Ćmiel, a non-binary, London-based, Singaporean painter, musician, performance artist and cyborg entity.8 Growing up, Ćmiel found comfort in niche online communities, and their digital immersion led to an interest in augmented reality, a dystopian aesthetic and digital intimacy.

⁴ Adizah Eghan, “Five Things to Know About DUCKWRTH,” KQED, 2015. ⁵ Ailsa Chang & Christina Cala, “Duckwrth Treats Hip-Hop As His Missionary Work,” NPR, 2019. ⁶ Ibid. ⁷ Ibid. ⁸ Stefanie Bannister & Nat Ćmiel, “YEULE – Bayonet Records,” Bayonet Records, accessed Feb. 2022. The name “yeule” is derived from the Final Fantasy character Yeul, and is an extension of Ćmiel’s identity. According to their record label, Bayonet Records, “They have access to multiple avatars, the freedom to change or contort at will, and a mutable, chameleon-like multiplicity.”9

As a musician with a classical background, Ćmiel began releasing their experiments with electronic music— piano compositions and classical/ electronic mixes—on platforms such as Tumblr and SoundCloud.10 Through their lyrical poetry and the blurred lines between digital and corporeal realms, Ćmiel’s work reflects their immersive exploration of identity-building. They’ve created a channel to ponder the ideas of self-presentation, gender and digital identities.

VON

Von is a Brooklyn-based music producer, performer and events producer.11 She grew up in a strict Catholic home with little to no sex education; in one of her TikToks, she mentions she was even scared to carry a tampon. Despite her musical foundation as a classical pianist, Von’s path took a sharp turn when she began performing and producing in her college years at New York University.

Von pairs pulsating baselines and glittery synth riffs with fierce vocals that, in her words, “define sexual confidence as what you always wished your misogynistic aunt read it as: powerful.” Von is powerful; she’s a badass and she has taken musical creativity to the next level.12

Von is the first artist who works with her orgasms to build sounds; more specifically, she uses her vibrator to make beats for her songs. First, she uses the Lioness App to record her muscle contractions as she masturbates with her vibrator. Once her session is over, she

⁹ Ibid. 10 Erica Russell, “Cyber-pop artist yeule is bridging the void between digital and IRL,” Dazed, 2019. 11 Cath Spino, “Chatting with event producter / dirty pop start Von on regligion, vibrators, and creating a sustainable, sex positive society.” Copy, accessed Feb. 2022. 12 Ibid.

goes into the app to select a certain wave pattern, exploring sounds, keys and other parameters until she’s satisfied (no pun intended).13

Von’s creative process is rooted in her vagina, the center of creation. Her inspiration is the Virgin Mary, with whom she feels an unexplainable connection. “It was brilliant if you think about it [through the lens of] the patriarchal agenda: it’s like how do we hold women to a standard they will never be able to reach?” Von explained. “You strip sexuality from motherhood and tell women their neverending role is to be maternal. Intercourse and the maternal can never interact with one another, which is funny because one informs the other. To be the perfect woman is to be childbearing and virginal . . . which is not real.”14

With attention surrounding her single, “Tiny Boy,” where she reclaims her power over a recent ex-lover, it is clear Von is ferociously rising to stardom. More than that, she is the voice of a meaningful, inclusive change in the music industry, event spaces and in society as a whole. Her work is incredibly crucial for the sexual empowerment of generations to come.

BARKAA

Barkaa, born Chloe Quayle, is a proud Malyangapa and Barkindji musician from Sydney.15 In an interview with The Guardian, Barkaa described herself as, “unapologetically truthful and unapologetically Blak.”

Her music is an outlet to reflect on the darkness of her past. She raps about police brutality after being incarcerated three times and losing her uncle to police violence. She also raps about her anger and rebellion, something she finds a “funny feeling” to navigate through, especially as a woman.16

13 Von (@vonmusic), “#greenscreenvideo #DIYwithBlock #DuetDoWet,” TikTok, Feb. 3, 2022. 14 Ibid. 15 Janine Israel, “‘Unapologetically truthful and unapologetically Blak’: Australia bows down to Barkaa,” The Guardian, 2021. 16 Ibid.

"I don’t want to ever get stuck in one genre, I don’t want to be limited to just one thing, because I just have too many ideas to be stuck in one place. I want to be able to express all of it."

With thrilling rhythms and razor-sharp vocals, Barkaa tears down oppressive narratives while honoring Indigenous futures. In her words,” I just want to represent my sisters because we’ve been so underrepresented, especially in hip-hop . . . If somebody who can come from ice addiction, jail, motherhood and poverty [can do it, then they] can do it too.”17

STILL WOOZY

Still Woozy, born Sven Eric Gamsky, is a singer-songwriter from Oakland, Calif.18 He started releasing bedroom pop music in 2017 but has since opened up about his desire to be genre-less. In an interview with Valley Magazine, Gamsky shared, “I don’t want to ever get stuck in one genre, I don’t want to be limited to just one thing, because I

17 Ibid. 18 Maia Egan, “Still Woozy: An Up and Coming Genre-Bending Singer-Songwriter,” Valley Magazine, 2020. just have too many ideas to be stuck in one place. I want to be able to express all of it.”

Continuing the theme of authenticity, Gamsky self-produces many of his songs. To him, the fun of making beats, essentially creating something out of nothing, is what keeps him going. Because of this, music is his safe space, a “buffer” between him and his emotions.19

The first thing listeners notice when stumbling upon Still Woozy’s Spotify is his cover art, featuring colorful, abstract and somewhat haunting creatures, all created by his fiancé, Ami Cooks. “She just inspires me,” said Gamsky. “She puts art into every little thing she does.” Cooks’ art is most definitely a representation of Gamsky’s originality and creativity as a growing artist.20 ■

19 Ibid. 20 Ibid.