POZPLANET Magazine (August 2023)

Tribute to HIV community champion: Joanne Lindsay

I had the good pleasure of working with Joanne at many different tables over the years, ini;ally at a community of prac;ce for peer researchers. She was the kind of champion in the HIV movement who always made everyone around the table think. She would raise issues that others had oAen not considered.

She served on the CATIE Board of Directors since 2017 as a Director and for five years as their Treasurer. She received the Red Ribbon Award for 2023 from the Canadian Associa;on for HIV Research “for outstanding service to the cause of research in a way that has increased our understanding of the treatment and preven;on of HIV/AIDS, while enhancing the quality of life of those living with this disease.” (CAHR website)

Laurie Edmiston, the former Execu;ve Director of CATIE, wrote a blog post tribute: hXps://blog.ca;e.ca/2023/07/20/remembering-joanne-lindsay/ This tribute highlighted the many years of contribu;on to the community of people living with HIV, in par;cular women living with HIV, that Joanne made. She was a researcher into the link between HPV, HIV and cancer risk for women living with HIV. She carried out research and was an advisor with many organiza;ons, some of whom are: the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, the Ontario AIDS Network, the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solu;ons and the Toronto PWA Founda;on She was also involved in fundraising and awareness ac;vi;es for Ovarian Cancer Canada.

Last summer, at the Interna;onal AIDS society conference, I put a call out to ac;vists living with HIV from across Canada whom I knew were going to be at the conference to see if they would assist me in a protest planned to highlight the need for more funding from the Canadian Federal government for organiza;ons carrying out HIV work in Canada. Of course, Joanne answered the call. Even though she was not feeling well, she showed up with her walker to stand in solidarity with us at the protest. I was fortunate to then have the opportunity to spend ;me with her because she was staying at the student residence that I was also staying at. We were able to go for dinner twice with other women living with HIV ac;vists and aXend the launch of Women

Speak We met up in many sessions and for lunch and coffee where she would update me on what she had learned that day and what session she was off to next.

There are a handful of people I have met in my over 30 years of involvement in HIV ac;vism and advocacy who have had a permanent impact on the work that I do. Joanne Lindsay is one of those people. Her voice is already missed.

Thank you and you will be missed, Joanne.

Today, with the publication of our Annual Report 2022 – A Turning Point for HIV Justice, we look back at our achievements in 2022.

The report is published by the HIV Justice Foundation, an independent non-profit legal entity registered in the Netherlands as Stichting HIV Justice to specifically serve as the fiscal organisation for the HIV Justice Network (HJN) and other related activities.

A turning point for HIV Justice

HJN’s Executive Director, Edwin J Bernard, says: “Looking back on all that happened in 2022, we are cautiously optimistic that the year will be seen as a turning point in the global movement to end HIV criminalisation. We celebrated promising developments in case law, law reform and policy in many countries and jurisdictions throughout the year, building on the momentum of 2021. Although there is much more work yet to do,

it’s clear that progress is being made — thanks primarily to the leadership of people living with HIV.”

Richard Elliott, who was appointed Chair of the Foundation’s Supervisory Board in March 2022, adds: “It is truly encouraging to reflect on what has been accomplished by this organisation, and the partners and allies it has supported and mobilised in virtually every region of the world in the past year. From supporting local advocates in multiple countries to a new edition of our flagship report on the state of HIV criminalisation globally, from high-profile media advocacy to the launch of the extraordinary multilingual learning resource that is the new HIV Justice Academy, HJN is building a movement and making a difference.”

A global impact

HJN was a co-founder, and is the secretariat for, the HIV JUSTICE WORLDWIDE (HJWW) coalition. Much of the work undertaken by HJN and the HJWW coalition is funded by the Robert Carr Fund (RCF) for civil society networks. In 2022, HJN was fortunate to receive two RCF grants, serving as lead of both consortia. As such, HJN had ultimate responsibility for the delivery, financial management and reporting obligations related to the grants.

By providing technical assistance and grants, these consortia were able to continue to nurture and support the development of new national and regional networks and expand the capacity of existing ones. Throughout 2022, HJN oversaw the distribution of small grants through our consortium partners working in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Francophone Africa, Anglophone Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Looking to the future

Did we turn the corner in 2022? "One thing we know for sure is that changing hearts and minds with respect to HIV criminalisation is a long road with many ups and downs along the way," says Edwin J Bernard. "We know that important progress was made in 2022 and we face 2023 and beyond with fresh analysis, new tools, and a renewed spirit of solidarity."

If 2022 was a turning point in the global movement to end HIV criminalisation, achieving HIV justice will depend not only on sustaining this work but also moving forward at an even faster pace.

“I wish to thank our funders who have seen the importance of this work,” says Richard Elliott. “As an activist who has been involved in resisting HIV criminalisation for years before HJN was created, I am delighted to see the vision of a global movement being realised. HJN has been the catalyst for that movement. It’s why I’m pleased and proud to support this organisation and I hope you will too.”

Links:

h#ps://www.hivjus.ce.net/publica.on/hiv-jus.ce-founda.on-annual-report-2022

h#ps://www.hivjus.ce.net/donate

The final session in Gilead’s Connexion series was on women living with HIV. First off: so much informaAon; so liCle Ame. Note to Gilead: more than an hour needs to be dedicated to these topics. The facilitator was Breklyn Bertozzi, is a well respected peer researcher in women’s sexual and reproducAve health. Dr Mona LouOy is also a well known healthcare provider and researcher for women living with HIV in Canada. The session was supposed to focus on aging in women living with HIV but also discussed pregnancy and childbirth, which many women living with HIV who are aged would not find useful. Since this session, Breklyn has become involved with a study that is looking at menopause and perimenopause in women living with HIV.

Note: The study is, however, currently only in Ontario.

They started the session by discussing the key factors for the best long term care of women living with HIV:

• Trauma and violence aware care

• Person centred care with aCenAon to social determinants of health: eg: income, food security, housing, aCenAon to family

• Competent HIV care, competent women focused healthcare, mental healthcare

• Peer support, leadership and capacity building.

Trauma awareness means approaching women with an awareness of the trauma in their lives. In the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and ReproducAve Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) study, 80% of the women living with HIV from the study said that they had experienced violence in their lives. There is a difference however between trauma and violence: violence is the act that was done to you. The trauma is the result of the violence. Care providers need to be aware of this and not re-traumaAze women. InsAtuAonal violence is when care providers do or say things that re-traumaAze women in their care. ColonizaAon has led to systems that are inherently traumaAzing to Indigenous people and other women living with HIV.

Dr LouOy shared about a study that is being done in BC and Ontario to look at trauma and violence aware care. Breklyn Bertozzi, the facilitator, is the lead researcher. Dr LouOy also shared a link to a toolkit for women living with HIV and care providers that supports trauma aware care from the CHIWOS website: hCp://www.chiwos.ca/women-centred-hivcare/?doing_wp_cron=1690311561.7410368919372558593750&lang=en

Dr LouOy talked about research that was done with non-binary feminine people living with HIV and transgender women www.transwomenhivresearch.com . They interviewed 17 transwomen and the women said that the women centred HIV care model resonated with them. The women in this study said that many healthcare providers seemed to not know how to provide care to them. And yet, they said that their needs are oien the same as cisgender women living with HIV.

Dr LouOy talked about the reproducAve health of women living with HIV: ferAlity, pregnancy, for example. HIV itself may decrease the number of eggs or reduce the amount of sperm but the studies are not conclusive. Irregular periods are also common with women living with HIV. Pregnancy outcomes were affected with the earlier medicaAons for treaAng HIV. Some babies were born smaller. But this is no longer an issue with the newer medicaAons.

Dr LouOy highlighted the importance of U=U in the discussion of sexual and reproducAve health and well being for women.

Dr LouOy said that inflammaAon from HIV does accelerate aging in people living with HIV. We do not know if undetectability affects this aging process. Research needs to be done to ascertain this. Women living with HIV should be checking for concurrent condiAons when they are of menopausal age: eg: increased blood pressure.

Recommended approaches: There is a CHIWOS toolkit for women living with HIV and care providers, which can be found on the CHIWOS website: hCp://www.chiwos.ca/women-centredhiv-care/?doing_wp_cron=1689272369.3625419139862060546875&lang=en

We here at POZPLANET Magazine want to give women living with HIV a voice. If you have a story or want to share your story contact us here:

h"ps://www.facebook.com/PozplanetMagazine2019

Bob Leahy says we’re barking up the wrong tree when it comes to figh8ng HIV S8gma. Here’s why.

It’s hard not to no,ce an,-s,gma messaging. It’s everywhere. Has been for years. Yet ask people living with HIV whether HIV s,gma is ge?ng be@er or worse, as I did in a non-scien,fic poll for Posi,veLite.com, the publica,on I was editor and then publisher of for many years – and collec,vely we think HIV s,gma is either staying the same or ge?ng worse. If that is true, we as a community have failed one of our most important tasks. My own take, based on 30 years of living with and wri,ng about HIV, is that we’ve made some progress - things are not nearly as bad as in the early days - but not nearly enough. Why? Mostly because we’ve been doing it wrong.

Prepare to throw up your hands in shock at the very idea that the HIV movement gets things wrong. We seldom see cri,cism of it, aLer all - of the funders, our organiza,ons large and small, even of the community itself. Yet all three have stumbled on occasion. Think U=U for example. The no,on that people living with HIV with an undetectable viral load simply could not transmit the virus was soundly rejected by almost all for a decade, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

So, what have we been doing wrong with our approach to ending s,gma? Let me count the ways.

There’s a clue in a recent Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) research brief. Smartly, they suggest “Do we talk DIRECTLY about s,gma OR do we address the fears underlying the s,gma (e.g. fear of infec,on)”. While we can do both, I can’t help thinking that the la@er, namely approaches not even men,oning s,gma, have more value. That is why the U=U campaign, for example, has so much poten,al to reduce s,gma, without necessarily naming s,gma. Tired messaging like the current “END HIV STIGMA”, capitalized of course, has only moderate poten,al to do so.

If we make the mistake of naming it and naming it and naming it, we reinforce that HIV and s,gma are inexorably intertwined. They needn’t be. Case in point. One lady I know of, responding to an an,-s,gma message on social media said, “ Thanks for this, I didn’t know HIV s,gma was s,ll around”. In other words, we some,mes create s,gma in minds where it wasn’t present before. That ’s counter produc,ve. We want to create a world where HIV s,gma is a non-en,ty, not pin it in the minds of those who have processed it and moved on.

How else do we make things worse than they need be? Who hasn’t seen “HIV IS NOT A CRIME” messaging. It’s the ba@le cry of the criminaliza,on movement, forged by some of our best and respected advocates worldwide, repeated by aspiring ac,vists everywhere. While fully suppor,ng the criminaliza,on fighters’ cause, I’ve always hated their slogan. First, because HIV itself is NOT a crime, never has been; (criminaliza,on of non-disclosure is their target). Secondly, at least in Canada, it’s kind of a dead issue. There have been zero non-disclosure prosecu,ons here, as far as I can tell, since 2019. Thank our ac,vists for that. So, while criminaliza,on s,ll is an issue in many U.S. States and around the world, it really isn’t here. So don’t keep flogging the HIV IS

NOT A CRIME horse when its isn’t one here. I’m concerned then that, within Canada at least, we are reinforcing s,gma rather than reducing it. The message that “HIV is no longer a crime in Canada” is far more powerful, but we choose not to tell it.

The an,-criminaliza,on movement has always supported those who have not disclosed, whether it be through circumstance or intent. It isn’t always easy or even prac,cal to disclose to sexual partners. Remove the legal requirement, as we seem to have done in Canada and it s,ll isn’t always easy or prac,cal. But is there some,mes an ethical reason to disclose, such as when entering into a rela,onship?

I worry that nurturing non-disclosure, as the criminaliza,on movement inevitably does, has a downside. I worry that wins for non-disclosure in the sexual arena bolster non-disclosure in the wider world. That’s not what we want. The greatest progress in smashing s,gma will come from people willing to talk about their status. We’ve done li@le to encourage disclosure to become more mainstream. Un,l we do, s,gma will flourish.

There will always be folks who can’t disclose, in racialized communi,es in par,cular; it can be challenging for women too. Its easiest for those with privilege. It will never be easy for the marginalized. Disclosure – safe disclosure - takes both bravery and skill. Yet help on how to disclose is all but nonexistent. That’s a shame. We will never make inroads in to reducing s,gma if folks are too ashamed of their condi,on to talk about it. Again, the more marginalized you are, the more difficult it is. But disclosure is within reach of many who choose not to. How we support those people, nurture those people, build their confidence and develop their skill should be a priority. Right now, it isn’t. We are too busy chan,ng “END HIV STIGMA”.

Therein lies the rub. We are, I’m afraid, part of the problem. Society makes we people living with HIV s,gma,ze ourselves in alarmingly high numbers. The OHTN reports that nearly 50% of us experience

significant levels of internalized s,gma, yet much of self-s,gma,za,on goes unaddressed. We don’t try. We don’t run courses. We don’t offer workshops. How can we reduce s,gma if we don’t address self-s,gma.

Of course, this may all sound smug. I’ve been disclosing my status for almost thirty years, aLer all. It wasn’t easy at first – I was working in a vey conserva,ve environment – banking. But inspired by Tom Hanks in Philadelphia I did it. Nothing bad happened because of it; in fact it led to a whole array of posi,ve things. But that’s privilege for you! I’ve had luck that many haven’t.

My views, privileged or not, invariably reject group think. I’m also an outsider. I relish that spot, even though outsiders’ views tend to be dismissed. The HIV “establishment” tends to be distrusmul of innova,on, which is partly why Canada’s performance in ending the epidemic is so dreadful. We don’t always heed progressive voices within the HIV community either. But it’s very clear to me that ending s,gma requires a conversa,on which goes in new direc,ons and listens to people living with HIV.

Bob Leahy is the former editor and publisher of Posi:veLite.com, the former Online HIV Journal which won mul:ple awards, including Most Influen:al HIV Magazine in Canada and best Canadian HIV Magazine. He has served on numerous boards of directors, including the OAN and the Canadian AIDS Society and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He lives in Warkworth, Ontario with his partner of 42 years and two loving dogs.

How You Can Preserve the Music Legacy of AIDS Icon Michael Callen

It isn’t very often that any of us can play a tangible role in honoring and preserving the legacy of one of the pillars of our shared history. Here’s just that opportunity.

Michael Callen is someone many people consider to be the original long-term AIDS survivor. He was public and quite vocal about living with AIDS beginning in the early 1980s, and then managed to live enough years thereafter that we thought his presence might be a given.

Fate had other plans. Callen died in 1993, but only after he founded the People with AIDS Coalition, co-authored the Denver Principles, and wrote the first safer-sex guideline pamphlet (with Richard Berkowitz) “How to Have Sex in an Epidemic,” all while keeping up his love of performance with two solo vocal albums and his a capella group The Flirtations.

Now, a collection of never-before-available musical recordings of Michael Callen are being remastered for public enjoyment, thanks to his long-time musical and romantic partner, Richard Dworkin.

Dworkin’s IndieGoGo page is raising the funds needed to pull this off, and before you read another word of mine I urge you to visit the page and make a donation, no matter how small. In doing so, you’ll become part of this historical preservation. The campaign has met its original, modest goal of $6,000, but additional funds will help create a CD and enlarge and expedite the project. The music will be available via online music platforms and anywhere you get your tunes. Your donation will be money well spent.

Richard Dworkin met Michael Callen in June of 1982, responding to an ad asking for musicians to form a group. “We had Chinese food and Michael made sorbet,” Richard remembered. “He thought I was some weird straight drummer because I brought my bicycle up to his apartment for our meeting.”

Whatever may have happened that first evening together, it demonstrated to Michael that his new drummer was definitely not straight. They were entangled musically and romantically for the rest of Callen’s life.

On that first night together, Michael told Richard that he was participating in a study run by renowned gay physician Joe Sonnabend, who would go on to make his own history as an important figure in the epidemic. “Michael told me the study was about this new thing called GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency) and asked me if I knew what it was. I did. I knew someone who had died five weeks previously of GRID. Michael told me he might have the syndrome and he wanted me to know.”

The new album is a collection of songs that Callen recorded for his second album, “Legacy,” that were never released but remain favorites of Richard Dworkin.

Michael Callen and Richard Dworkin

“There are a few tunes he wrote as a young gay man in the late 70s,” Richard explained, “about tortured relationships and romance. John Bucchino is the accompanist. There is a great disco throwback, ‘Hot Stuff Coming Through,’ that I’m really excited about. And then there’s a more elaborate version of ‘Love Don’t Need a Reason,’ Michael’s signature song.”

The project is a labor of love, certainly, but also has the urgency of preserving something that could easily slip into the ether.

“If I don’t do this project now,” Richard warned, “it’s never going to get done. If people don’t participate, it’s likely never to see the light of day, and that would be a shame. Michael was significant and his life was his music.”

To find out more about Michael Callen’s life and legacy, check the Michael Callen website or read the Martin Duberman biography Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS. For updates on the new album’s progress, stay tuned to the Michael Callen public figure Facebook page for updates.

Here are the links to this blog:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/all-over-michael-callen-s-last-recordings 2#

http://michaelcallen.com

https://archives.nypl.org/mss/2379

https://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/denver-principles

https://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/the-man-that-aids-forgot-safe-sexarchitect-richard-berkowitz

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n410

https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Michael-Callen/dp/B00000FCCJ

https://thenewpress.com/books/hold-tight-gently

https://www.facebook.com/michaelcallen.official

Normally our UP CLOSE & PERSONAL column is a straight up interview with someone who is living with HIV and want to share their story with the hopes of inspiring others to live full and healthy lives. This par<cular story is a li=le different. For this issue there will be no photos and we will not be using real names.

As a writer and publisher of POZPLANET Magazine, I receive a lot of private messages from people who would like to share their story. But some<mes I get pleas for help. I do my best to steer them in the right direc<on to geEng that help. Be it counseling, AIDS Service Organiza<ons or just personal advice.

On July 4th, I received a private message on facebook asking if I could help get this woman’s family out of Sudan. She explained that her family was in danger and their op<ons for geEng medica<on had stopped. I believe she came across our publica<on online and thought that I some major connec<ons with the Canadian Government. I explained to her that I am but an immigrant to this country and only a permanent resident. I have no power or influence to get her family out of their situa<on. But I can publish her story and hopefully raise awareness of her situa<on and what life as a Sudan woman living with HIV is like and how her country treats her.

So, I asked her to write her story and send it to me at my email address.

Here is what she wrote:

I am a Sudanese wife living with HIV, and despite the challenges we have faced, I always try to maintain a cheerful outlook. My husband had a relationship with his friend in the Gulf countries, and unfortunately, they both discovered that they were infected with HIV after undergoing medical tests. As their strong supporter, I took on the responsibility of bringing medicine from Khartoum to help them in their treatment journey.

One day, his friend developed acute lung inflammation and was detained in the hospital, where they diagnosed him with the disease. Authorities were promptly notified, leading to his deportation from the country in a rather undignified way. He returned to Sudan, where he unfortunately faced rejection from society. Overwhelmed with depression, his health deteriorated, and he tragically chose to end his life by drowning in the Nile River.

As for my husband, he is still in the Gulf country, and I used to make regular visits to bring him the necessary treatment from the Khartoum Medical Center. However, he too battles with depression, neglects his job, and often forgets to take his medication. To make matters worse, after the conflict in Sudan, the medical center has completely shut down, making it impossible for us to access the treatment we need. The medication doses we currently have are even expired.

Despite these hardships, I remain committed to supporting my husband. We are in dire need of protection, adequate treatment, and nutritional supplements to prevent any opportunistic

diseases. Additionally, we require much-needed psychological support and education for our children. I am a mother of three sons; one of them is also HIV-positive, and sadly, his treatment has been halted due to the war in Sudan. Returning to our home country is not an option either, as our house has been partially demolished and is no longer inhabitable.

Our current situation is truly tragic, as we are deprived of proper treatment and live in constant fear of the discovery of the disease, which is exacerbated by the severe stigma in this country. Additionally, there is severe racism based on color, which my husband experiences in his job, even though he is an ideal employee in dealing with computers, solving outstanding problems, and communicating with customers. Moreover, my children are bullied and persecuted due to their skin color and nationality, causing them to dislike going out or participating in any activities. To complicate matters further, my visa will expire within two months, leaving me uncertain about our future and where we are headed.

In my pursuit of assistance, I have reached out to influential figures and voluntary organizations, but regrettably, I have not received any help except for one individual who shared your organization's link with me. With the hope of receiving a response and urgent assistance, I am turning to you, as your organization is known for providing protection in countries that have laws to safeguard people like us.

Both my husband and I hold bachelor's degrees in law and science , highlighting our capabilities to work and contribute not only to voluntary organizations but also to private institutions. We are determined to make a positive impact despite our circumstances.

Of course, I had a few questions and I explained that our readers would probably want to know more to put her situation in context. It is dangerous for her to use her real name…so I asked

What name would you like me to use in this arEcle? Rasha

Are you HIV+? Yes, I am.

What are the ages of your children? 13 , 11 and 6 years

May I ask how you felt when you found out about your husband and his co-worker's diagnosis?

When my son was born and fell ill in the hospital, I experienced a profound sense of sickness and weakness, without fully understanding the cause. Unexpectedly, I received a phone call from my husband, whose tone of voice was filled with confusion and despair. He shared the devastating news that both he and our housemate, with whom we cohabit, have contracted HIV. In that very moment, my emotions came to a standstill, leaving me feeling devoid of any spirit. Thoughts of death consumed me, accompanied by a deep-rooted fear and concern for an uncertain future. I pondered upon the possibility of being infected with the disease, questioning the duration of my

life if I indeed carried it. The fear of being ostracized and permanently alienated from my family loomed large in my mind. In that instance, as I lay in the hospital bed, I slipped into a coma for three days due to a sudden drop in blood sugar and pressure. As soon as my husband returned from his trip, he arranged for HIV testing for both our son and myself. Shockingly, the results came back positive. This news was a tremendous blow, intensifying my contemplation of the challenges that awaited us

I am uncertain about how to respond when he inquires about the reason for his daily pill intake. I explain to him that he is dealing with lymphadenitis and it is crucial for him to undergo treatment in order to regain good health, just like his siblings. Our concern now lies in the unavailability of a life-saving dosage and our susceptibility to opportunistic illnesses. A resident of this Gulf state offered to provide us with treatment if we pay, but due to our limited income, we are unable to afford it. Consequently, we rely on inexpensive supplements and herbs. The obstacles ahead of us are significant, and our current strive for survival revolves around raising and educating our children while ensuring their safety.

Let’s put in perspective what Rasha is going through. She is literally supporting her family and the co-worker that her husband had sex with and brought HIV back to her. Because of where they live, a woman’s place is to do what her husband says. Her place is to take care of the family. Her options for getting the medication that they need has a price tag on it that they cannot afford. They cannot come out about their status. If they do, they will be kicked out of the country.

When she asked for my help my heart sunk…knowing that the only thing I could do was refer her to Rainbow Railroad. I only know them to help LGBTQ2+ people in dangerous situations but have no idea if she and her family would qualify for their help. Back in 2020, I had a young man in the Middle East who wrote me asking for help and I gave him the link to Rainbow Railroad. He was desperate to leave as soon as possible. I had to explain to him that there was a pandemic going on and most likely the organization was flooded with requests for help. I haven’t heard from him in a while. So I have no idea if he ever got help or not.

But time is running out for Rasha and her family. If you work for an organization that can help them, please contact me directly at AlphonsoKingJr@outlook.com so we can try to get them the medications at least for herself, her child and her husband. This really raises a good question about who helps our heterosexual brothers and sisters living with HIV? Because the Gay Community fought hard in the early years to get help, there are plenty of centers and organizations to turn to if you are LGBTQ2+….but where do straight people go and who gives them support. I know that there are plenty of straight women who go to LGBTQ2+ organizations. Most have departments and social workers for women. But Rasha does not have access to those services.

So, if you can help or know of an organization that can help, please contact me directly at my email address or write to our POZPLANET Magazine Facebook profile here:

https://www.facebook.com/PozplanetMagazine2019

Be sure to check out the debut single by Justin Songrit

HIVActivist,Photographer,Vocalist&CANFARAmbassador

Executive Producer: Jade Elektra / Producer Erik Elias

Album: Pride iUnderground on iUnderground Records

Available on Apple Music, Spotify, Beatport or wherever

you purchase or stream music.

Support LGBTQ2+ Artists

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32wPCNjkl2E

Listen to the mix here: https://www.mixcloud.com/djrelentlessny/ear-candy-august-2023

Download the video of this mix here: https://krakenfiles.com/view/DaaTr7PaPS/file.html

Check out DJ Relentless’ Mixcloud page: https://www.mixcloud.com/djrelentlessny

Check out DJ Relentless’ HearThis page: https://hearthis.at/djrelentlesstoronto

It’s probably the ho/est summer on record. I’d like to see the climate change deniers dispute what’s happening to the planet right now. We were warned decades ago and now we have to pay the piper. Anyway…it’s also turning out to be a hot summer for music as well. As I am wri?ng this ar?cle even more music is being dropped…but I’m not re-doing my mix again. I’ve already done this one mix four ?mes. But let’s just say that we got twenty-six tracks to talk about this month and a whole lot of stuff going on in the news.

Now, just because I said this is probably the ho/est summer for music does not mean that everything that’s being released is going to be a hit. That being said, let’s get started with this month’s mix as I try to weave together a program that flows…

A long ?me ago back in 1979, Rupert Holmes released a Pop song called “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”. And while it was catchy and told a cute story about being bored in a rela?onship many found this to be one of the worst songs of the 70s. So, imagine my surprise that DJ Cassidy & Shaggy featuring Rayvon would reboot it as a downtempo Pop Reggae song and call it by the original’s hook…“If You Like Piña Coladas”. Will this be a big hit? Probably only at vaca?on resorts. This will probably get the same recep?on the original did.

And speaking of reboots…Luude & Bru C featuring Kevin LyJle has taken another Pop Reggae

song and refreshed it with a Drum-N-Bass produc?on. While interes?ng I s?ll prefer the original version from 2003.

You know, the one thing that has become apparent to me over the past decade is Conserva:ves and the Right Wing should learn to keep their opinions to themselves. Because whatever they are complaining about only becomes more popular and more mainstream. Point and case: All over the world countries are vo?ng to keep immigrants out, yet they need them to do the work that their spoiled kids don’t wanna do (especially in the United States). This war on immigrants seeking asylum at the Texas border really shows how backwards their views are. And for some reason, La:no Culture and music are thriving. Folks want their food and sounds for their summer ac?vi?es.

Our third selection is the remix of “Niña Bonita” by Feid & Sean Paul. This hybrid of Moombahton and Reggae just sounds like summer in a big city. I could hear this playing in a bodega in any borough of New York City.

Another Moombahton banga is the remix of “Ojitos Rojos” by Blessd featuring Ryan Castro I don’t get to spin for that many diverse crowds like I used to. But if I did, this would definitely be something I would throw into my set to get my Latino crowd going.

I got to thinking the other day about all the idiots who complained about Disney cas?ng Halle Bailey as The Li@le Mermaid in the live-ac?on film version and I remembered that Sade had already played a mermaid of colour in her video for “No Ordinary Love”. So, I decided to refresh this classic with a Moombahton sound to create the Relentlessly Touched Vocal. Every now and then it is a good thing to reintroduce the hits by making them accessible to a new audience. Hopefully you like what I did. Some reboots or remixes really go off the mark and leave the song unrecognizable.

I really don’t understand the ?tle of our sixth selec?on, but I do like the song. It’s “Westside Story” by DJ Snake. I like the video and I like the produc?on in the music.

So, for the past few issues I have been warning our readers about the rebranding of Country music which is a/emp?ng to hid racist ar?sts by throwing a Club beat under their twang. Hoping that you won’t no?ce and dance anyway. But this month I want to point out a great Country infused R&B track called “Feels Good” by O.N.E. The Duo

What’s great about this is that these two gals can sing! Their harmonies are ?ght! I am from the south in the U.S. and being a black person who loves music I couldn’t but help be influenced by Country music. I grew up on Hee-Haw every Saturday evening. So, to hear these girls blend Country with an R&B flair made me happy. I am not sure where this will get played in such a divided country right now. A_er cancelling Jason Aldean for his coded single “Try That In A Small Town” I’m sure radio sta?ons in the south are going to take sides and any black Country ar?sts are going to have a hard ?me ge`ng their music played at all. But you what? I’m gonna play this track every chance and opportunity I get because I love it!

And since we are talking about “feeling good”, Jason Mraz has a new single called “Feel Good Too”. I don’t know what happened to him, but he has come back with a Pop sensibility with a splash of Disco on the side. Haven’t heard any remixes yet but I’m sure there will be a couple in the upcoming weeks. The video is fun and he looks like he is enjoying himself. I’m lovin’ his new lease on life!

For our ninth selec?on, we are moving into that La?n House space with “Guay” by Lyanno. It’s a bouncy Merengue feel that I could easily see transi?oning into some serious House.

If you wanna play a fun track and support our LGBT ar?sts, our tenth track is the Jackie’s Jewel Box Mix of “Big Hoop Bitch” by Diana Taylor featuring Jackie Dupree. I just wish it was a li/le longer and had more of an intro. But other than that, this has summer fun wri/en all over it!

The one thing I can say about Sofi Tukker is that she seems to transform her sound with each release. “Trompa” by Sofi Tukker x Sunnery has that fes?val and carnival anthem sound. I totally hear this being played for outdoor gatherings and large crowds.

You know how earlier I was saying that some reboots or remixes leave the song unrecognizable. Well, if it weren’t for the obvious chorus this one would in that category. It’s a reboot (since it doesn’t really use the full lyrics) of Marvin Gaye’s 70s classic “I Want You” by Butch & Nic Fanciulli. The music video is a great slice of summer fun on the beach and features some black gay men having a good ?me and being themselves. But as a cover this track is weak. If you gon’ do a cover, do a cover! Sing the damn song!

Okay…the rise of K-Pop really has baffled me. When it started to hit the charts over a decade ago with “Gangum Style” by PSY I was like “This will last about a minute”…hoping that would be the end of it. Then I started seeing K-Pop par?es pop up around Toronto. I didn’t care for that sound. But now something strange has happened. K-Pop has adopted other genre(s) but is s?ll called K-Pop. Today it sounds more like R&B, Club, House or just straight up American Pop but s?ll holds the name K-Pop. If a black ar?st did a Rock song would that make it R&B? No. So, why is K-Pop basically using other genre(s) but keeping its category? Something doesn’t seem quite

right about that. When groups like Black Pink take a Trap Hip Hop sound and hit the Billboard charts shouldn’t it go in the category of its origin?

Anyway…Kung Kook from BTS has gone solo and his first single on his new album is “Seven” featuring LaJo. It has a 2 Step vibe at 125 BPMs. It came out on July 14th and went to #1 around the world within less than a week. Don’t get me wrong…I like this SO much be/er than the early K-Pop but at this point I would just drop the K. It’s being marketed as a Pop song and the couple of bars by LaJo makes it a full on Hip Hop hybrid.

Jason Walker’s cover of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” is heavenly! The DJ Strobe Afro-House Mix begs for an Ibiza crowd. I wish there had been a video for his version. But as an ar?st myself I

know that the music industry these days does not nurture ar?sts and talents. They just take your product and squeeze all the money they can make off of you. So, it pays to just own your music yourself. And although I would love to see this LGBT handsome man in a music video for this great rendi?on of this UK Pop song, I totally get why there isn’t one available. These days music videos come out of the ar?st’s pocket…not the label’s.

Our fi_eenth selec?on is the Lasso d’Amore Remix of “What Have I Done To Deserve This” by The Pet Shop Boys featuring Dusty Springfield. When this song originally came out in 1987, I liked it but it was not a floor-packer for me. It was a li/le too light and fluffy for my sets back then. But I am loving this nice House piano under the vocals on this remix. I don’t think it’s going to be a floor-packer, but it will fit be/er in an early evening set.

So, for well over a decade I have been friends with recording ar?st and producer Gavin Bradley. He has played a pivotal part in Jade Elektra’s recording career. But I had no idea that he did remixes. Last ?me I was over at his place he gave me a few of his projects. They were really great, and I decided to take one of them and do a video edit for it. That one would be “A LiJle Respect” by Erasure He gave this late 80s classic a more updated sound. And the feedback that I have go/en from other VJs has all been great.

The seventeenth track in our mix this month came about when I was checking out Twi@er and came across a post of the demo vocals of Michael Jackson singing his song “Human Nature” From the moment I started listening two things struck me. His use of pronouns kinda support the accusa?ons against him and no one had ever tried to do a remix for this song. So, I got to work and rearranged an instrumental from Dennis Ferrer and transformed this two minute acapella into what I hope will be a sufficient House version…the Relentlessly Touched Vocal

Rita Ora is back with a follow up to her “Praising You” single, the Amice Remix of “ You Only Love Me”. I like this remix but don’t think it will do as well as her rewrite of Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You”.

So, almost immediately a_er its release “Padam Padam” became the new Gay Anthem. From my first listen I didn’t see or hear anything special about it. It was just another Kylie Minogue song. So, I waited un?l I found a version that I would play. That was the Cajjmere Wray Mixshow Edit. I don’t jump on the bandwagon just because everyone else is saliva?ng over the new Gay Pop Hit. If I don’t care for it, I will wait un?l I find the version I like. Some?mes those don’t come along and I decide not to play a par?cular song…no ma/er how popular it is.

And speaking of versions that I like…the new Ben Liebrand’s DJ Delight Mix is my new favourite version of the 80s classic, “Na[ve Love” by Divine! Liked it so much that I decided to edit a video for this mix to make it our twen?eth track for this month.

A while back I reviewed the original version of “Booty” by Saucy Santana featuring LaJo and I thought that would be it. But imagine my surprise when I started going through Paul Norman’s video edit library and discovered there was a Dirty Disco Mainroon Mix! So, I had to

follow the legendary Divine with a new kid on the block! And I have to say…we as LGBTQ2+ ar?sts have come a long way. Saucy’s video is unapologe?cally GAY! Back in the early 80s Gay ar?sts could only do performance videos and walked the drag or androgyny line. Not today! We are free to express ourselves anyway we want…thanks to ar?sts like Divine & Sylvester.

Since everyone seems to be nostalgic for yester-year, I am loving that all the Hip Hop from the mid 90s and early 2000s is being harvested for Club remixes today. Point and case with our twenty-second selec?on…the Quas Remix of “What’s Luv” by Fat Joe featuring Ashan[. This is a nice reboot of the hook for this jam from back in the day.

And speaking of reboots…. ”Make My Day” by David GueJa featuring Coi Leray is a straight up rewrite of Technotronic’s “Pump Up The Jam”. The rebranding con?nues and it won’t stop! I am happy that Coi is ge`ng exposure I like her flow as a rapper but how many songs can David Gue@a steal from the 90s and s?ll be considered a top producer? And the song is only a couple minutes long. Thank goodness I found the Jyvhouse Extended Bass Mix for this set.

You know…there was ?me when I thought Pitbull was kinda sexy. Now I just find him kinda annoying. He has spent his career ripping off previous music and rapping over it. His latest offering is a reboot of “Jump” by House Of Pain called “JUMPIN’” featuring Lil Jon. At this point, these two relics need to sit down and write some original lyrics and start from scratch. But the

Jablonski & Teleda Remix does give the track the Club friendly version to hype a floor.

I cannot think of our twenty-fi_h ar?st without think of John Travolta mispronouncing her name at the 2014 Oscars. I never went to the Broadway musical Wicked. And never watched Disney’s Frozen. So, John’s fumble of her name is really my only reference to Idina Menzel. And while “Let It Go” had a few Dance remixes and “Seasons Of Love” from Rent had Dance remix as well, I never really associated her with Dance Music

Well, she has a new single and video out for “Move” and Guy Scheiman has done a remix. I’m sure those who are fans are going to love it. But for me….it does not sound like something I would play for a floor. Maybe a corporate gig with the right audience but not for a Club se`ng. The lingo and phrasing that Club Divas use to translate a lyric is just not there for me. I would compare it to Johnny Mathias’ Disco single. It sounds forced.

And to close out our set, I chose the David Michael Club Mix of “Rush” by Troye Sivan. I have to say…I am really impressed with Troye’s choices so far. He has been another unapologe?c gay ar?st who is carving out his way and not shying away from telling his truth. And his ac?ng skills are impeccable. He was so good on HBO’s “The Idol”. In fact every film I have ever seen him in has been a stellar performance. I like that it seems to be quality over quan?ty. He doesn’t need to pull a Nicki Minaj and be on everyone’s record. His work stands for itself. And the video is just great summer fun!

Be sure to use the links at the beginning of this ar?cle to listen to the audio mix on Mixcloud, download the FREE video mix and check out all of my mixed sets. There’s hours and hours of music from almost every genre you can think of. I love sharing my apprecia:on with everyone.