New York transdisciplinary artist—and LCD Soundsystem member—Gavilán Rayna Russom has released her debut solo album. The Envoy features a song with Cosey Fanni Tutti and brass arrangements from Peter Zummo. Hear it below (via Ecstatic).
In an interview with Michelle Kim for them, Rayna said the album is inspired by the late Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness:
[The Left Hand of Darkness] is so dense. In the book, [Le Guin is]
describing places, people, and experiences with this incredible level
of detail. It reminds me of when in poetry, the writer tries to just
get the shape of an energy and a moment. That book is full of all of
these charged up moments. I ingested all of it. Then as I approached
making the [musical] pieces, it came out in these different ways.
Rayna also said, “[The Left Hand of Darkness] very carefully and fully proposes a radically different idea about gender that seems totally feasible.” Read the full interview, titled “LCD Soundsystem’s Rayna on How Science Fiction Inspired Her New Space-Bending Album,” at them.
Read “Gavilán Rayna Russom’s Trans Identity Is a Big Deal—But So Is Her Music” on the Pitch.