Testing characters became my character.
Dorian Electra speaks of identity without a fixed anchor, of covers as fan fiction creativity and why entering someone else's universe to rearrange furniture can teach you something about yourself.
Dorian Electra It doesn't build albums, it builds universes. From Flamboyant (2019)—a debut that dissected masculinity with a pop scalpel and baroque excess—until Fanfare (2023), his project has been a systematic and unabashed exploration queer of everything that pop culture can contain: metal, glamorchestral, electronic, theatrical performance and an irony so sharp that it hurts a little. Along the way, he has collaborated with Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, 100 gecs, Village People and Pussy Riotaccumulating one of the most unclassifiable discographies of his generation.
Now it arrives in Mexico City in full Pride Weekwith a special show in the Indie Rocks Forum! which promises to be more intimate than his recent presentations, and with a next album already in the works of which, for now, he only lets out a wink and a emoji. Indie Rocks! spoke with Dorian about transformation, identity, covers and the future.
Indie Rocks!: First of all, you will be playing in Mexico City during the Pride Week with a special show. What does it mean to you to be part of a celebration like this and what kind of energy do you want to share with the Mexican public that night?
Dorian Electra: Pride is already a very elevated and special environment on its own. I just want to contribute to the beauty and chaos.
GO!: Your career has always been linked to the idea of ​​transformation. Looking back from Flamboyant To where you are today, how do you feel your relationship with your artistic identity has evolved?
OF: I have become quite comfortable without having a fixed identity. Trying out characters became my character, and I'm always hungry for change and something new.
GO!: Many people know your work through music, but also through the visual and performative universe that you build around each project. When you start something new, what comes first: the music, the aesthetic or the concept?
OF: It usually starts with some weird obsession and then everything else builds up around that.
GO!: Throughout your albums you have explored characters, archetypes and ideas about masculinity, fame and pop culture. Are there any topics that you feel you haven't fully explored yet that you'd like to tackle in the future?
OF: I'm still figuring that out for the next album that I've already started making (laughs).
GO!: Fanfare It was a hugely ambitious album both sonically and conceptually. More recently we have seen you explore covers and reinterpret well-known songs. What led you to that creative exercise?
OF: The covers feel like fan fiction creative. They give you someone else's ingredients and then you can make something uniquely yours with them.
GO!: You've mentioned that this covers project came about at a time when you were looking to reconnect with creativity from a different perspective. What did you learn about yourself as an artist through that process?
OF: I learned that I don't always need to invent an entire universe from scratch. Sometimes it's fun to enter someone else's universe, rearrange the furniture, and, in the process, discover something new about yourself.
GO!: There's something fascinating about the way you take existing songs and transform them until they feel part of your own universe. What do you look for in a song before deciding to cover it?
OF: I'm usually drawn to songs that already have a strong identity, because it's more satisfying to completely destroy them.
GO!: We live in a time obsessed with nostalgia, remakes and the constant references to the past. Do you think it's still possible to create something truly new within pop music?
OF: I don't think anything is completely new. The fun part is making connections that no one would have thought to make.
GO!: You have collaborated with artists as diverse as Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, 100 gecs, Village People and Pussy Riot. What do you enjoy most about collaborating with other artists and what do you look for in a collaboration?
OF: Collaborations get you out of your habits. I like working with people whose brains work differently than mine, and I'm always drawn to people who are very open-minded and willing to try something weird.
GO!: The community queer It has been a fundamental part of your career from the beginning. At a time when conversations about identity are still very present in public discourse, what role do you think art can play today?
OF: Art can create a temporary world where different possibilities feel normal. And I think that's really important.
GO!: Thinking specifically about your show in the Indie Rocks Forum!What can people expect from this presentation? Is it going to be a different experience than the shows you've been doing recently?
OF: Innermost.
GO!: If someone comes to see you on June 27 at Indie Rocks! Forum, In what mental or emotional state would you recommend arriving at the show?
OF: Ready for the party.
