Manila’s ELEPHANT (aka thatelephantparty) has a collection of trans-curated culture that deserves echoing here. All that, and let’s also spotlight some meaningful music that you almost certainly haven’t heard.
Feature image – still from Quay Dash – “Decline Him.”
ELEPHANT in the Philippines is a “nomadic queer techno dance party based in Manila, organized by a collective of LGBTQIA+ artists, DJs, activists and performers.” They’re doing advocacy as well as events – and they mean that. Since meeting them at their home base pre-pandemic thanks to the former “WSK Festival of The Recently Possible” and Nusasonic, I’ve watched them continue to organize in the streets across a range of issues. Even from the literal other side of the world, you can hear them.
So, of course, they have a great collection here organized by their friends on Trans Visibility Day. (Or “Trans Vengeance Day” – see below, and I support that.) It seems worth taking a pause and making more space for this, as we otherwise get so into doomscrolling that our brains become dominated by the very forces we could wrongly imagine we’re resisting.
Their list – apologies for pulling this, but I wanted to make sure it’s readable by unsighted CDM readers, too (and there’s no alt text), plus I’ll try to add some context:
Let me pull this out for accessibility and so that it’s not trapped on a Meta platform:
Alexa Dignos (she/her)
“My current favorite transgender writer is McKenzie Wark. In one of her books, Raving. She shows the intimate and collective sides of life in the New York trans and queer rave scene.
For McKenzie Wark, rave is not just a dance or club thing: It is much more about self-expression, performative ritual, a literally shared bodily process leading toward catharsis. But also a manifesto, a shared practice, and a common resistance against the pressures of consumerism and patriarchal structures.”
Raving is published by Duke University Press. You can get it from independent bookstores like Mast Books. (If someone has a recommendation for Berlin/Germany, shout in comments.)
And have this talk, and a reminder that if the university becomes unsafe, we need to actively create ne spaces:
Andi (they/he)
“I just started reading We Both Laughted in Pleasure – which are excerpts from the diaries of Lou Sullivan, a gay transman who lived in San Francisco at the height of the AIDS crisis. The creation of this book was an act of love from the community that he helped build. Trans men tend to be underrepresented – especially trans men who love men, and Lou was a gem for being so self-assured in his identity during a time where it could have not been more dangerous to do so. The book also reminds me of the importance of documenting ourselves for future generations.”
There seems to be a whole genre of reading this, but I love this one with ‘cello. Maybe we should all gather together and have readings with modular electronics. I got lost while writing this story and wound up drifting into this reading instead. (The Poetry Project channel is an instant must-subscribe! And it’s better for the soul than exclusively watching late night try to repeat the same jokes about current US politics.)
Jade Fake (she/her)
“I don’t think Quay Dash is getting the attention she deserves. She’s a rapper from America who collaborated with well-known producers such as SOPHIE and Sega Bodega. I just think she’s the realest bitch in the game. Being black, trans, and not growing up in a comfortable and privileged upbringing, you just carry the weight of being treated like a sewage rat by the way society is built. As an artist, she claims her power thru the sharpness her work like it’s her sword!”
Finding Quay Dash will require some digging, but I know readers here are up to the task. Meanwhile, there’s this essential video:
This is also Quay Dash, just FYI, and who wouldn’t want both sides?
About that SOPHIE collab, there’s a lyrics video for singalongs:
Dean (he/they)
“As a nonbinary trans man, l often feel pressure to be tough, to prove myself by holding everything together.
But Ahya Simone, a black trans harpist and singer, showed me that softness is just as powerful. Her music flows instead of fights. Her harp and voice create a space where transness isn’t just about struggle-it’s about ease, beauty, and feeling at home in yourself. Her music is a constant reminder that identity doesn’t have to be rigid—it can be gentle, fluid, and free.”
Here’s that music video:
Pette Shabu (she/her)
“Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides Non-Stop Remix Album by SOPHIE. And the album My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross by ANOHNI and the Johnsons.”
Edgy Teresa (she/her)
“The first film that truly captivated me is Lingua Franca (2019), which was directed, written, and starred by Isabel Sandoval. It delivers authentic representation and goes beyond the usual tropes seen in media.
With its slow-burn pacing—a personal favorite aspect of mine in films-and its quiet tone, the film may not appeal to everyone, but it beautifully captures the nuances of being a trans woman.
“What makes this film especially compelling is its protagonist, Olivia, a Filipina immigrant navigating socio-economic struggles that mirror the experiences of many Filipinos in the U.S. today. Lingua Franca is a film that lingers, not just as a cinematic experience but as an urgent and necessary reflection of real-life struggles.”
Pao Mendoza (she/her)
“I recommend Mamu: And A Mother Too (2018) by Rod Singh. It depicts the reality for some of us trans women in our current society, and the importance of having a chosen family. lyah Mina, who portrayed the lead character, won Best Actress in the Cinema One Originals Film Festival, making her the first trans woman to win this award in Philippine film history.”
Isola Tong (she/her)
“I love the recent works of my LA-based artist friend Young Joon Kwak. Her bejeweled body cast sculptures are so mesmerizing.”
Get on that desktop browser on a big bright display and go to Young Joon Kwak’s site.
Go check ELEPHANT as there’s plenty to take in (podcasts, merch, fundraiser, features) even if you’re not around Manila:
https://thatelephantparty.com/about.php
To try not to be entirely unoriginal here, let me add some selections. There’s a whole world of harsh music out there that I think is probably (guessing here) not going to make it into Bandcamp Daily.
Take happy music for happy trans women LP (don’t call it noise music) by Arizona’s turned into a girl , which burns like a black vinyl-upolstered seat that’s been sitting in a Phoenix parking lot in the noonday sun. Or as she describes it (read the full notes):
HARSH NOISE NOT NOISE MUSIC / HAPPY TRANS WOMEN KILLIN STUFF AND STARTIN FIRES 4EVER
It isn’t just an onslaught of harsh noise, though – it twists and turns and hops and unfolds. Listen:
Or there’s River by RVR – “HD” has this odd familiarity to it, like you played it on a mix tape in a nearby alternate universe until the tape’s magnetic strips got chewed and wobbly. Or you heard it and looked for the merch table afterwards because you didn’t want to forget it.
“And we order space takeout…”
I bring this up because I think irrespective of our identity or visibility, we all owe it to the world to do some culture jamming right now against the … (waves hands) … rest of it.
And yes, my hats off to stolen Kanien’kehá:ka land deloconial organizers in that a day of vengeance sounds the right way to put this. But I’ll take this as a day of culture jamming.
Bonus round – composer Lena Raine’s gorgeous score Across the Bounds of Fate, derived from work for the cancelled game Earthblade, will support Trans Lifeline – translifeline.org/about/, and it’s also magical.
Closing with the closing message from ELEPHANT:
Love and respect.
Read, listen, and learn.
Transgender people have been around since the beginning of time. We are not going anywhere.
Until tomorrow.