Hello immaterial boys and immaterial girls,
This is The Deviant Dispatch. I’m Mo, your guide to the underground world of Brooklyn and beyond. On Wednesday I write about events and gossip for free. On Friday I write about MORE gossip for paying subscribers (just $5 a month). If you can, please consider becoming a paying subscriber so I can pay rent. If you don’t have the coins, please just share this with someone!
As I’m sure you’ve heard, the groundbreaking producer Sophie has died. She was only 34. In a statement, her label Transgressive and Future Classic wrote: “True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell.”
Sophie hit big with online music fans in 2013 with her song “Bipp” before releasing “Lemonade” and “Hard” in 2014. These song’s robotic vocals, rubbery textures, and overall sweetness were a revelation. Sophie quickly garnered fans and copycats alike. In 2018 the reclusive producer came out as trans with “It’s Okay To Cry.” The following album, 2018’s OIL OF EVERY PEARL’s UN-INSIDES, garnered her a Grammy nomination. These simple words fail to capture how exciting each of these moves felt, how her impact was felt by the music industry.
People often say that only 1000 people bought the Velvet Underground’s first album, but every one of those people started a band. The same is true for Sophie, whose work inspired so many producers and artists. The wealth of people mourning her underscores her impact. You can read words from Rihanna, Charli XCX, FKA Twigs, Vince Staples (above), Goth Jafar, Umru, Paper’s Justin Moran, TKAY Madzia, and countless other people.
Evan McNeil quickly made a Spotify playlist of all the song’s Sophie produced, but my thoughts go out to the unreleased songs. What about the songs from the Rihanna sessions, the Lady Gaga sessions, and the songs we don’t even know about? Whether or not they come out is up to Sophie’s team, but lucky for us we have the leaked ones. Below is a collection of them. You’ll find a bunch of songs with Charli XCX and even a collaboration with Kesha.
Xoxo
Mo
Events This Week
Clover Hope @ Greenlight Bookstore
When: Wednesday, 7:30EST
Where: Zoom. Register for the link
What: Clover Hope is a longtime journalist for places like Pitchfork. Billboard and Jezebel. She’s written a book called THE MOTHERLODE: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop. You can read an excerpt from the book about Cardi B here, but if you want to get even more sneak peaks or just soak up the genius and charm of clover hope tune into this virtual book launch. Multi-disciplinary artist and the book’s illustrator Rachelle Baker and music journalist and critic Briana Younger will be joining her.
How much: Free
Claud on Audiotreemusic
When: Thursday, 5:00 PM EST
Where: https://www.twitch.tv/audiotreemusic
What: Claud is a indie pop singer who’s the first signee of Phoebe Bridgers label (who is the indie girlie at the moment). Claud’s songs have more sunshine than Bridgers, but the same earnestness. You can tune into see them in action on Twitch. I bet the chat and overall experience will be very wholesome.
How much: Free
TVOD live on FLTV
When: Monday, 8pm EST
Where: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/FLTVpresents
What: The Footlight bar and venue in Ridgewood, Queens had become a hub for local indie-punks despite having a so-so reputation. Since they’re not allowed to have shows at the moment, The Footlight has pivoted to video. They’ve been filming bands playing sets on their distinctive circular stage since late November, and this week they’re bringing TVOD to the stage.
TVOD is a new band post-punk, still green behind the ears when 2020 began. Their name is acronym fro Television Overdose, and their songs cast a wary eye on conservative ideas flitting about reddit and Fox news.
How much: $7 for limeted access to the footage, $12 to watch it forever.
That’s it for this dispatch. If you liked it please consider hitting the heart button on this post or forwarding this email to a pal! If you’re the pal please subscribe. I write twice a week: once about upcoming worthy events (for free subscribers) and once about underground news and gossip (for paying members). You can send me tips about either by emailing thedeviantdispatch@gmail.com . If you care about drag queens, illegal parties, independent music/art/film/fashion, Charli XCX, and rebellion, you need to read The Deviant Dispatch.