Abisha

The London-based singer-songwriter is fighting for queer and Black visibility.

The London-based singersongwriter is fighting for queer and Black visibility with her incredible new EP.

After generating hype in the industry with dance-pop number Nothing Matters, alt-R&B jam All That and self-love anthem Love Like This, ABISHA finally quenched our thirst for new music earlier this year with the release of her debut EP. Released to acclaim from critics, Scorpio continues to build on the London-based singersongwriter’s string of honest and autobiographical tracks, delivering one of the most authentic - and unabashedly queer - projects of 2020 in the process. “Scorpio as an EP really reflects me more than my previous music has, so it was exciting to put out a real introduction,” ABISHA tells us over the phone. “I've started to develop my sound a bit more and understand who I want to be as an artist.” Here, we catch up with the rising star to discuss her incredible new EP, how her bad experience with a well-known producer almost turned her into a “pop-rock chick” and how we can tackle the lack of visibility for queer and Black artists in the mainstream.

Your first EP is finally out! How does it feel to have that out into the world?

It feels amazing to actually release a body of music. Scorpio as an EP really reflects me more than my previous music has, so it was exciting to put out a real introduction. I used to get direction on what to create from my old producer, and obviously a few of those songs weren't the type of music I wanted to create. With Scorpio, I had four sessions in a row with this one amazing producer and another writer, and in those four days, we wrote the four songs. It was really nice because I was able to be completely myself and get across what I wanted to get across, and they were amazing at translating that into the production. I was so happy at the end of it.

Was that producer just trying to chase trends?

I think so, yeah. He had a vision of the type of artist he wanted. When I first started working with him, he wanted me to be a rock chick, like a pop-rock chick, so the first few songs we wrote were horrendous! He was trying to make me be what he knew was popular, but also very alternative. It was a weird sound he was after.

I assume you're not working with him anymore?

No. I stopped working with him about a year and a half ago.

That was definitely for the best, because this EP is incredible. What has the general response been like?

It's been really good! I've had some really cool feedback from Billboard and you guys. Everyone I know has messaged me to say they love it - especially all the Scorpios out there! Overall, it's been really positive, but the producer I wrote my first few songs with was fairly well-known quite a few years ago, so the first few tracks that I released went straight onto New Music Friday and did really well. I got onto all of those Spotify playlists. I don't know if it's related or not, but since not working with him, the playlists have stopped. It's hardbecause I'm so much happier with the music, but it's not getting that exposure. It's hard not to compare myself to other people who are going straight onto those playlists, but I know it's a process and I've got to work. It's not all about that anyway...

Do you think there's enough queer artists of colour on these playlists?

[Laughs] No, I wouldn't say so, potentially on some of the other playlists, but not the big ones. Something needs to be done. It's an issue and it needs to be addressed. I don't want to say that it's intentional, but I just think they need to broaden their minds to different types of artists and music.

You'd think with Lil Nas X breaking records left, right and centre...

There's just still a lot of negativity surrounding queer artists of colour. I saw an Instagram post of a rapper wearing blue nail varnish, and somebody tweeted a screenshot of the negative comments and they were like, 'What the fuck man? Are you gay? Wipe that off your nails. Don't encourage this.' I was so shocked that this level of hate is still being said, and it probably feeds into the music industry and people who are in charge of playlists. It's like, is that a factor in them not wanting to champion it too much? Do they not want to alienate their straight listeners? It's hard to know.

The second song on Scorpio, Love Like This, is a queer, self-love anthem. What’s the story behind it?

I just wanted to get out the message that it's okay to be who you are and not to feel like you should hide who you are for anybody, even if other people don't like it. It came about so easily, everyone was flowing with it and we were dancing around the studio to it. It felt really empowering.

The video is bloody gorgeous. What was the creative process like for that?

We shot it in New York, which was unreal. I wanted it to seem natural, like it wasn't acted, like I'm hanging out with my girlfriend. I wanted it to feel empowering and to convey that we are proud of who we are. It was really fun to shoot, and I think we got the message across the best we could. We were just trying to make it seem like we are comfortable with who we are and being with each other, that we are proud enough to show that to everyone - singing from the rooftops!

It's been a year since we last spoke - how have you grown as an artist since?

I've started to develop my sound a bit more and understand who I want to be as an artist. It's still evolving, but I have a much better idea of the genre and I'm way more comfortable in being myself and expressing myself through my songwriting. I have more input on the production too, and I'm just learning more and more as time goes by.

How has the coronavirus a„ected your plans for the rest of the year?

Well, I would’ve gone on holiday around now! I'm dying for a holiday. Other than that, I've been doing a lot of music from home, writing a lot, and I'm trying to teach myself how to use logic a little bit so I can create some production. I'm also trying to get better on guitar, even though I'm awful! In a way, it's forced me to learn new skills. I just want cocktails on a rooftop, not going to lie!

tend to work in isolation quite often with the creation of my art, so I’ve been able to cope with this well,” says Franz Sozny from his place in Los Angeles. During lockdown, the photographer, artist and musician conceptualised, shot and edited this self-portrait editorial spread out across these pages. Who said selfies couldn’t be avantgarde?

The world quickly shut down earlier this year just as Franz was preparing to release his new music. Primarily an artist and photographer (who shot Dita Von Teese for one of the most spectacular GAY TIMES Magaizne covers ever produced last year), Franz put off creating music for years before finally starting to explore the artform.

Franz’s latest project includes recent song Surrender Dorothy, bringing together influences as varied as the Wizard of Oz and classical Hindi music. For the next release, What You Seek, Franz called upon friends and collaborators Gigi Goode, Chester Lockhart and Gigi Gorgeous to star in the accompanying music video, which was shot mere days before the lockdown was enforced. “It was a wonderful last ‘hoorah’ before the quarantine took place, although we didn’t know it would be at the time,” Franz says.

Here we speak to Franz about this new music project, who they have been listening to while self-isolating and why they think the current pandemic will cause “another creative renaissance.”

The idea for my song Surrender Dorothy came from my fascination with the famous scene in the Wizard of Oz. The full sentence originally read ‘Surrender Dorothy, or die...’ but was later cut to what we see in the film today. The song started off as somewhat of a mantra. When things in life become out of control (which I experienced a lot of last year), at some point we must let go and surrender. We must remember that everything we need to succeed, we already have. Although this was the direction I was originally headed, my thoughts took a twist and ultimately the phrase was used as a metaphor for the act of seducing someone. Quite different I know, but I follow the path my thoughts take me. Whether it be good, or slightly more devious. The phrase implies the use of one’s own mystique or ‘witchery’ to capture another.

For Surrender Dorothy I took inspiration from classical Hindi music, or Hindustani. I especially love the high pitch of many Hindustani female singers and took this (along with a bit of the Bee Gees) as a stylistic way to sing the song. Sitars, bongos, the gamelan, we really incorporated many ethnic instruments I find so beautiful into this song along with several others.

I’m still very new to making music, and it wasn’t easy for me to start. I actually talked myself out of it for many years, despite my love of singing and writing poetry. I spent a long time trying to justify how I, a photographer who knew nothing about music, had any business creating it. Ultimately I realized how ridiculous those thoughts were, and essentially it was all the same thing. Whether it’s a photograph or a song, it’s just storytelling. Photography is completely visual, and I wanted to push myself to express my ideas in a non-visual way. It’s empowering for an artist to express the same idea in two completely different mediums.