iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

A: I live in Alberta, Canada. This notably conservative province has targeted trans youth and trans women through the policies of premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party. Other policies single out immigrants like myself, which I cannot help but see as threatening ...

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... that the song explores.

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A: Simone Weil’s Gravity and Grace might get at the evocative acid-fueled sentiments that guided the making of this song. The composition has this pop mystical religiosity felt between the pianos and the wavetable synthesizers that sound like heartstrings pulling at the sense of vulnerability ...

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Q: If your track were another great work of art, what would it be & why?

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... under the shadow of the U.S.’s I.C.E.

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Q: How has the changing political landscape the last 12 months impacted you personally?

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... articulate myself therein.

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A: With my latest release, Melancholic Melodrama, everything from struggles around personal self-definition, artistic ambition, isolation, and heartbreak went into making that album. In it, and anything I’ve made since, I’ve leaned on curiosity and sonic exploration to make a personal idiom to ...

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Q: Describe something that happened this year that inspired you to make music.

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Introducing @pseudo-antigone.bsky.social Track: gracia sheher.bandcamp.com/track/pseudo...

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A: It would be BLAME! specifically the character Cibo, who inspired the track’s name. The influence is more aesthetic than narrative, drawn from her presence and journey in the manga.

Q: If your track were another great work of art, what would it be & why?

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... world feel unbearably heavy. There’s so much suffering that simply existing can feel overwhelming.

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... me most is how this chaos feels manufactured, like anger is being deliberately stirred up so people turn against each other while those in power tighten control. It’s unsettling to see how effective that is. On top of that, ongoing atrocities, like the violence in Gaza and Sudan, make the ...

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A: It’s been mentally exhausting. Watching the global rise of far-right movements and coordinated propaganda is deeply disturbing. It feels like things keep getting worse, with money and power increasingly shaping politics. The dishonesty is overwhelming and hard to ignore. What frustrates ...

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Q: How has the changing political landscape the last 12 months impacted you personally?

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... solitude, but not isolation. I guess I’m a bit like a cat in that way.

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... others, sometimes to escape being human, and other times to confront that reality. Because of all this, making music feels unavoidable. What I’ve realized this year is that I also love what comes from making music. Connection, community, and a sense of belonging. I enjoy ...

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A: It’s a simple question that’s oddly hard to answer. For me, music feels outside of time. There’s no clear beginning or trigger. It’s always been there, like something built into me. Sometimes I use it to reconnect with myself when I feel lost, sometimes to feel worthy of love or seen by ...

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Q: Describe something that happened this year that inspired you to make music.

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Introducing Alien Flower Track: Cibo sheher.bandcamp.com/track/alien-...

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A: Every single DSi/3DS Flipnote animation made in the 2010s. The nostalgia, the connection to other artists, the inspiration to improve and inspire others in any creative scene, and the sense of safety many of us rarely find outside of our creations all flood back to me when I think of flipnote.

Q: If your track were another great work of art, what would it be & why?

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A: It has made it infinitely harder to find employment and housing or build stable relationships due to the fact that most of us are struggling financially and mentally. My music has gone from insular and depressing, to fixated on what the current sociopolitical landscape is doing to the ...

Q: How has the changing political landscape the last 12 months impacted you personally?

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... songs I'm actually proud of!

A: The struggle to find stable housing and a consistent social circle has been a huge source of inspiration for me lately, because it drew me to connect with my cultures and my personal interests. Being able to show pride in plenty of different ways has made it easier to meet people and write ...

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Q: Describe something that happened this year that inspired you to make music.

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Introducing @pitybullet.bsky.social & Spin Cycle Pups Track: Song for Nia sheher.bandcamp.com/track/pity-b...

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A: It's a slightly weird (in the best way imaginable) lesbian romance so I would probably go with Love Lies Bleeding :)

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Q: If your track were another great work of art, what would it be & why?

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... US citizen and I will feel much safer once we manage to get her Czech citizenship.

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A: I have the privilege of living in a relatively safe country so I personally wasn't impacted. Although I'm thinking how long is that going to last since one of the governing parties elected last year is openly transphobic. I'm mostly concerned about my wife's legal status since she's a ...

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Q: How has the changing political landscape the last 12 months impacted you personally?

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A: I was always leaning towards making dark and melancholic music but lately something clicked in me and I have the urge to get my sillies out through making music that slaps. And that's how Cloggy Slutge was born. Through a big gaping hole.

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Q: Describe something that happened this year that inspired you to make music.

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Introducing Cloggy Slutge Track: Kimchi Hotdog sheher.bandcamp.com/track/cloggy...

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A: Knife + Heart directed by Yann Gonzalez

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Q: If your track were another great work of art, what would it be & why?

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A: Every year, I feel delusional about the possibility of a better world. Hate crimes keep rising, third spaces are disappearing, and social media is flooded with far-right buzzwords and misinformation. I hope this is just a really bad hidden camera show. I'm tired of fighting just to survive.

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Q: How has the changing political landscape the last 12 months impacted you personally?

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... memory that were previously locked away.

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A: Last year, I returned to psychological therapy. After a few months of learning new ways to process emotions, I discovered that writing works really well to prevent dissociation. I often struggle to talk about myself, but staying connected to my inner world allows me to access parts of my ...

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Q: Describe something that happened this year that inspired you to make music.

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